This week's pick: "National Treasure," a true national treasure in and of itself. If you didn't see it in theaters in 2004 (when it grossed $347.5 million worldwide), and you haven't seen it on DVD (specifically, the special collector's edition, two-disc set with deleted scenes and bonus content) or Blu-ray (particularly, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment's May 20, 2008 release) or cable (freaking cable!), you're in luck -- it's on Netflix.
If you don't have Netflix we're kind of confused as to why you're reading this because it states above that the purpose of this series is to find good Netflix picks you should still totally read this article because any movie Nic Cage stars in is objectively entertaining for the sole reason that it has Nic Cage in it.
But enough of that, we'll circle back to Mr. Cage later.
For now, let's talk bad*ss-treasure-hunters-stealing-the-Declaration-of-Independence-during-a-classy-ball-in-Washington-DC.
What's it about, you ask?
Unhandled
OK -- that quote doesn't exactly sum up what happens in "National Treasure," but it does tell you, believe it or not, what it's about! That is, taking matters into your own hands every now and then.
The movie begins with a young Ben Gates (Cage) listening to his grandfather tell a story of adventure, exploration and, most importantly, treasure. One thing leads to another and BANG, little Ben is all grown up, trekking through the Arctic to find the very treasure his grandpa spoke of all those years ago.
Alas, the treasure isn't there! All that is there is a clue, in the form of a sunken ship, with a tobacco pipe inside, that (when dipped in ink) can be rolled on a piece of paper to reveal a riddle. Naturally, Gates cuts his thumb open and uses his own blood (instead of ink) because that makes sense and discovers the location of the next clue: The back of the Declaration of Independence.
Again -- naturally -- Gates decides to steal it. (See GIF above).
The rest of the movie is basically ^that^, and it just gets more and more and more and more ridiculous as it goes on. Kind of like life. Yeah, that's it. The Nicolas Cage movie "National Treasure" is kind of like life.
But what makes it <i>different</i>?<div><sup>And why should I care?</sup></div>
"National Treasure" can be watched in any situation.
Literally. Girlfriend broke up with you? "National Treasure." Aced that history exam? "National Treasure." Don't know what else to watch? "National Treasure." Long car ride? "NATIONAL TREASURE." Firstborn child just fell asleep for the first time and you finally have a moment of peace and relaxation for yourself? "National. Treasure."
The list goes on and on, because "National Treasure" is fun enough to entertain you, dumb enough that you don't have to pay attention while watching, crazy enough to catch your interest, silly enough to make you laugh, and Nicolas Cage-y enough to make you never want to grow old and possibly also name your kids (yes, all of them) "Nic Cage."
And that brings me to my next point: Nic Cage.
Half the reason this movie is so damn good, so rewatchable and meme-able and awe-inspiring, is Cage. His charisma, depth and utter wackiness are vehicles for good cinema. He makes movies so believably unbelievable in such a bad way...you slowly start to realize that every step Cage has taken in his career has been purposeful, no matter how outlandish it seemed to us.
He is a legend and he deserves recognition.
If you're still on the fence...
You clearly didn't read the whole article, but we are kind writers, we'll give you some reasons to get off the fence even though we shouldn't have to.
Kisses!
- Watch any other Nicolas Cage movie.
- Watch the first 15 minutes, it'll suck you right in.
- Think back to when you were a kid and you wanted to be a treasure hunter.
- Look at those GIFs up there. #NicCage
- Check out the trailer below.