Film of the Week: National Treasure

I’m sure many have debated about whether National Treasure is historically accurate or not, and improbable piecing of information from vague clues leading the characters all over the world only to finish in an old church where the treasure they’ve been racing towards is buried underneath. National Treasure isn’t the worst film in the world, nor is it the best, but it sits comfortably in the middle. Those who like it don’t have anything bad to say, and those who don’t like it are usually the people who start the debates.

So, let’s say that this film is wildly inaccurate, the leaps in logic are massive and the clues are too vague to know where to begin working them out. If that’s the case, what makes this film enjoyable? How many films are criticised for being inaccurate, where the filmmakers inject too much artistic licensing into the project that the film as a whole, it quickly becomes just another film. A documentary exploring someone’s life, or an important historical event, or the beginnings of something major which changed the world, they must always use the words “inspired by true events,” simply because of the inaccuracies sprinkled throughout the film, whether they be minor or major, that’s entirely dependant on who writes it, or what makes the flow of the film better.

With National Treasure, it isn’t a documentary, it isn’t inspired by true events, it is entirely fictional, but it includes real facts. I would state that this film is the reverse of a documentary. But, hang on, isn’t the reverse of a documentary just a fictional film. You can say Transformers is the reverse of a documentary film because it’s not anywhere near what a documentary is. Let me explain what I mean. A film inspired by true events has a few fictional elements injected throughout, whereas National Treasure is a fictional film with a few true events injected throughout. It deals with real events, accurate dates and times, historical locations, real people who lived in America’s most famous moments whilst it was developing; with fictional elements inserted in between.

And what makes this film enjoyable to watch is the belief it has in itself. There is not a shred of doubt that any of the fictional elements weren’t real, and all of them are cleverly developed and explained to make you believe that what the characters are talking about is true. By the end of the film it’s easy to imagine that this film was really inspired by true events and all it’s doing is retelling what happened on the way of discovering some history shattering information and treasure.

Ben Gates has been searching for the big treasure his entire adult life, his father before him and his dad before him - and it’s immediately clear from the moment his team discovers the first clue, Ben goes straight into decipher mode and uses his knowledge gathered over the years to figure out the clue. In fact, every character is extremely knowledgeable, even an expert in the field of archeology. Every character is intelligent. Hardly anything needs to be fully explained for them to make connections, they are basing every decision they make around their knowledge, belief in what decisions they have made, and the faith in themselves for making sure what they are doing will be as faultless as can be.

It’s not the most perfect film in the world, but it’s one that can be enjoyed. The sequel proves to be just as strong as the first, a rarity when it comes to franchises, and we who are fans of National Treasure are waiting patiently for a third which has been developing for many a year now. It’s a joyous feel-good film for all the family.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)