Expert treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicholas Cage) finds himself in a cross-country and indeed international treasure hunt in an attempt to find Cibola, the lost city of gold. For some reason or another this will help to prove the innocence of his great-grandfather, Thomas Gates, and prove his grandfather wasn't a liar when it was recently asserted that Thomas Gates was a mastermind behind the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
The discovery of a missing page of the diary of John Wilkes Booth has his name on the list of conspirators, but we know the antique collector Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris) is up to no good. A prologue at the beginning of the film already proves Gate's innocence, but now it is up to his great-grandson to use his considerable wits to make sure the rest of the world knows it too.
This plot is slapdash enough to start out with, but the way it continues is almost unbearable as one absolutely preposterous event after another occurs with infinite ease and almost no engaging conflict. Securing the help of his ex-girlfriend, Abigail (Diane Kruger), and his techno-wiz sidekick--crony would be a more appropriate word, considering how awfully Ben treats him--Riley (Justin Bartha), this small team travels from Paris to London to D.C. and finally to Mt. Rushmore unraveling riddles before the evil antique collector can catch them and before the information about his grandfather can go public (I think?).
What was absolutely maddening to me about this film was the complete lack of believability of the actions of its characters, particularly Ben. Using some pompous excuse about securing the truth of history he not only breaks into Buckingham Palace and the Oval Office, but also kidnaps the President of the United States in order to gain information about the President's Book, a mythical book said to have been passed down president to president containing all of the nation's secrets including Watergate and Area 51. He could go to federal prison simply to make sure that his name wasn't besmirched in history books. Ben can use any sort of flowery language he wants to convince himself otherwise, but I'm not buying it.
Going from place to place the team encounters riddle after impossible riddle, but Ben, with his superhuman archival knowledge of American history is able to piece them together in a matter of about 30 seconds which I would imagine a normal scholar or historian would take months. The only time his runs into snags is when it comes to reading ancient Latin American hieroglyphics. But never fear! Mommy dearest (Hellen Mirren) just so happens to be one of the only people on earth who is fluent in reading these ancient languages. Therefore this mystery which has been kept secret for hundreds of years is solved in a week. Good for you, Scooby Doo.
Besides the lack of human failing which they should inevitably have come across, I also dislike Ben as a person. He walks about with a swag like he is some nerdy James Bond who has every right to break into the house of his much prettier ex-girlfriend, and can treat his little buddy, Riley, like absolute garbage. I understand fully that Riley was supposed to provide "comic relief," but this poor guy gets trampled underfoot at every turn. Without his technical expertise Ben would have gotten nowhere, but he remains completely unappreciated. During the final scene (eerily reminiscent of Indiana Jones) there comes a moment when one of them could be left alone in a cave, possibly forever. Riley, almost heartbreakingly, assumes it will be him and volunteers. Riley is not Ben's friend, he is his whore and it is very angering.
The one aspect that I did like about this film was the relationship between Ben's mother and father (Jon Voight). Though they haven't seen each other in 30 some-odd years it is understood that their relationship will be rekindled. Both Voight and especially Mirren give much more to their roles than they should have and it makes for a nice change of pace to have some genuine pathos and multi-dimensional characters on the screen.
I do enjoy the concept of trying to make learning and history exciting, and perhaps this will be enjoyable for kids in the 8-12 range, but God if it wasn't punishing for me. The action is banal, the plot is routine, and for the most part the acting isn't worth your time. This is a definite miss on what could otherwise have been an engaging and well thought-out family film for people who appreciate a good challenge. I haven't seen the first, but I would guess it's much the same.
1/4
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