New Cage flick a real 'treasure'

From the producer of "Pirates of the Caribbean" comes a new movie about -- you guessed it -- buried treasure.\nNicolas Cage stars in Bruckheimer's latest blockbuster "National Treasure," an action adventure that unfolds much like an Americanized, male-oriented version of "Tomb Raider." (Jon Voight even reprises his role as father to the genius superhero, albeit a little more skeptical and less involved.) \nThe movie opens on a tender moment between a young Ben Gates and his grandfather (Christopher Plummer) -- apparently bedtime stories in this household involve tales of conspiracy that center around treasure buried by George Washington, Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson to prevent its capture by the invading British. Twenty-five years later, and the story has apparently become an obsession -- so much so that Gates is compelled to steal the Declaration of Independence to decipher the invisible map concealed on the back. As if that wasn't problem enough, Gates' quest is further complicated by a bounty hunter (Sean Bean) who wants a piece of the treasure himself and the FBI who, understandably, just wants the Declaration back.\nThe plot is pretty straightforward, really. It's an intellectual action adventure that oftentimes feels the need to prove itself with elaborate phrasings and big words that sound awkward at best. Most of it comes in the opening scenes of the movie, all of which are cheesy and lack a sense of direction. Gates' sidekick, Riley (Justin Bartha) offers a few lame jokes that generate rolling eyes, but no laughter, and the beautiful Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger), aka sidekick No. 2, can't stop talking. But just when I figured these would be the longest two hours of my weekend, the film settled into the typical groove of high-speed chases, high-tech explosions and hair breath escapes that keeps one enthralled, so you don't notice the somewhat lackluster performances by the featured actors.\nA credible film? Probably not. But "National Treasure" hardly dwells on that fact, moving at a high speed through America's famous historical landmarks as Gates struggles to decipher the clues that will ultimately lead him to fame, fortune and glory. I may not remember much of this film two days from now, but it was fun while it lasted. It's an interesting spin on American history that is, for all its implausibility, very intellectually scripted. "National Treasure" is definitely worth watching, if only to see how something this far-fetched can still come across as being remotely credible.