National Treasure (PG-13)
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This came out in 2004, and I'm sure I saw it not too long after that, but I wasn't wild about it. Still, over the years at some point I thought I should watch it again to write a review, and I finally did so in 2024.

The movie begins in 1974, when a boy named Ben Gates is exploring his grandfather's attic. When his grandfather finds him there, he tells Ben the story of a vast treasure that had been fought over for thousands of years, which was eventually found and protected by the Knights Templar, who formed a society called the Freemasons. Eventually the treasure was hidden somewhere in America, and in 1832, a Freemason named Charles Carroll passed a clue to the treasure's location to his stable boy, Thomas Gates, who was an ancestor of Ben.

Thirty years later, Ben (Nicolas Cage) follows that clue to a ship buried under ice in the Arctic. His expedition was funded by a man named Ian Howe (Sean Bean), and includes some of Howe's men, as well as Ben's friend, Riley Poole. While exploring the ship, they find the second clue to the treasure's location, and learn that the third clue is written in invisible ink on the back of the Declaration of Independence. Howe wants to steal the document, but Ben says he won't let him, so Howe tries to kill Ben and Riley. But they manage to escape, and try to warn the FBI about Howe's plans, but they don't believe them. Ben and Riley later try to warn an employee of the National Archives named Dr. Abigail Chase, but she doesn't believe them either. So, Ben decides the only way to protect the Declaration is for them to steal it before Howe can.

Ben and Riley, as well as Howe's team, each try to steal the Declaration during a gala at the National Archives, and Ben gets to it first. As he tries to leave the building, he's spotted by Abigail, who follows him, and ends up being kidnapped by Howe. Ben and Riley rescue her, and she gets caught up in their search for the treasure. Howe continues to pursue them, as does the FBI, led by Agent Peter Sadusky (Harvey Keitel). There are more clues for Ben, Riley, and Abigail to follow, but I don't want to spoil any more details of the plot, not even whether or not they eventually find the treasure.

So, I don't know what else to say except that the whole movie is utterly preposterous. Not one thing about it was remotely plausible. But it was a bit more fun than I remembered.

Followed by "National Treasure: Book of Secrets"