by Austen Terry, Contributing Writer
We all grew up wanting to be the explorer who finds a treasure that completely alters history as we know it, whether it was Indiana Jones, Lara Croft, Nathan Drake, or for my generation, Benjamin Gates. In the mid-2000s, the National Treasure series took the world by storm, spawning two movies and leaving the third in developmental hell for 16 years. I still remember playing in my grandparents’ backyard, pretending to be Ben Gates finding the templar treasure, and as an adult today, I still wonder what the hell is on page 47. Finally, Disney announced a return to the universe of National Treasure in a spinoff series for Disney+ called National Treasure: Edge of History. The series brings in a whole new cast, and a mystery that hopefully will pull us in and lead us to find a treasure that will change history.
National Treasure: Edge of History tells the story of Jess (Lisette Olivera), a young woman who is thrust forward into an exploration to uncover the truth about her family history and a lost treasure. Along the way, her friends Tasha (Zuri Reed), Oren (Antonio Cipriano), Ethan (Jordan Rodrigues), and new friend Liam (Jake Austin Walker) help her uncover the truth and solve the puzzles to find the lost Pan-American treasure that her ancestors once protected. As with any treasure-hunting piece of media, there is always someone looking to find the treasure for personal gain, and here we have antagonist Billie (Cathrine Zeta-Jones), who always seems just because of her wealth one step ahead of Jess and her friends.
Where to begin talking about this show? For someone who loved the two movies before it so much, I had hopes for this series that were almost immediately let down. The first half of the series just drags along, building up the mystery and relationships. The latter half feels rushed and not as thought out. I have mentioned before that treasure hunting nowadays takes much of the fun out of the clues, puzzles, and adventure. With all the technology available, clues that should be difficult are easy because of having a cell phone in your pocket. The characters are interesting enough, and the acting is okay at best, but at the end of the season, I felt more than ever that I had wasted 10 hours of my life. For the first time, I genuinely wish a Disney+ series would have been a movie instead.
Firstly, a significant positive of this show is the diversity of Jess’s friend group; having characters of different backgrounds and ethnicities elevates the story. The chemistry among them is impressive, and the opening scene with them all makes you see they have been friends for years. Each actor plays their role well. Olivera is a clear standout among the cast, and she holds her own with Jones. With the recent announcement that Disney is moving forward on a third film, the series left me hoping that Olivera is involved, because I would love to see her and Nic Cage’s characters interact with each other.
Another thing the show sets up early is they are young adults struggling to make end’s meet. So several times, you are left wondering how they can even afford to go on this treasure hunt in the first place. The characters travel extensively throughout the season and reach the areas in record time. There is also some nostalgia in the show for the movies. Sometimes, Jess and her friends do things similar to Ben and Riley, but they veer off enough that it is different. As with all great mysteries, they try to have big twists in the story, but they don’t pay off. There are two notable ones where if you’re paying attention, you can see it coming at you from a mile away; then the other is so out of the left field it doesn’t make sense. The show’s story is all over the place, and the writers seem to be trying to have it live in each era of Disney TV. This show leaves much to be desired, and a tease for more differs from what Disney hopes it will be.
Another praise is the cinematography. The camera work here is beautiful, especially with establishing shots or B-roll footage; each new environment is shown in all its glory. But as with any treasure-hunting story, it all comes down to the clues and puzzles. Almost every puzzle Jess is faced with, she solves incredibly quickly with her memory of history. She easily solves puzzles some characters have worked 20 years trying to solve.
Honestly, this show definitely should have been a movie. The characters and story could easily fit a two-hour runtime and have the same conclusion. I do not dislike it, just because I loved the previous films. It even brings back Agent Peter Sadusky (Harvey Keitel) and Riley (Justin Bartha), and their scenes are great. But there was something missing that caused the show as a whole to not hit it for me, which doesn’t mean you won’t get something out of it. The penultimate episode is almost good enough to make up for the lackluster episodes before it, but it’s not quite enough. Even the finale feels like a cliché Disney ending just to wrap the story up.
Score: 5/10
National Treasure: Edge of History is currently streaming on Disney+
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