National Treasure (2004)

A historian races to find the legendary Templar Treasure before a team of mercenaries.

Director:

Jon Turteltaub

Writers:

Jim Kouf (screenplay), Cormac Wibberley (screenplay)

Stars:

Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha

1 win & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicolas Cage	...	Benjamin Franklin Gates
Diane Kruger	...	Abigail Chase
Justin Bartha	...	Riley Poole
Sean Bean	...	Ian Howe
Jon Voight	...	Patrick Gates
Harvey Keitel	...	Sadusky
Christopher Plummer	...	John Adams Gates
David Dayan Fisher	...	Shaw
Stewart Finlay-McLennan	...	Powell
Oleg Taktarov	...	Shippen
Stephen A. Pope	...	Phil (as Stephen Pope)
Annie Parisse	...	Agent Dawes
Mark Pellegrino	...	Agent Johnson
Armando Riesco	...	Agent Hendricks
Erik King	...	Agent Colfax

Storyline

Benjamin Franklin Gates, a pedigree of the treasure hunter family who learns about a national treasure from his grandfather. The treasure is stashed somewhere in the country and the clue leading to the treasure chest is cyphered and scattered all over the country. Benjamin's father abhors treasure hunting, as he himself lost 20 years in chasing the treasure without success. Plot takes a twist when Ben's accomplice Ian decides to steal 'Declaration of Independence' for the next clue. Ben refuses to Ian's plan and they become hostile. When Ben tips FBI about the possible theft, they refused to believe him. Ben determines to steal the 'Declaration of Independence' in order to protect it from Ian. Ben meets 'Abigail Chase' the curator of the archives when he steals the document. Rest of the story is about how Ben, his partner Riley and Abigail decrypts the clues and rescues the national treasure without getting to the hands of Ian.

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Plot Keywords:

treasure | declaration of independence | treasure hunter | treasure hunt | secret society | 

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Taglines:

From the producer of "Pirates of the Caribbean"

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for action violence and some scary images

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

19 November 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

National Treasure

Filming Locations:

Walt Disney Studios, 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$35,142,554, 21 November 2004

Gross USA:

$173,008,894

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$347,512,318

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Junction Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage) wears a Rolex Submariner Date diver's watch which has a price of $8,550. He uses it as collateral in the clothing store to inspect a one hundred dollar bill with which he just paid.

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Goofs

When Ben hands Abigail the champagne glass, she holds it near the bottom. When Ben is in the bathroom testing her fingerprints, the prints are near the top of the glass.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Young Ben Gates: Grandpa!
John Adams Gates: You're not supposed to be up here, looking at that.

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Crazy Credits

The Jerry Bruckheimer Productions logo sequence blacks out before it finishes running.

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Connections

Referenced in On Cinema: 'Snowden' and 'Bridget Jones's Baby' (2016)

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Soundtracks

String Quartet Op. 33 No. 2 in E Flat ('The Joke')
Written by Franz Joseph Haydn (as Franz Joseph Haydn)
Performed by The Lindsays
Courtesy of Sanctuary Records Group Ltd.

User Reviews

Nearly impossible to swallow, but very entertaining.

National Treasure is an underrated, implausible, yet very entertaining action/adventure flick that really relies on the plot and intrigue rather than explosion filled action sequences.

Nicolas Cage stars as Ben Gates, a historian enthusiast in search for a mythical treasure dating back to the Crusades which has alleged switch locations overtime leaving several extensive clues to follow. The movie starts you off in the middle of Gate's quest in the Artic Circle, where he is double-crossed by one of his companions, Ian Howe (predictably played by Sean Bean who usually plays these shady, back-stabbing characters in "Goldeneye", "Troy", "Ronin" and "Don't Say a Word"), which ensues a race across America looking for the treasure and preserving history.

This movie has been deemed another "Indiana Jones" without the whip, leather hat and stereotypical Nazis. Instead, the movie really focuses on the implausible, puzzling clues that were left by our forefathers to guide future hunters to a hidden treasure map. The map itself is only half of the problems, as if/when it's discovered still needs to be deciphered. As implausible and unrealistic as the story, plot and Da Vince Code-like clues are, they are still pretty interesting and creative and keep the story going, leaving very few dry spots. As mentioned before it's more of a "Goonie" race between Gates and Bean, in which Gates is really trying to protect the certain historical landmarks, but both are actually gunning for the treasure with Bean using more "aggressive" tactics.

Cage, who usually get a little excited when he muddles through his cue cards, actually toned it downed a little bit making the film much more enjoyable. The writing is also pretty good that scarcely emits one-liners, but still adds a few comedic moments without distracting from the plot. The ending is also chewable that should alleviate any possible sequels and wraps everything up nicely.

Yes, this movie is practically inaccurate historically and contains more outrageous clues then "Tomb Raider" and "The Mummy" series combined, but take that with a grain of salt and just sit back an enjoy the film for it's creativity and overall satisfaction.