National Treasure
November 19, 2004 in theaters
Modern treasure hunters, led by archaeologist Ben Gates, search for a chest of riches rumored to have been stashed away by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin during the Revolutionary War. The chest's whereabouts may lie in secret clues embedded in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, and Gates is in a race to find the gold before his enemies do.
Cast
Director
TRAILER
QUOTE
"I'm gonna steal the Declaration of Independence."
DID YOU KNOW?
The National Archives allowed limited filming on location -- the production team spent weeks researching real security systems.
THE VERDICT
Synthesized from published reviews
A gleefully implausible historical adventure that commits fully to its own absurdity and is better for it. The Declaration of Independence heist is one of the more audacious premise pivots in mainstream adventure cinema, and Nicolas Cage's Ben Gates treats every conspiracy as a genuine intellectual puzzle rather than a genre obligation. The film doesn't ask to be taken seriously and shouldn't be, which is precisely why it works. Unpretentious, fast-moving, and still satisfying.
GALLERY
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