National Treasure

Oh, Jerry Bruckheimer. From television's C.S.I. to film classics such as The Rock and Con Air, he is the master of trashy fun. National Treasure, just released on DVD, fits this mould, re-teaming the Bruck with his old pal Nicolas Cage for a Da Vinci Code rip-off about treasure hunting. Cage plays Benjamin Franklin Gates, who has been obsessed with finding this "Knights Templar Treasure" for decades. Apparently the "greatest fortune known to man," Gates figures out some sort of ancient riddle that sets him on the search that will make up most of the film. En route, he is met by an evil man (played by none other than The Lord of the Rings' Sean Bean, aka Rudy, who shockingly is capable of being scary, in a non-hobbit way) and who also wants the treasure. The rest of the plot is pretty pointless in its regurgitating, as National Treasure is not a good film by any means, but simply a respectable way to waste time. The special features are pretty fun as well. Beyond the typical "making of" featurette, alternate ending and deleted scenes, there is an interesting addition. After watching each feature, the viewer is given two characters to choose from. When one watches all four features, they are brought to a new screen where they have to decipher a code. Not to ruin the fun but the result is a rather entertaining addition to a rather entertaining film. Besides, if National Treasure had been a great movie, Jerry Bruckheimer would have lost his touch. (Buena Vista)