Post 32

Okay. Alright. I'm always happy to endure some correction.

I just watched National Treasure. I'd never seen it before, which is shocking to most people; nobody hates that movie--near as I can tell, at least. Knowing almost nothing about it except its archaeological-adventure genre, I kept a keen eye out for any deus ex machina, inconsistency in plot and/or characters, and over-the-top action, and I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised. The characters were well defined and consistent; the logical flow was smooth and surprisingly layered insomuch that I think it's the sort of movie that I would pick up on details with a second and third watching (which I hope to have--someday). A few little things struck me as a mite unbelievable, but I suppose it wouldn't fit the Indiana Jones action-adventure bill if it lacked things like inextinguishable torches, scary men who have terrible aim with their powerful handguns even when near point-blank range, a heroine who eventually falls for a man she initially distrusted, and stairwells that crumble when walked upon but stalwartly break long falls (I have this theory that ancient architects found a way to build structures out of cornstarch that was painted to look like wood). All of these, I suppose, are forgiven by the willing suspension of disbelief (see Post 31 for more on that--I think--I'm too tired to actually look it up).

At the start, I was skeptical, and things like Ben and Riley finding that smuggling port thing in the hull of an exploding, ancient ship and then somehow finding a quick route to go from being stranded in the midst of some tundra to talking with the FBI in Washington DC--well--I kinda found it hard to swallow. And Riley struck me as a little inconsistent at first--not appearing book smart and then suddenly giving a tour of the library of congress. But as the movie went on, I actually started to appreciate such things--Riley became my favorite character, and the trip from the tundra--well, that's my next point, I suppose:

I also really enjoyed the pace the movie moved at. The fact that the scene wherein they stole the Declaration of Independence was fairly short was very impressive to me; the writers seemed to understand well that the scene, though very important, was mostly incidental, and to make it longer would have probably been very exciting, but any movie that is much longer than two hours can't be too enjoyable [don't look at me in that tone of voice, oh ye hardcore LOTR fans who own all three extended versions; I spit at the very idea of people like you]. Therefore, I can also appreciate that there was no mention of how Ben and Riley escaped the tundra because, really, I don't care. Maybe it was deus ex machina; I'd take that over a three-hour movie any day.

As the conclusion was fast approaching, I was bracing myself for a grave disappointment. Obviously, Ben was not going to be sent to prison, and I felt that that was wrong. I'm sick and tired of protagonists who do bad things and suffer no just consequences; I've seen way too much of it. And I know that a movie can end satisfactorily when the main character gets thrown in jail because I've seen Ocean's Eleven. I was thinking in my head, "Man, Ben's just gonna buy his way out of prison with all this money, which a few billion dollars would certainly do in real life, but I don't really imagine that in real life Ben would have any grounds to claim ownership of this booty. Deusexmachina-ma-rama. So sad to kill what has been a most enjoyable movie this way." But making the head FBI dude a Mason, and having him say, "Ben, someone's gotta go to prison," and then doing what they did--I was okay with all of that. The ending left me--stunned, frankly; I was watching it with a group of friends who love this movie, and the whole time I was trying to come up with this "Well, I can see why literary peons like you would like this movie, but--" kind of speech, but it ended and left me nothing very solid to complain about.

And--I'm okay with that; I got a few snide comments in from time to time, but, in the end, I had to say, "Hm. I guess it is a pretty good movie...."