Review - National Treasure (2004) & National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)

           Hey guys, Chuck here, and I hope you guys had a great week this past week. For me, it's been an insanely busy one, but with 12 Reviews of Christmas on the horizon, I definitely have a lot to look forward to. However, before we wrap up the month of November, let's take a look at one of my favorite action franchises from Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer: National Treasure. 

         Directed by Jon Turtletaub, the original National Treasure was released in 2004, and its sequel National Treasure: Book of Secrets was released in 2007. Both films were headlined by Nicolas Cage as Benjamin Franklin Gates, or Ben Gates for short, as he follows a trail of clues leading to a treasure of great significance to American history. Also leading the franchise along with Cage are Jon Voight, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, and Harvey Keitel. 

          So, let's start with the first National Treasure, released in 2004. Along with the five franchise leads, this movie also features the likes of Sean Bean and Christopher Plummer. The movie opens with Ben as a child, and learning from his grandfather, John, about the family's ties to the founding fathers. According to the story, Ben's ancestor, Thomas Gates, was a stable boy working for Charles Carroll, the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence and member of a secret order known as the Masons, who awoke young Thomas in the middle of the night to take him to Washington for an urgent meeting with President Andrew Jackson, as Carroll was, unfortunately, dying. Unfortunately, President Jackson wasn't there that night. So, Carroll tells the story of a secret treasure to Thomas. Evidently, this treasure had passed through the ages, from Ancient Egypt to Rome, fought over by Pharaohs and Warlords alike, growing as it passed hands, until it suddenly vanished. Centuries later, mad knights of the crusades found it, and deemed it to be too great for any one man, including the King of England. So, this band of knights swear a vow to protect the secret of the treasure, and take up the name the Knights Templar. Several years pass, and the treasure is smuggled out of Europe, with the Templars forming a new brotherhood called the Freemasons, who hide the treasure somewhere in America. And by the time of the American Revolution, the Freemasons included the likes of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Paul Revere. And in an effort to throw the British off the treasure's scent, the Freemasons concoct a series of clues, all but one of which had been lost over time. This last clue was passed from Charles Carroll to Thomas Gates: "The Secret Lies with Charlotte." After the story is over, Ben's father, Patrick, comes to collect Ben, who is fascinated by the story, and dedicates his life to finding the Templar treasure. 

         Years later, and a now adult Ben is joined by his best friend and hacking expert Riley Poole, British financier Ian Howe, and Ian's men on a journey into the Arctic to find an old ship called the Charlotte. Upon finding the Charlotte, they dig her out and head into one of the cargo holds, where within one of the barrels of gunpowder, they find a clue in the form of a meerschaum pipe, which contains a riddle engraved on its stem: "The legend writ, the stain affected, the key in Silence undetected, fifty-five in iron pen, Mr. Matlack can't offend." Contemplating the riddle, Ben realizes that it's referring to an invisible map. The final piece of the puzzle, "Mr. Matlack can't offend," is a reference to Timothy Matlack, who was scribe to the Continental Congress, and ultimately the map was put on the back of a document that was a resolution signed by fifty-six men: the Declaration of Independence. Ian suggests borrowing the Declaration to study it, but Ben disagrees, refusing to allow Ian to steal it. Ben ignites a flare that, after tossing it to Ian's crony Shaw, ignites all of the gunpowder, forcing Ian and his men to escape, whilst Ben and Riley hide in a secure hold. The Charlotte is destroyed, and Ben and Riley decide to warn someone about Ian's plan to steal the Declaration. 

           In Washington DC, Ben and Riley attempt to tip off the FBI and Homeland Security, both of which don't believe their story. So, Ben and Riley meet Dr. Abigail Chase of the National Archives, who is more willing to listen to their whole story, but still doesn't believe them. So, to keep Ian from stealing the Declaration, Ben decides to do so himself. Riley takes Ben to the Library of Congress, where he reveals some key information about the Declaration. On display, it's protected by laser grid and heat sensors, as well as highly trained guards. When not on display, it's locked in a tightly-secured underground vault, with its own security. Ben reveals one detail Riley missed, which is that when it needs to be cleaned or checked out, it's taken to the preservation room, which on the night of the upcoming Gala, will be less secured. 

         So, using a highly elaborate plan, Ben sends Abigail a missing collector's item in the form of a campaign button for George Washington. However, the button was dipped in an invisible ink-like substance, allowing Ben to see her fingerprints. At the Gala, he also copies her thumbprint from a champagne glass, and uses it and her password, Valley Forge, to access the elevator to the preservation room, which Riley insured would have the Declaration in earlier that day. Ben gets to the Declaration, but Ian shows up, forcing Ben to rush it to the elevator. Ben ends up in a gift shop, where the clerk charges him for the Declaration. Short on cash, he uses his Visa card to buy it and a souvenir copy. Abigail goes after him, and Ian abducts her and what she thinks is the Declaration, but is the souvenir copy. Ben saves her, and Ian gets away with the copy. Unfortunately, because of the card use in the gift shop, Ben can't return to his apartment to run tests on the back of the Declaration, so he has to take it to his father's house. 

        Meanwhile, FBI Agent Peter Sadusky is on Ben's trail now, and is solely focused on arresting Ben and recovering the Declaration. At Patrick's house, he is upset regarding Ben throwing his life away over the Templar treasure, but is intrigued when he mentions that the Charlotte was a ship, and that he found her. Ben and Abigail, using lemon juice and a hairdryer, find invisible numbers on the back of the Declaration. The numbers form an Ottendorf cipher, with the number combinations referring to the Silence Dogood letters, which Ben previously had scans of as Patrick had the originals, but reveals he donated them to the Benjamin Franklin Institution in Philadelphia. Ben borrows Patrick's car, and uses some of the cash tucked away in a copy of the book Common Sense, which Ben and Abigail use to buy some clothes. Riley, meanwhile, pays a school kid to read the Silence Dogood letters and copy down letters based on numeric designations from the Ottendorf cipher. After getting a majority of the letters, Riley puts together a riddle revealed by the Silence Dogood letters: "The vision to see the treasured past comes as the timely shadow crosses in front of the house of Pass and Stow." 

         Riley relays the riddle to Ben and Abigail, who figure out that this refers to a means to read the map, which is somewhere in Independence Hall, which previously housed the Liberty Bell (cast by John Pass and John Stow). Ben puts together that the riddle refers to a means to read the map, which is hidden in a location which can be revealed when a timely shadow passes over a certain spot on Independence Hall (which once housed the Liberty Bell until its retirement from actual use.) After taking into account Daylight Savings Time, which Riley points out wasn't established until World War I, Ben, Abigail, and Riley head to Independence Hall, where Ben finds the spot in the form of a hollow brick with the symbol of the Masons on it. Ben cuts out the brick, which contains a pair of glasses with multicolored lenses on them. Taking the glasses inside, Ben, Abigail, and Riley unroll the Declaration, in a moment that leaves Ben in awe due to the fact that the Declaration was being signed the last time it was in Independence Hall. The Declaration is flipped over, and Ben looks on the back with the glasses, and sees the hidden message: "Heere at the Wall." Ian arrives, and a chase ensues, with Ian getting the Declaration, and Ben and the glasses ending up in the hands of Sadusky and the FBI. 

           At the FBI office, Sadusky gives Ben two choices: first is to go to prison for a long time, and the second is to help recover the Declaration of Independence, and then go to prison for a long time. Ian then calls Ben, after Riley and Abigail reached out to him, and offers the return of the Declaration, as well as the meerschaum pipe from the Charlotte, in exchange for looking at the map with the glasses. All Ben has to do is meet with the glasses on board the USS Intrepid. Ben shows up there, with the FBI Agents on standby to move on both Ben and Ian. Unfortunately, it's Shaw that showed up, and gives Ben his next set of instructions. Ben heads to the bow, and jumps off into the water below, to be guided to safety away the FBI. Ben then is taken to meet Ian, Abigail, and Riley at Trinity Church in New York, at the corner of Broadway and Wall Street ("Heere at the Wall" referred to Broadway's original Dutch name of Heeren Street, as well as the Wall that ran the length of what would become Wall Street). However, Ian realizes there's more to it than that, and reveals his trump card: Patrick.

          The group then enters the church and look at the back of the Declaration once more. Another message is found using another lens combination with the glasses: "Beneath Parkington Lane." Further looking through the church, they find a grave marked Parkington Lane, and realize the entrance to the treasure's location is past the grave of Parkington Lane. Heading through, they find a wooden stairwell, as well as a wooden chandelier, which Ben lights up. The group heads down the stairwell, which starts falling apart due to age, and Shaw unfortunately falls to his death. The others make it to the bottom, where the treasure should be. Desperate, Ian demands another clue to the treasure's whereabouts, which Patrick gives in the form of the single lantern hanging nearby, as a nod to the lantern hung in the Old North Church in Boston the night of Paul Revere's ride. After Ian's departure, it's revealed that the clue was a fake, as it was TWO lanterns hung the night of Paul Revere's ride, not one. However, Ben suggests another escape route: through the treasure room. 

         Entering a second chamber, only to find it empty, Ben is disheartened, only to be encouraged by Patrick for proving that the place the treasure was meant to be stored was real, meaning the treasure must be as well. Ben then notices a slot near a hidden door. Taking the meerschaum pipe, Ben fits it into the empty slot, uses the stem to turn it around, unlocking the hidden door, which leads to the treasure itself. Ben, Abigail, Patrick, and Riley admire what parts of the treasure are found, and Ben lights up a pathway, which shows how large the treasure really is, as well as stairs leading back to the surface. Ben heads back up, and asks a gentleman nearby to borrow his cellphone, calling Sadusky. Ben returns the Declaration to Sadusky, who subtly reveals himself to be one of the Masons. Ben suggests dividing the treasure amongst the Smithsonian, the Cairo Museum, and the Louvre, and makes the following requests: Abigail's record is cleared, the Gates family and Riley get credit for finding the treasure, and Ben doesn't go to prison, but Sadusky reminds him that someone has to go to prison. Ben then offers to help with that, which leads the FBI to surround Ian and his men as the attempt to break into the Old North Church in Boston. 

         Ben, now in a relationship with Abigail, owns a massive house once owned by Charles Carroll, and Riley remarks on only getting a one percent fee for finding the treasure, driving off in a red Ferrari. 

        Okay, so National Treasure is one of those movies that requires a serious suspension of disbelief, as I don't think anyone actually believes there's an invisible treasure map on the back of the Declaration of Independence. Heck, just the idea of a treasure hunt with ties to the founding fathers is a pretty out there idea. However, what makes it work is Nicolas Cage. If he wasn't the main star of this movie, the whole thing wouldn't have worked. 

       As for the rest of the cast, Jon Voight does really well as Patrick, as do Diane Kruger is Abigail and Justin Bartha as Riley. Harvey Keitel is fantastic as Sadusky, and he definitely is a favorite of mine in this movie. Sean Bean is a fantastic villain in the role of Ian, and I do find it reliving that he didn't die by the end, which is almost a running gag in the career of Sean Bean. 

          The mystery and treasure hunt aspect is also really cool. Much like how The Bourne Identity proved subtlety works well for the spy genre, National Treasure does the same for treasure hunt films, proving things don't need to be as over the top as Tomb Raider or Indiana Jones to be engaging. Seriously, kudos to producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Jon Turtletaub for making a fun treasure hunt movie with an enjoyable leading man. I'm giving National Treasure a rating of 5/5. 

         Three years later, and Bruckheimer and Turtletaub returned for a sequel: National Treasure: Book of Secrets, once again starring Nicolas Cage, Jon Voight, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, and Harvey Keitel, who are joined this time by Helen Mirren, Ed Harris, Ty Burrell, and Bruce Greenwood, with a cameo performance by Randy Travis. 

        The movie opens with a prologue set five days after the end of the American Civil War, where Thomas Gates is approached by John Wilkes Booth and Michael O'Laughlen, both members of the KGC (Knights of the Golden Circle), about decoding a Playfair cypher. While O'Laughlen stays with Gates, Booth heads to the Ford's Theatre, where he assassinates President Abraham Lincoln. Realizing, what's happening, Gates burns pages from Booth's diary, preventing the KGC from being able to find the treasure they're clearly after, only to be shot by O'Laughlen, who is able to recover a single page from the fire. With his dying breath, Gates tells his son the clue to the Playfair cypher: "The debt that all men pay." 

       Years later, and we see Ben and Patrick Gates giving a presentation at a new exhibit for Civilian Heroes from across American history. It's here where our antagonist, black market dealer Mitch Wilkinson, is introduced, and he produces the Booth diary page, which apparently has Thomas Gates' name on it. The public now believes that Thomas was part of the conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln, and it's now up to Ben and Patrick to disprove it. With help from Riley and Abigail, Ben finds the Playfair cypher on the Booth diary page, and Riley starts working on it. After Patrick mentions the clue, "The debt that all men pay," Ben realizes that the clue to Playfair cypher is the word "death." The cypher is solved, and we get the next clue: "Laboulaye Lady," which leads to the replica of the Statue of Liberty in Paris. 

        Ben and Riley head to Paris and record an engraving on the Statue's torch, which is translated by two French policemen, with a nod to the term "Resolute Twins," which Ben figures out is a reference to the Resolute desk, and one of its companion pieces of furniture manufactured from the timbers of the HMS Resolute. Riley and Ben then head to Buckingham Palace in London, where Ben meets up with Abigail, who offers to help. Ben and Abigail then head to the Queen's study, and figure out the drawers act as a tumbler lock. Arranging the drawers in the correct pattern, Ben unlocks a secret compartment in the desk, which holds a wooden plank with pre-Colonial Native American carvings on it. Ben and Abigail flee quickly, only to be spotted by Mitch, who gives chase. After a lengthy car chase across London, Ben runs a red light to get photographed with the plank and gets rid of it, leaving it for Mitch to recover. 

       Returning home, Ben, Abigail, and Riley go over the photo of the plank with Patrick, who recognizes one of the symbols as being a reference to Cibola, a Native American city of gold. To get further translation on the plank, Ben suggests going to see his mother, Dr. Emily Appleton, who begrudgingly agrees to assist with the translation. Unfortunately, she reveals that they need the other half for the full translation, which means getting into the secret compartment in the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office in the White House. Using Abigail's new boyfriend, Connor, to get access to the Oval Office, Ben learns that the plank was already found, with a symbol burned into its place: a Bald Eagle clutching a scroll instead of an olive branch. Riley, who wrote a book about the Templar treasure and other mysteries, reveals this symbol being in reference to the President's secret book, which is a journal passed from President to President, and each President chooses his own hiding spot for the book, which is rumored to contain details regarding Area 51, the Kennedy assassination, and missing minutes of the Watergate tapes. 

        Ben goes to Sadusky for help, and the two head out to a public park, where the two can talk as friends, and not as a civilian and an FBI Agent. Sadusky reveals that there is, indeed, a book, and Ben can only see it if he gets elected President. Okay, so you know how the first movie was Ben deciding to "steal the Declaration of Independence," this movie sees Ben decide to "kidnap the President of the United States." So, with help from Riley and Patrick, Ben is able to rig it so that the President's birthday party is held at Mount Vernon. Ben meets the President, and shows him a map from George Washington's childhood. Ben and the President head to the tunnel shown on the map, and unlock a secret passage, and the two head inside. Ben seals the passage behind them, and apologizes to the President for what's happening. Ben leads the President to the way out, explaining his motives are to clear his ancestor's name, but he need the President's secret book to do so. Upon getting out, the President confirms the book is real, and is stored in the Library of Congress, and that unless Ben finds the treasure, he'll be charged with kidnapping the President, which means he'll go to prison. 

       Ben, Abigail, and Riley head to the Library of Congress, where they find the book, and look at an entry about a letter sent to Confederate General Pike from Queen Victoria, in addition to a photograph of the missing plank, which President Coolidge found, had photographed, and then destroyed. The entry then refers to commissioning Gutzon Borglum to destroy any natural markers in the Black Hills by carving Mount Rushmore. Ben sends a picture of the plank photograph to Patrick, who takes it to Emily for translation. Unfortunately, Mitch already went to see Emily for translation, only to reveal that he has the letter from Queen Victoria to General Pike. 

       At Mount Rushmore, Ben meets with Mitch, who has Emily and Patrick with him, and the four, along with Abigail and Riley, head to find the entrance to Cibola. Using the clues from the letter, they find a latch that opens the entrance to the caves to Cibola. After a series of escapades, including a massive platform that moves based on weight differential, Ben and co. find the City of Gold, and Mitch apologizes for smearing Thomas Gates' good name. Unfortunately, the water from above the city is about to overflow once again, leading everyone to find a way out, locating a drainage tunnel. While looking to be the one to get out first, Mitch eventually sacrifices his life to ensure Ben and the others get out safely, with his last request being to tell everyone that he found the City of Gold. After getting back to the surface, Ben calls Sadusky to reveal that he found the City of Gold. Ben, Abigail, and Riley are then taken to the President, who gets Ben off the hook by claiming that he and Ben were "exploring a secret tunnel, when the door closed accidentally and this man saved my life." The President then shows the new headlines in the newspapers, with one headline reading "Thomas Gates Proved a Civil War Hero." After this, the President confirms that they will all receive credit for finding the City of Gold, which was a true service to the country. Ben then adds that Mitch needs to be credited as well. The President then asks about information on Page 47, which Ben claims to be world-changing. When Riley inquires if this is about the book, the President remarks "What book?" 

         Emily leads a team back into Cibola to research it, and Riley meets a fan of his book. Abigail offers Ben to move back in with her, and the two reconcile. We end with Riley getting his Ferrari back, with a letter from the President reading "Tax Free." 

           Okay, so I think that Book of Secrets was far more farfetched than the first National Treasure. But again, it works because of Nicolas Cage as Ben Gates. Seriously, this franchise only works because of Cage. I also liked how Jon Voight had a much bigger role to play this time around, and is actually the one to realize that the treasure this time around is the City of Gold. The chemistry between Nic Cage and Jon Voight is easily one of the highlights in Book of Secrets for me. I also like how Riley also had more to contribute this time around, and Justin Bartha is a lot of fun. 

           As far as the antagonist this time, Ed Harris is really good as Mitch Wilkinson, and is definitely a different kind of villain from Sean Bean as Ian in the first movie. Unlike Ian, whose goal was claiming the Templar treasure, Mitch wants to make his mark on history by finding the City of Gold, which is ultimately what happens. Even though we see him doing evil things, his motives are merely for his family making it's mark on history, not merely of greed. 

         Other newcomers like Ty Burrell and Bruce Greenwood we're really good as Connor and the President, respectively. But the big highlight is Helen Mirren as Ben's mother Emily. Honestly, if the first movie introduced us to Ben, his father, and his grandfather, it only makes sense to introduce his mother as well in this franchise, and making her an expert in pre-Colonial Native American history and languages is a great way to make her have a significant impact on the movie.

         I also like how the treasure this time is different from the one in the first movie. The idea of a City of Gold that is tied to pre-Colonial Native American history is just genius, and it allows the treasure of this film to stand independent of the original movie to a certain degree. The only down side is the roundabout way of getting to it, especially involving leaps in history that really stretch the bounds of reality. Honestly, it's just better to shut your brain off and enjoy the movie for itself. 

          Again, just like with the original National Treasure, I'm giving Book of Secrets a rating of 5/5, because even with the leaps and bounds this movie takes as far as the actual historical timeline, it's still a ton of fun. 

         Now, it's been long rumored that a third National Treasure was in the works, and while that is still the rumor, there is another National Treasure project coming December 14th to Disney+ in the form of a new streaming series called National Treasure: Edge of History, which will feature both Harvey Keitel as Sadusky and Justin Bartha as Riley. I'm definitely looking forward to it, and can't wait to see this series. 

       Anyway guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll be back on Friday with my review of the Doctor Who holiday special Voyage of the Damned, which will be followed by my review of the Doctor Who two-parter The Stolen Earth/Journey's End next Tuesday. Until then, take care, and I'll see you guys next time.