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National Treasure
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National Treasure
US Release Date: 19th November 2004
Running Time: 131 mins
 
Genre: Action
Starring: Harvey Keitel, Nicolas Cage, Christopher Plummer, Jon Voight, Sean Bean
[full cast]
Directed by: Jon Turteltaub
 
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Movie Plot Back to top

Benjamin Franklin Gates has spent his whole life searching for a fortune few dare to believe exists. This is the legendary Knights
Templar Treasure, rumored to be the most awesome bounty in human history, and hidden somewhere in America. For six generations, the Gates family has chased after clues left behind
by Americas Founding Fathers and scoured the nation in search of the treasure. Now the maverick Ben Gates has made a breakthrough. At last, he knows where the ultimate hint to the treasures location lies--a hidden map on the back of the Declaration of Independence. As knowledge of the map spreads to a ruthless adversary, Ben is faced with a terrible dilemma. Either Ben must be first to steal Americas most sacred
document--one guarded by the most sophisticated security in the world--or let it fall into dangerous hands. In a race against time, his rivals and the authorities, Gates teams together with his tech-whiz friend Riley and the alluring, but unwitting, National Archives
conservator Abigail Chase to accomplish the unthinkable. Will they succeed in pulling off one of the most ambitious heists of all time? Will the Declaration of Independence lead Ben closer to the treasure? From the ventilation shafts of the National Archives to the catacombs beneath New York City--the answers are revealed as Ben Gates unlocks the mystery behind Americas
greatest national treasure.

User's Review and Ratings Back to top

Still not completely History...

What I loved most: "Do you trust me?" part

What I really hated: Cage is just a tad 2 ugly...

Ok, even if Nicholas Cage IS a GOOD ACTOR he is still by far ugly and you definitely can't change that alright. This also reflects badly on our Director and his crew, showing that they have very well chosen the DEFINITE WRONG ACTOR!!! :-( Plot: The story centers around Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage), whose family believes in the legend of a fantastic treasure trove of artifacts and gold, hidden by the Founding Fathers of the United States, and forgotten to all but a few. The first clue was given to Ben's great-great-great-great grandfather Thomas Gates by Charles Carroll, the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence, saying simply, "The secret lies with Charlotte". Using sophisticated computer arctic weather models, Ben, with his friend Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) and financier Ian Howe (Sean Bean), finds the wreckage of a Colonial ship, the Charlotte, containing a Meerschaum pipe engraved with a riddle. After examining the riddle, Ben deduces that the next clue is on the back of the Declaration of Independence. While Ben sees gaining access to such a highly guarded artifact as an obstacle, Ian finds no problem in stealing it. In the standoff, Ian escapes and the Charlotte explodes with Ben and Riley inside, nearly killing them. They attempt to warn the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and Dr. Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger) at the National Archives, but no one takes them seriously, believing it to be too heavily guarded to be under any threat. Ben thinks otherwise, however, and decides to steal it to keep it from Ian. Ben and Riley manage to steal the Declaration during a 70th anniversary-gala, just before Ian arrives. Dr. Chase, who is holding a replica, is kidnapped by Ian who thinks she has the real one, and Ben has to engage in a car chase to rescue her. As she will not leave without the Declaration, and Ben will not let her leave with it, she is forced to go along with them. Ben and Riley agree that the only place to hide from the police would be Ben's father's (Jon Voight) house. Despite his father's disbelief in the treasure, Ben manages to reveal an Ottendorf cipher on the back of the Declaration, referring to characters in the Silence Dogood letters. The coded message in the letters leads them to Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where they find special bifocals invented by Benjamin Franklin inside of a brick from the building. Ben examines the back of the Declaration with the glasses, to find another clue. After a short chase, Ian gets the Declaration from Riley and Abigail, and the FBI arrests Ben, who has the glasses. When the FBI attempts to use Ben as bait to get the Declaration back, Ian arranges to have him escape by jumping from the deck of the USS Intrepid, into the Hudson River. Using Ben's father, Riley, and Abigail as leverage, Ian forces Ben to interpret the clue on the back of the declaration, a reference to a secret chamber under Trinity Church in New York City. When they arrive at a seemingly dead end, Ben's father makes up another clue to keep Ian going, telling him a lantern is the clue to the Old North Church in Boston, referencing Paul Revere's ride. Ian goes to Boston with his men, leaving everyone else to die in the caverns. After Ian leaves, Ben reveals there is another exit that must be through the treasure room. They find a secret passage into another chamber. To their disappointment, they find it empty, and assume that the treasure was already moved. However, they realize a secondary exit must have been created in case of cave-ins. Ben examines the walls of the room, to find a hole the shape of the pipe from the Charlotte. This lock opens a door into the true treasure room, containing artifacts from all periods of history. When they leave through the second exit and the FBI arrives, Ben discovers that the chief investigator, Special agent Peter Sadusky (Harvey Keitel), is a Freemason. Ben proposes to give the treasure to various museums around the world, with credit being given to the entire Gates family and Riley, with Dr. Chase not being penalized for the theft of the Declaration. However, Sadusky says that someone has to go to prison for the theft of the Declaration, so they fly to Boston, where Ian and his men are breaking the lock to gain entry to the Old North Church. FBI agents emerge from hiding and arrest them under charges of "kidnapping, attempted murder, and trespassing on government property." The U.S. government offers Ben and his friends 10% of the treasure, but Ben only takes 1% and splits it with Riley. With his share, Ben and Abigail buy a mansion once owned by Charles Carroll, and Riley buys a red Ferrari 360 Spider. Comments: OK OK, Enough about Cage's Ugliness already. let's focus on the story. To me, this can be counted as a barely successful attempt to rewrite history or at least alter it a bit. Well i'm sorry, the story wasn't as good as i expected it to be. Very well then, gates' coolness and Abigail Chase's intervention wasn't the most ideal way of breaking through in the story. So i'm trying to see if the Book of Secrets would have the same amount of mediocrity of if it would be better. Rating: 3.2/5 (64% of 100) Conclusion: Hopefully, there'll be something better...

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Production Photos - Click thumbnail for larger photos
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Diane Kruger
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Premiere Photos - Click thumbnail for larger photos
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National Treasure Production Photo
Abigail Breslin
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Nicolas Cage
National Treasure Production Photo
Nicolas Cage