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:

In order to break the code, one man will have to break all the rules.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Family | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for action violence and some scary images

Details

Official Sites:

Disney [United States]

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, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$173,008,894, 2 June 2005

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$174,443,000, 2 June 2005

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

Before the movie got its rating, it was under the Touchstone Pictures banner (which is part of Disney). When the film got its rating (which is PG), it was then put under the Walt Disney Pictures banner, as it is clear that it is a more family-friendly movie.

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Goofs

Before the Intrepid Air and Space museum scene an overview aerial of the west side piers there are no other ships shown or any cruise ships docked at the cruise terminals (to the left of the Intrepid). When the sight seeing helicopter shows up the camera zooms in on it and while it is flying, a Carnival Cruises ship is docked at the cruise terminal which is to the north of the Intrepid. When the camera zooms back out the Carnival Cruises ship is no longer docked at the cruise terminal.

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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 The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #19.188 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Dreaming
Written by Norbert Pawlicki, Hans Salomon
Courtesy of Associated Production Music LLC

User Reviews

Good Popcorn Movie

Completely unbelievable but fun romp around the world looking for treasure...it won't win any awards but its a good two hours at the movies.

The plot to trying to find a lost treasure a clue to which is on the back of the Declaration of Independence is so beyond belief that its best to simply begin by throwing up your hands and accepting it for what it is. Certainly the cast has thrown reality to the wind and appears to be having a grand time.

My only complaint, and its what keeps me from saying you you should see this in a theater instead of renting it, is that the pacing is off. It needs a zipper pace to get us from A to B. Certainly it moves well, but there were times when I just wanted to to move a bit faster. Its a minor fault, but one that prevented me from really loving this.

7 out of 10. Definitely worth seeing, preferably for less than what they charge for a full price movie admission these days.