In this Disney+ television spin-off of the National Treasure films, a series of events lead Jess Valenzuela (played by Lisette Olivera) and her friends on a search for hidden treasure.
The first third of this gets off on the wrong foot. Scripts aren't horrible, just so-so. Given that the NT films kinda appeal to a general family audience, it feels like the writers weren't confident as to how adult or child oriented this should be with the tone feeling sort of kidish or young adultish and then something more adult is suddenly thrown in.
Whereas the films focused on the founding fathers, this show goes a more diverse route and looks at the unspoken minorities and women involved in the history of our country. Unfortunately, most of the social commentary is told instead of shown as characters awkwardly and unnaturally seem to be speaking direclty to the audience.
The acting is alright but no standouts. Catherine Zeta-Jones is the villain Billie Pierce in this but be prepared to be disappointed. Don't get me wrong, she doesn't do a bad job per se, she's just decent. (No, they didn't get Nicholas Cage to make any appearances, but a few supporting characters from the films pop up.)
The show clearly wasn't running on a movie budget, so the sets and locations just don't look that impressive or adventurous.
The above having all been said, if you make it through the first third, the show picks up. The plot gets interesting with twists and turns and the villains' motivations are different from what you'd suspect. The characters become more involving; one of the show's strengths being that everyone is well defined. The tone becomes more consistent as well; everything gets more serious as things go on. This actually has more violence than either of the films. I became invested in what was going on even if the show wasn't perfect.
This show isn't a must-see, but if you're in the mood for something light and mindless, this fits the bill. It is also a decent choice if you're looking for something for both the kids and adults to watch.
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