National Treasure is a 2004 American adventure heist drama directed by Jon Turteltaub and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Jon Turteltaub. The screenplay was written by Jim Kouf, Cormac Wibberley and Marianne Wibberley and is based on the story by Jim Kouf, Oren Aviv and Charles Segars.
Rated: PG (movie contains action violence and some scary images)
Run Time: 2h 11min
Release Date: November 19, 2004 (USA)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Family, Thriller
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Studio: Buena Vista Pictures and Walt Disney Pictures
Budget: $100 Million
Box Office: $347.5 Million
National Treasure stars Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Sean Bean, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel, Christopher Plummer, David Dayan Fisher and Ron Canada.
National Treasure is the story of Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage), a historian and treasure hunter who is seeking a buried treasure unlike any other. For several generations the Gates family has been searching for clues to discover the hidden location of the legendary national treasure. Ben’s father Patrick Gates (Jon Voight) spent more than 20 years working through clues left by the free masons before giving up on ever finding it.
The plot takes a twist when Ben is hired by Ian Howe (Sean Bean) to pursue a clue to the treasures whereabouts. Ben deciphers clues that lead him and Ian to a frozen tundra where they locate a long since missing ship and decode a message that leads them to the Declaration of Independence holding the next clue. Ian then plans to steal the Declaration. Ben refused Ian’s plan and the situation becomes hostile. When Ben returns to the US, he notifies the FBI about the possible theft but they refuse to believe him noting that the document is one of the most protected documents in America.
In order to thwart Ian’s plans, Ben determines the only way to protect the Declaration of Independence is to steal the document himself. Ben and his best friend Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) meet with Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger) who is the curator of the archives and tells her the same story he told the FBI. With that, Ben is forced to act on his own to protect the most famous document in the world.
Ben and Riley plan a very intricate robbery and schedule it during a black tie event at the museum. In the meantime, Abigail gets suspicious when Ben shows up at the party and interferes with the robbery. As a result, Ben takes her hostage and then uses her skills to help decipher clues on the back of the Declaration and follows them to try to protect the national treasure from getting in the hands of Ian. Will Ben be able to save the treasure?
Movie Quotes
“The Templars and the Freemasons believed that the treasure was too great for any one man to have, not even a king. That’s why they went to such lengths to keep it hidden.” – Agent Sandusky
“There is not a treasure map on the back of the Declaration of Independence.” – Abigail Chase
“This room is real, Ben. And that means the treasure is real. We’re in the company of some of the most brilliant minds in history because you found what they left behind for us to find, and understood the meaning of it. You did it, Ben, for all of us – your grandfather, and all of us. And I’ve never been so happy to be proven wrong.” – Patrick Gates
“A toast? Yeah. To high treason. That’s what these men were committing when they signed the Declaration. Had we lost the war, they would have been hanged, beheaded, drawn and quartered, and-Oh? Oh, my personal favorite-and had their entrails cut out and burned!” – Ben Gates
Official Movie Trailer
Movie Stars
Nicolas Cage as Benjamin Franklin Gates
Diane Kruger as Abigail Chase
Justin Bartha as Riley Poole
Sean Bean as Ian Howe
Jon Voight as Patrick Gates
Harvey Keitel as Agent Sandusky
Christopher Plummer as John Adams Gates
David Dayan Fisher as Shaw
Ron Canada as Guard Woodriff