More and more often we see films targeted towards the PG-13 rating, which is believed to be the holy grail of box office success. We will often hear of films that are cut to avoid an R and sometimes have footage added to get to the PG-13. Then, when films are rated PG, they tend to be targeted at younger children or at tween girls. Noticing those trends makes films like the two National Treasures all the more rare, and in a way welcome, at the cineplex. This movie offers up high action and adventure that is exciting, yet does not resort to language or any truly extreme violence. Yes, you see fights and guns, but you will not see anyone killed (not that I recall anyway). It is true that National Treasure is good for the whole family and does not feel that it has been sanitized to get the rating.

A family friendly adventure is about all that this is good for. Yes, it is exciting, but it makes no sense. Once you start wondering just how this adventure clears his great-grandfather, ot how the centuries old mechanisms still work, or how come Booth and his cronies were involved in finding the lost city of gold is beside the point. Bigger than all of that is the ease with which Ben Gates is able to interpret the puzzles, a problem carried over from the first film. You cannot imagine how frustrating it is to listen as Cage talks out the riddles and puzzles and has a seemingly unrelated answer in a matter of seconds.

The cast is strong, and while the movie tends towards the weak it is pretty obvious that they all had fun. Helen Mirren as Ben's mother clearly had a good time cutting loose after playing the title character in The Queen. Cage, Bhartha, Kruger, Voight, Harris, and Harvey Keitel all rumble through this film as if its an amusement park. It is their enthusiasm that translates to positive energy in the audience, effectively winning them over as the wildly implausible plot plays out.

Bottom line. Yes, I had fun. It is worth seeing on the big screen if you thirst for some big goofy action, and especially if you want to take the family. Just brush off the wackiness and enjoy it for what it is. I just wonder how many people are going to head out and try to find these places for real.

Mildly Recommended.