Sunny‘s Adventures of National Treasure

**Sunny‘s Adventures of National Treasure**

## Plot

Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage) is an American historian, amateur cryptologist, and the youngest descendant of a long line of treasure hunters. While his father Patrick Henry Gates (Jon Voight) discourages him from following in the family line, Ben is driven on by a story told by his grandfather, John Adams Gates (Christopher Plummer). According to John, a clue - the phrase "The secret lies with Charlotte" - was entrusted to the family by Charles Carroll of Carrollton in 1832, and would lead to the fabled "national treasure", a wealth of artifacts dating from Ancient Egypt and secretly hidden by the Founding Fathers and theFreemasons during the American Revolutionary War.

Thirty years later, Ben leads an expedition along with Ian Howe (Sean Bean), and his friend, computer expert Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) to find the Charlotte, a ship trapped in Arctic ice, which is believed to be referenced in the clue. The group discovers ameerschaum pipe hidden in a barrel of gunpowder in the cargo hold. Ben discovers a clue is engraved on the stem of the pipe, which he concludes indicates the next clue to be on the back of the Declaration of Independence. When Ian suggests they steal it, a fight ensues, during which spilled gunpowder is ignited. Ian escapes the ship, along with his accomplice Shaw, locking Ben and Riley inside. Ian and the rest of his accomplices flee the area, while Ben and Riley escape through a smuggler's hold.

In Washington, D.C., Ben and Riley report Ian's plan to the government, including the FBI, and Dr. Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger) at the National Archives, where the document is stored, however, their claims are dismissed on the grounds that it is impossible to steal and there is no clue. Ben decides to steal the document himself, although Riley has been convinced that it is in fact impossible. When Ben reveals to him his plan, however, he is convinced of its plausibility. The two then prepare the plan, which involves getting the document moved off of display to the preservation room (where documents are stored when in need of work) and hacking into the security cameras, in order to steal it during a Gala being held at the Archives. Ben sends Abigail one of George Washington's campaign buttons, having dipped it in invisible ink, causing her to leave fingerprints on the keyboard that gives access to the preservation room. At the gala, Ben gains access by disguising himself as a janitor. He then poses as an invitee, and obtains Abigail's fingerprint from a champagne glass, using it to access the preservation room's hallway. He applies light to the keyboard, revealing Abigail's fingerprints, and discovers the password to be "valley forge" while Riley disables the security cameras. In the middle of the heist, Ian and his team arrive, also in an attempt to steal the document. Ben is confronted by them in the hallway and is shot at, but escapes. Before leaving, a clerk in the gift shop notices the document in his jacket pocket, believing he is attempting to steal a souvenir duplicate, forcing Ben to pay for the document with a credit card. Leaving the building, he is followed by Abigail, suspicious of his presence at the gala. Ian's team kidnaps her, believing she has obtained the Declaration from Ben. Ben and Riley rescue her during a car chase, but Ian retains the document, which turns out to be a duplicate purchased alongside the real one. Agent Sadusky (Harvey Keitel) and a team of other FBI agents begin tracking Ben through his credit card purchase. Having left a trail, Ben, Riley, and Abigail are unable to return to the former's apartment, and instead begin to travel to Patrick's house.

Ben, Riley, and Abigail arrive at Patrick's home in Philadelphia. Despite Patrick's protests, Ben and Abigail start to review the Declaration, stating that it is simply a piece of animal skin, and find a Ottendorf cipher written in invisible ink on its back. The encrypted message references the Silence Dogood letters written by Benjamin Franklin, which Ben believes are owned by Patrick. When he asks Patrick for the letters, however, he discovers that he has recently donated them to the Franklin Institute. Ben, Abigail, and Riley use schoolchildren to acquire the key words from the letters, with a message pointing them to the bell tower of Independence Hall where the Liberty Bell was originally located. There, they find a hidden cache with a pair of spectacles with multiple colored lenses, which when used to read the back of the Declaration, reveal a clue: Heere at the Wall. They become aware that Ian and his agents have been following them, and the group splits up. Ben is arrested and interrogated by the FBI, while Abigail and Riley attempt to flee with the Declaration but lose it to Ian. Abigail is able to convince Ian to help them rescue Ben from the FBI in exchange for the next clue. Ian agrees, and arranges a meeting at theUSS Intrepid during which they engineer Ben's escape.

Ian then returns the Declaration and demands Ben provide the next clue, but Ben remains coy. Ian reveals they have captured Patrick, coercing Ben's cooperation, and directing them to the Trinity Church. Inside, they find a passage that leads deep underground. A room at the bottom is lit by a single lantern, which Patrick asserts refers to Paul Revere's Ride—a clue pointing to the Old North Church in Boston. Ian and his men ditch Ben, Abigail, Riley and Patrick and race to Boston, unaware that the clue was fake. Ben opens a secret door by an engraving of the all-seeing eye. Inside, they find a notch which the pipe from the Charlotte fits, opening onto a large chamber containing the national treasure, as well as a secondary passage to the surface. Once out of the church, Ben contacts Sadusky, and learns he is a Freemason; Ben returns the Declaration and the location of the treasure in exchange for their names being cleared of stealing the Declaration. Ben also informs Sadusky of his bluff to Ian, and the FBI are able to ambush Ian and his men and charge them with kidnapping, attempted murder, and trespassing on multiple government properties.

Later, Ben and Abigail have started a relationship, while Riley is somewhat upset that Ben turned down the 10% finder's fee for the treasure and accepting a much smaller amount that still has netted them all significant wealth.

After the movie, Patchy attempts to play it again but doesn't know how to play it. He and Potty press a lot of buttons on the remote but the tape wears out and comes pouring out of the player, causing Patchy to get tangled in it. The movie ends with the narrator saying to the viewers to get lost.

## Transcript

Sunny‘s Adventures of National Treasure/Transcript