DesiDabba - Boss, Thoda Sa Roomani Ho Jaye

At 4:22pm this coming Sunday (March 11, Star World will broadcast Nicholas Cage’s last big hit National Treasure. And although I’m not a huge fan of Cage (he tends to be too manic for me) I am going to recommend the movie to readers of Desi Dabba.

There are several reasons why.

First the movie is about a boy who grows up dreaming of a buried treasure. Didn’t all of us do that when we were kids? And even if you spent most of your time day dreaming of becoming a famous rock star and making everyone’s jaws drop your high school reunion, metaphorically that is still about discovering a treasure (talent) hidden somewhere (within yourself). So convoluted though my argument may be, I’d say the underlying theme in the movie is universal.

Cage plays Benjamin Gates – egged on by his mysterious grandfather (played by Angelina Jolie’s estranged father – John Voight) who believes that the founding fathers of America hid a treasure of immense fortune and left clues everywhere to help find it. Fully grown up and after some research, Cage comes to believe that a key clue is at the back of the Declaration of Independence, widely recognized as the document that marked the birth of the United States. And as you can expect of a document of such historical significance, it is heavily guarded.

Unfortunately no one believes Cage. Worse yet, one of his crooked ex-colleagues is about to steal it. So Cage takes it upon himself to do the stealing first. Of course, since his intentions are noble, we can side with him.

Part heist flick, part thriller and part mystery, National Treasure is quintessential popcorn entertainment. I love movies where finding the clues is even more interesting than finding the treasure itself. And National Treasure taps into our sense of wonder by shrewdly using well-known artifacts and landmarks as clues. Imagine something we’ve known and taken for granted all these years being a clue to a fabulous treasure!

The movie also stars German actress Diane Kruger who made her name stateside when she was picked to play the legendary Helen of Troy in Brad Pitt’s Troy.

Finally the best reason to watch it is that the movie has been produced by Jerry Bruckheimer – and as anyone with a thrill kick can tell you – he knows how to make action movies.

The sequel National Treasure: Book of Secrets is in production and scheduled for a worldwide December 2007 release.