National Treasure

Dab some lemon juice on the back of America’s Declaration of Independence and – shazam! – there’s a map suggesting the whereabouts of a fabulous treasure hoard from the Crusades. Well, that’s historian-adventurer Nicolas Cage’s theory anyway, since his family has been entrusted with a clue to this secret down through the generations. Unfortunately, the establishment think he’s cracked, and Sean Bean, the dodgy Brit whom he has convinced of the story, is now out to grab the document for himself. Is it time to steal America’s priceless heritage in order to save it?

Since it sprinkles genuine historical factoids throughout the action, it’s hard to dub this surprisingly bland Jerry Bruckheimer production totally mindless, yet its fairly anodyne ‘Indiana Jones’-style scrapes are pitched at a family audience whose younger members will find the narrative’s cryptic, American-themed clues impenetrable to the point of boredom. Cage, bless him, looks enthusiastic enough, and though his dear old dad Jon Voight is clearly coasting, trailing cop Harvey Keitel furrows his brow creditably in the circumstances. A mild holiday caper, for the wettest of afternoons.