What do you get when you cross Indiana Jones with Rodney Dangerfield? A treasure-hunter who gets no respect. In National Treasure that individual has a name: Benjamin Franklin Gates. For generations his family has searched in vain for a vast fortune believed to have been smuggled out of Europe and hidden in the colonies by our Founding Fathers. One of Ben’s ancestors received a cryptic message that has kept the Gateses obsessed for centuries, though all they’ve earned for their faith and perseverance is a reputation as crackpots. After 20 “wasted years” Ben’s father is fed up with the legend. But Ben can’t shake his grandfather’s stories and refuses to call off the search.
Funded by the wealthy, crafty Ian Howe (a greedy man of questionable loyalties) and aided by a computer-savvy sidekick named Riley, Ben uncovers a pivotal clue only to have the impatient Ian turn on him. He and Riley narrowly escape with their lives.
Then they hatch a scheme to thwart Ian’s selfish pursuit of the treasure, one that begins with protecting the Declaration of Independence—by stealing it. Unwittingly swept up in the chaos is Abigail, a lovely National Archives conservator. National Treasure is an entertaining action/mystery that baits the audience clue by clue and chase by chase, and may even inspire young fans to pay more attention in history class.