National Treasure (2004)

National Treasure - 2004

Happy Independence Day to all my American friends.  Today's post comes in the form of 2004's "National Treasure", which takes us on a hunt to find the world's biggest treasure hidden by the founding fathers themselves.  Clues they left behind lead us to some of America's most beloved places.

The film's cast includes Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Sean Bean, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel, Christopher Plummer, Annie Parisse, Ron Canada, and Sharon Wilkins.

Ben Gates, along with his assistant Riley and their partner Ian, journey to a desolate Arctic tundra to see the remains of an American ship, the Charlotte.  Inside, Ben hopes to find a clue that will lead him to a treasure hidden by the Knights Templar, of which many of America's founding fathers were members.

Inside, Ben finds a meerschaum pipe, which points to a map being hidden on the back of the Declaration of Independence.

Ben and Riley are double crossed by Ian, who blows up the ship.  However, Ben and Riley are able to get away and survive the explosion.

When they visit the director of the National Archives in an effort to examine the Declaration of Independence, they are refused.  Ben makes the decision to steal the Declaration in order to find the map.

Of course, they have to work fast.  Ian and his band of thugs are already planning the same theft.

Ben infiltrates a party at the National Archives, during which he meets with the director, Dr. Abigail Chase, again.  He cleverly uses her fingerprints on a champagne glass to gain access to the Declaration.

Ben has to act fast when Ian catches him with the antique document.  After a shooting, Ben rolls up the historic parchment and conceals it under his jacket.

Abigail Chase by now suspects something is up and follows Ben outside.  When the security alarms go off, she knows exactly what he did.

When Ian kidnaps Abigail, a chase ensues through the streets of Washington D.C.  Ultimately, Ben is able to rescue Abigail.

She wants the Declaration and refuses to part from it.  Ben, however, refuses to give it up, and says that she'll just have to come along with them.

They head to Philadelphia, where they meet with Ben's estranged father, who reluctantly takes them in.

After performing some tests on the document, they discover a cipher which needs to be decoded.

The key to this cipher lies at the Franklin Institute.  Some letters written by Benjamin Franklin under the name of Silence Dogood hold the answer.

With Ian (and now the FBI) on their trail, Ben, Riley, and Abigail must move fast to uncover the next clue.

That clue is held at Independence Hall, where Ben discovers some "early American x-ray specs" invented by Benjamin Franklin.

Ben puts them on and re-examines the back of the Declaration of Independence.  A brilliant clue is illuminated.

That clue leads them to Trinity Church.  However, before they can get there, Ben is caught by the FBI.  After a deal with Riley and Abigail, Ian steps in and arranges for Ben to be broken out of their custody.

With Ian seeming to hold all the cards (including Ben's father), there doesn't seem to be any alternative but to follow Ian's directives.

They make their way to the church crypt after the discovery of another clue, and they break into one of the graves.

The group finds an elaborate elevator system that leads directly down a long, dark shaft.

After nearly losing the Declaration of Independence, the group arrives at the bottom of the tunnel.

They come to an empty room.  Ian is not happy.  Ben and his father give Ian a false clue to put him off the scent.  Ian falls into their trap, and decides to leave them down there while he investigates the fake clue they gave him.

After a thorough search of the empty room, Ben finds a way to press onward.

He's disappointed when they enter the next room and they find it to contain no treasure.  Ben was sure that it would be behind the door they just came through.

However, Ben finds a place that looks oddly similar to the meerschaum pipe he found earlier.  He matches it up and is very surprised when it proves to be the key that opens another door.

The group is stunned as they enter a room filled with treasures from every period of ancient history.

The room is even bigger than they could possibly imagine.  They look around in wonder.  Riley is moved to tears when he sees a staircase that will lead them out of the tunnel.

Ben contacts the FBI and hands over the Declaration of Independence.  He also tells the FBI where they can find Ian.  Ian is arrested trying to break into the Old North Church in Boston (the fake clue that the Gates' gave him).

The group is offered a ten percent finder's fee.  Ben feels it is too much and only accepts one percent for all of them.  Not bad if you ask me.  Riley drives away in a new car, and Ben and Abigail walk to their new house, as Abigail hands Ben a map she's drawn and tells him to figure it out.

Cast rundown:

   Nicolas Cage...............................Ben Gates

   Diane Kruger...............................Dr. Abigail Chase

   Justin Bartha...............................Riley Poole

   Sean Bean..................................Ian Howe

   Jon Voight...................................Patrick Gates

   Harvey Keitel...............................Sadusky

   Christopher Plummer....................John Gates

   Annie Parisse...............................Agent Dawes

   Ron Canada.................................Woodruff

   Sharon Wilkins.............................Butcher Lady

And that's it for National Treasure.  Fun fact: The Independence Hall scene was not filmed at its Philadelphia location.  The scene was actually shot at the Independence Hall replica at Knott's Berry Farm.  The Arctic scenes were filmed in Utah.

As always, if you wish to leave a comment, please remember our posting rules.