What to watch: “‘National Treasure: Edge of History’ adds young-adult twist, Mirren and Ford saddle up for ‘1923’, and more
‘National Treasure: Edge of History’
Rated TV-14, ~1 hour, Available on Disney+
Giving the “National Treasure” movies a young-adult spin, “National Treasure: Edge of History” transforms the franchise into a Disney+ series, one that offers the same playful approach to the past while weighing that down with tiresome relationship issues and a protagonist with her own Scooby gang. The opening episodes have their moments, but it’s less something to treasure than at best mildly enjoy.
Nicolas Cage starred in the 2004 movie and its sequel, a sort of discount “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” The baton here passes to Lisette Olivera as Jess, a whip-smart Dreamer whose father, a protector of treasures, disappeared when she was a baby.
“Don’t you dare grow up to be like your papi,” her mom warns the infant, but of course she does when she’s reintroduced two decades later, stumbling upon an elaborate mystery with a little help from a retired FBI agent (played by Harvey Keitel, one of the conspicuous ties to the earlier movies).
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James Minchin/Paramount+
Harrison Ford as Jacob Dutton and Helen Mirren as Cara Dutton in the "Yellowstone" prequel "1923."
1923
Rated TV-MA, ~1 hour, Available on Paramount+
The growing “Yellowstone” universe has developed a pretty clear formula, which starts with an older movie star espousing square-jawed western values, surrounding them with a younger cast and the trappings of a soap opera. With Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren saddling up “1923” takes the star quality to the next level, putting a shiny bow on a pretty basic package.
Prolific writer-producer Taylor Sheridan opens the Paramount+ series with a literal bang, framing this chapter of the Dutton family saga — joining the even-earlier prequel “1883” — with ominous narration that says, “Violence has always haunted this family. … And where it doesn’t follow, we hunt it down. We seek it.”
Ford’s patriarch Jacob Dutton isn’t looking for trouble, but he still appears destined to find it, running a massive Montana cattle ranch in the period a few years after World War I and during Prohibition, a time when cowboys ride horses into town and tether them next to parked cars.
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DreamWorks Animation
Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), Perrito (Harvey Guillén) and Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek Pinault) in "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish."
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Rated PG, 1 hour 40 minutes, in theaters now
Coming 11 years after his first movie and 18 after his introduction in the “Shrek” franchise, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” brings a playful quality to the animated feline as well as a deeper message. When it comes to long-delayed sequels it’s wise to be careful what you wish for, but overall the film manages to nimbly land on its feet.
Granted, one can argue whether there was a need for another movie (probably not), but tasked with doing so, it’s at least energetic and mildly fun. Once again drawing heavily from storybook lore, the premise involves the fearless hero (again voiced by Antonio Banderas) having exhausted eight of his nine lives (“I am not really a math guy,” he says when apprised of the situation), which might suggest dialing it back on the dangerous swashbuckling.
Undaunted, Puss confronts a scary wolf (“Narcos'” Wagner Moura) who sends him into retreat, putting him on a quest to locate the Wishing Star, whose power will grant him the ability to reclaim his lost lives and, theoretically, his bravado and mojo.
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