I only watched this so I could watch the sequal and see my work on tv but it was so so utterly bad.

In the comedy spoof Johnny English you had, very tongue in cheek, a Frenchman stealing the crown jewels. It was the old enemy stealing an item of national identity—the basest way of inspiring patriotic fervor but it wasn’t meant to be serious and nobody took it that way. Here you had an Englishman stealing the declaration of independence…come on, give me a break. It’s your typical Nick Cage film; we’ll have him doing something that’s wrong (i.e. stealing the declaration) but we’ll create a back story to make the audience want him to succeed (he’s stealing it to stop the Englishman getting it). The same storyline is in Snakeyes, Gone in 60 seconds &c.

I hadn’t meant to actually review this, just note it and move on but it really is so, so bad.

I am not a huge fan of Nicholas Cage, but for me, this was one of his better parts. I found him to be quite believable as the less=than-perfect treasure hunter: kind of like Indy Jones without a whip, hat or foreign locale. The drama holds from beginning to end, too. Never mind the attempts at rewriting history; it’s fiction and allowed some liberties. Watch it as a double feature with the DiVinci Code.

To be honest I only had a small interest in this film and for the most part avoided seeing it. I didn’t think there could be a good treasure hunt movie if it didn’t involve pirates. But my tivo I guess knows my tastes better that I do and randomly recorded it for me. Having nothing else to really watch I thought what the hell.

Some Spoilers May be included.

I wasn't that excited by the movie  till they actually stole the declaration of independence. Than I couldn't stop watching it. I love Riley he steals the show forget Cage.  I also love the intrigue and the history involved (though I realize it’s not all credible.) My grandfather was actually a high ranking free mason.

But really it’s such a good adventure/mystery story. I love every time he gets a new clue.

It has some funny parts too, “Sorry I had to drop you!” “Oh Don’t Worry I would have dropped you too.”

The downfalls? I thought the bad guys were a little hokey and I didn't believe Gates would get off so easily in the end no matter what he found. I thought the kiss scene when going down the stairs was highly implausible and awkward.

But really I do recommend it and may watch it again.

Britt

This movie was pretty fun. There were tons of things about it that weren’t credible, but it was still a good little story. I hold it to a lower standard since it’s a Disney flick. Benjamin hates Disney, but he enjoyed it too.

Simple fun for 1 night. Silly but really entertaining