“My colleagues, students, and wife think I’m nuts to like National Treasure,” admits master film historian David Bordwell. He then launches into an extremely compelling defense of why the Jerry Bruckheimer franchise is “more informative about American history than Fahrenheit 9/11. More brain-teasing, and far more enjoyable, than I’m Not There,” and, perhaps most crucially, evidence that Bruckheimer is “the most astute producer now working in Hollywood.”

Of course, I enjoy the dig at I’m Not There, but the whole post is worth a read, if only for the novelty of watching an academic explain why a “dumb” Hollywood movie is a lot smarter than knee-jerk critical cynicism would lead us to believe.