June 20, 2005
CALLING FROM BEYOND THE 13 STARS:
While National Treasure is by no stretch of the imagination a great movie and has plot holes you could drive a snowplow through--when the bad guys flee the scene of an explosion at the Arctic Circle without checking to see if they've killed Nicholas Cage, because "Someone might see the smoke and report it," even our 8 year old asked: "Who?"--there's an interesting theme to the film. Cage's character traces his duty to stop the bad guys to the Declaration of Independence and the line: "[W]hen a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." After reading that to his sidekick he says: "Men don't talk like that anymore." But to some considerable extent it's the premise that underlies George W Bush's notion that we are obligated to facilitate Liberty's Century.
Posted by Orrin Judd at June 20, 2005 10:54 AMWho?
Haven't you guys been watching "24"? The spy in the sky sees all and would have picked up heat where none should be, nevermind actual smoke coming from the middle of an ice field. Technology is making life very difficult for bad guys.
Posted by: erp at June 20, 2005 1:14 PMRented this the other week. If you can put aside the historical conspiracy theories it is a pretty good movie.
Posted by: AWW at June 20, 2005 2:09 PMtheories?
Posted by: oj at June 20, 2005 2:25 PMQuick review: Eh.
Longer review: Indiana Jones meets the Da Vinci Code. Always enjoy Nicholas Cage, but his quirkiness suits him more in movies like Matchstick Men.
Posted by: Rick T. at June 20, 2005 2:37 PMEverybody,
Downloaded and DVR'd on my Dish, if I agee/disagree with foregoing comments may let you all know.
However, am predisposed to really like this movie.
Mike
Everybody,
Downloaded and DVR'd on my Dish, if I agee/disagree with foregoing comments may let you all know.
However, am predisposed to really like this movie.
Mike
A very enjoyable film if you can overlook certain silly plot developments -- like two teams of thieves simultaneously breaking undetected into the National Archives to filch one of the world's most heavily-guarded documents (although, to make the scene work, it had to be left on a table with absolutely nobody guarding it).
I admired the plucky way in which it pursued its rather loony premise to a satisfying conclusion.
Posted by: Matt Murphy at June 21, 2005 3:58 AM