A fun historical adventure movie

Rating: Null/10 (17 November 2004)

Nicolas Cage stars as Benjamin Franklin Gates, the seventh generation of treasure hunters searching for the world's greatest treasure. The treasure is too great for any one person or country to own. The treasure was accumulated by many armies over hundreds of years and ended up inside the Great Pyramid in Giza, Egypt. During the Crusades, the Knights of Templar (Masons) took the treasure back to Europe, and then smuggled it a little at a time to America. The Founding Fathers, who were Masons, hid the treasure to keep it out of the hands of the British. The last remaining Mason who signed the Declaration of Independence tried to see President Jackson before he died. Instead, he was forced to give the clue to where the treasure was hidden to his coach driver, the first Gates. The Masons left clues in obvious places such as on the back of our currency, in historic buildings, and even on the back of the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin has been following clues to the treasure for 30-years, and now the last clue pointed to a map on the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin's partner, Ian Howe (Sean Bean), wants Benjamin to help him steal the highest protected document in the world and go after the treasure. Benjamin refuses to be part of Ian's crime, and to protect the document, Benjamin is forced in stealing it before Ian does. The treasure hunters follow a series of historical clues and visit many historic places. They must elude the FBI and stay one-step ahead of Ian. There are great action scenes throughout the whole movie that will keep your attention. It was a fun historical adventure movie, and it is a good thing that Gates explains the answers to the historical clues, because the audience won't figure them out. (Walt Disney Pictures, Run time 1:40, Rated PG) (8/10)