One of my favorite all time movies. Something exciting seems to be happening every second of the movie.

We're all familiar with the blurbs that punctuate movie previews: "A monumental achievement in filmmaking." "A triumph of the spirit." "There's magic in it!" Well, as much as I would love to have my quote on a movie trailer, I don't think I'll make the cut with "Dang--this movie is solid!"

But that's exactly what National Treasure is. It's a well-crafted mystery, a gripping action yarn, and the most entertaining (if not entirely accurate) American history lesson I've ever had. Part conspiracy theory, part Indiana Jones-style treasure hunt, there's plenty here for most everyone--especially if you happen to enjoy the history of the Declaration of Independence.

Because Jerry Bruckheimer produced it, it feels like a Bruckheimer movie, with sweeping aerial shots and bombastic music by regular collaborator Trevor Rabin, but director Jon Turteltaub, thankfully, doesn't share Michael Bay's love affair with excess. Chase scenes are never overlong or needlessly complicated, and while there are several opportunities for Nicolas Cage to pose for Bay's signature circular dolly shot (see Bad Boys and The Rock, for example), Turteltaub prefers to keep the story moving rather than take precious time to worship his lead actor.

The supporting cast was...well, very supportive, if not entirely noteworthy. You can't go wrong with Sean Bean, after all. Groundbreaking? Earthshaking? Not particularly. But it was two hours of solid entertainment, and that's exactly what I was looking for. Color me 100% satisfied.

I remember playing this game during orientation in college. The seniors would hide clues all over the campus. Each clue leads to another and finally, the treasure.

National Treasure is a game of sorts - the kind played during freshmen orientation, except that it's on a much grander scale, involving the theft of the Declaration of Independence. Nicholas Cage stars as a descendent of the Gates family whose ancestor holds the key to a national treasure. None of his forefathers succeeded in finding the treasure but Cage's character (named Benjamin Gates) was determined to uncover the mystery.

He first locate the Charlotte, a boat that contained a clue to the treasure. The next clue was to be found on the back of the Declarartion of independence and Ben suggested to one of his treasure hunting partners that the only way to see what's on it is to steal it. Ben was against stealing, but the resourceful villian didn't care. So he reasoned that in order to protect the document from the villian, why not let me the good guy steal it first and while the document is in my hands, I might as well take a peek on what's on the back. He tried warning the FBI but nobody believed him. As a final resort, we went to the beautiful Abigail Chase at the National Archives who also didn't believe him. No choice, Ben had to steal it.

Sounds silly? Well, it is. But the action is so well choreographed that if you can suspend your disbelief for a moment, you may actually enjoy watching it. Ben steals the document so the bad guys couldn't get it. Somehow, Abigail Chase got dragged into the whole saga. After seeing the hidden message behind the Declarartion of Independence, she was convinced that Ben Gates was on to something and she joined his team. The FBI and villians went after them. Everybody went around in circles with lots of shooting and suspense.

Well, one clue leads to another. They ended up on Wall Street, inside a church, under a niche which led the way to what seemed like a very deep mine shaft. There was no treasure at the bottom. Another clue. Or so it seemed. Somehow, the stupid bad guys were tricked into leaving for the treasure at Boston while the good guys finally found it.

A happy ending. Ben didn't have to go to jail. Not a bad movie to watch but don't bother to buy the DVD or take it too seriously. I watched it on TV. Wouldn't have been worth the cinema ticket.