Apparently this is a miniseries, but it feels like a trio of Indiana-Jones-inspired stand-alones, or sort of stand-alones. It's called Jack Hunter, and part one is specifically called Jack Hunter and the Lost Treasure of Ugarit. The story follows a treasure hunter (there's no archaeologist about it) named Jack Hunter who originally wanted nothing to do with his professor's "quack theory" of a treasure somewhere in Syria but thanks to survivor's guilt feels he has no choice when the professor gets murdered. There's a Syrian woman who doesn't want to be stuck with him but he grows on her, her mentor who really isn't all he claims to be (which is actually a surprisingly interesting development in the series overall, thus far), and a blond, accented bad guy who is also physically attractive.
This installment was clearly inspired heavily by the Indy movies, but it also felt a bit like National Treasure: the government agent getting dragged along essentially against her will, the foreign bad guy (though in this case with no redeeming qualities whatsoever), the experienced treasure hunter protagonist... It's really a shame there isn't an "Agent Sadusky" type to round it out, because I liked that character in National Treasure. Anyway, moving on.
If you want to sit back and enjoy the ride, and you can muster about an hour and a half's worth of patience before it grows into its own story, you might enjoy this one. I did, though not nearly as much as last night's Prince of Persia. It was interesting to see the turns the tale took during the last fifteen minutes, and since it has to carry through a miniseries/rest of the trilogy, then that's a good thing. I just hope it keeps up through the rest of the trilogy, and I'll keep you posted if it tanks or not.
Final verdict: think of it like a really, really long movie and this is the first act: this is where a lot of the set-up happens. If you approach it like a stand-alone, you'll probably be sorely disappointed.
Next on "For the Love of Night at the Museum": This Blogger: The Quest for Akhenaten's Tomb
Countdown: 277 Days to NATM 3
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