DVD Review HTF REVIEW: National Treasure (1 Viewer)

[Steve K.H.]

David, thanks a bunch for expanding on the audio.

I'll definitely give this one a rent now. If it's mindless entertainment with a decent soundtrack, maybe I'll purchase it up...

...once the Superbit with DTS is released.

(if XxX has three releases, it's not like we won't see a second release of this title)

 

[Ravi K]

Unless Columbia-Tristar distributes the DVD in some region there won't be a Superbit release. But even so, its entirely possible that another region release will have DTS and even a better video transfer.

 

[Peter W.H]

I must also echo the sentiment of not paying attention to reviews. I hate to say it but not very often do they reflect what I enjoy in a movie. I was unsure what to expect from this movie but must say that I completely enjoyed it. It was over 2 hours long and not once did I think, when is this going to be over. I was also refreshed that this was a movie that any age could enjoy. The movie sets and feel did resemble many of the older adventure movies that I grew up loving.

So make the conclusion yourself but overall a fun, enjoyable family movie that I am very glad I purchased without seeing first!

 

[DaViD Boulet]

One of the great things about reviews here at HTF is that members get to post their own impressions/opinions...so the reviewer's thoughts are not the only ones that get read by those curious about the film who take the time to follow the comments in the thread--everyone has a voice...

Hopefully the swath of viewpoints helps people new to the film gauge a balanced balanced sense of what to expect. I'm especially impressed with the talk taking place in the Pocahontas review-thread (A little sad that no one has commented in the Les Choristes review-thread).

 

[Shane Martin]

I wavered on it alot and finally bit the bullet and bought it along with the Bonus disc from Best Buy which had 3 additional featurettes. I'd be willing to give you a rundown of those if you wanted them David.

Anyway I happen to agree with your opinion on the Picture Quality. Mediocre which you gave it a fine score of 3.5 is fine.
I can't agree here. It took him a long time to even locate the first clue and get it solved. That was the key to the whole deal. Perhaps you overglossed that point? The rest is seemingly not too difficult stuff but not easy either. I personally gave it a 7 out of 10 which is being more than fair. It certainly is better than alot of movies coming out as of recent.

 

[John Simon]

Thanks for the review, David.

However I've gotta say I actually think this was one of the best adventure movies I've seen in a long time. I enjoyed the plot, the characters, and the balance of humor and adventure. I know it wasn't hugely popular with critics, but I predict many viewers will love it.

That said, I can already smell a double-dip coming on. This movie made a ton in theaters, yet the features are really pretty slim. Not to mention that there's audio commentaries on the deleted scenes and alternate ending, but not on the feature itself. I bought it today because I like the movie, but I'll be shocked if I'm not buying a 2-disc version with an improved picture within the next 12-18 months (perhaps to tie in with the rumored International Treasure?). We'll see...

 

[Don Solosan]

If you're running on the surface, then you have lookouts posted. Even if you're in waters you control, you might run into another ship!

I've heard it's explained in the novelization that they ran submerged all the way to the island with the periscope up, and he lashed himself to that. It's still baloney, but it doesn't really matter because you're moving full speed ahead in the third act, and all the audience wants is to finally see that Ark do its stuff.

It's similar with the Stow clue that Ian figures out at the same time as Ben (which I think is what bothered David). From a narrative perspective you want your villain keeping pressure on the hero the whole time. So it may strain credulity, but it's necessary or the whole thing falls apart.

 

[Travis Brashear]

Watch Das Boot and tell me where he could have hidden.


In the broom closet, he he...

 

[Vader]

Actually I DO pay attention to reviews, and with defernece to all here, I go the other way. My tatses run along the line of popcorn, check-your-brain-at-the-door, rollor-coaster rides (which "Treasure" qualifies). Further, they are many times those that have been panned by most every critic for whatever reason: The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, Van Helsing, AvP, etc. This is why I love HT. It allows each of us to enjoy our preferences....

 

[Patrick Sun]

It looks like 7 out 9 HTFers liked it when it came out in the theaters:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=217653

 

[Chris Atkins]

Right, because if they needed to submerge, they wouldn't run up their periscope the whole time because it could be spotted by enemy ships.

Anyway, proudly bought NATIONAL TREASURE on Tuesday and the wife (who have never seen it) will watch it tomorrow night.

 

[Brad Cook]

I don't know about the novelization, but Kasdan's shooting script (which also contains a couple sequences that wound up being used in Temple of Doom) has Indy lashing himself to the periscope. I don't know if that was filmed, however.

I received my DVD for a Film Threat review the other day and watched the movie for the first time yesterday. All I can say is that if you enjoy Raiders, I don't know how you can complain about the level of realism in this film. National Treasure asks roughly the same level of disbelief; either you can rise to that or not. Personally, I liked the characters too, but I think it's a more valid criticism to look at the film that way. That's a more subjective thing, IMO.

I also don't understand how anyone can say that the clues are arbirtrarily solved. Each of them ties into each other, and they're solved by people who have immersed themselves in the subject matter for decades. It would be like a hardcore Star Wars fan going on a treasure hunt where the clues tie into Star Wars trivia. Ian doesn't have that same level of immersion, of course, but he is smart, and he has the money to put into his chase of the treasure. He also uses the leads handed to him by Ben Gates at various points in the film. And, of course, he has brute force on his side.

In the end, I enjoyed this film. Now on to the special features.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Thanks for the review. Count me in as one who liked and enjoysed watching this film. Very reminiscent of the Indie Jones stuff.

 

[Joel Vardy]

I'm not going to apologize for liking this film. It is highly rewatchable and as Philly area residence my wife is looking forward to using it as a lure for family members in other parts of the country to come visit more often . Well, maybe I didn't like this film that much .


Joel

 

[nicholas_g]

I watched the R2 version and thought it was a superb film. I enjoyed it a lot.

The picture quality is also fine on my projector.

 

[Steve K.H.]

Based on David's review, I picked it up...

Yes there's a ton of holes in the plot.

But this is a film that the whole family enjoyed..., and they all thought they'd hate it.

Good call David.

 

[dpippel]

I watched this a couple of nights ago with some friends. The premise was intriguing but, I thought, poorly executed. The "payoff" at the end of the film was a letdown. After all of the buildup I was looking forward to something more unexpected. I also got very tired of the trademark Bruckheimer chop-socky editing and the surging "generic action movie" soundtrack. For me, a mildy entertaining but entirely forgettable film.

As for the video quality, I agree with David's assessment - very little detail and excessive EE. I've seen films 20+ years old with much better presentations. It's a shame that Disney continues to crank out such poorly mastered live action films on DVD.

 

[EricRWem]

The movie is good escapist fun. I've certainy seen worse. Given the cast and the kind of material they had working with...a few more months of tightening up the writing might have really yielded something special.

A real film composer for the music also would have made a big difference. The Media Ventures canned action score version 56844534534 really helps take this film down a notch, just like Pirates of the Caribbean.

Pirates was a much better film than this, but it too needed a much better film score than what it got. Bruckheimer clearly has ZERO appreciation for music and what a quality film score can give you.


As usual, Disney puts out a "meh" video transfer to DVD. Hardly earth shattering, though. With my Onkyo 1000 at 1080i, my picture looked just fine, but I certainly noticed a difference in PQ vs. watching LOTR: Return of the King Extended the night before. Certainly a "oomph" missing from National Treasure's transfer in comparison.

Considering the kind of money and clout Disney has, there's really no excuse for them to put out DVD's with less than stellar transfers, as the source material allows for.

I guess if they aren't willing to do it, maybe they should just farm the chores out to someone who can.

 

[David James]

Regarding the quality of a transfer. Is the transfer supposed to match the theatrical release? If not, why not? If so, how do you compare them other than by months old memory?

I'm an old fart and have zero memory of the video "quality" when I saw it in the theater, heck, I can't even remember what month I saw it.

Same question for audio.

Maybe this should be a new thread

 

[Qui-Gon John]

I liked this movie. I thought the Mason/Templar stuff was very interesting. I'd be interested to find out what Masons think about those aspects of the movie. (Of course I can guess they'd say it's a lot of bunk, but oh well).