# national treasure? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 8, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709 "2004-11-08T20:38:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709/21 "2004-11-09T02:50:27Z")
> [@citrus x paradisi](#): > > “Dan Brown ripoff?” > > C’mon, hasn’t anyone here besides **Cliffy** read Foucault’s Pendulum? I read it. I really don’t think the two are as similar as everyone makes out. Or, at least, any more similar than two books based off of the same “non-fiction” book (_Holy Blood, Holy Grail_) would be reasonably expected to be. The secrets that they are trying to unlock aren’t even really the same. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709/22 "2004-11-09T03:08:33Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > What makes me wonder what the f\*ck the writers were smoking was the scene of the treasure hunters driving across antarctica in giant snow cats. > . > . > . > . > . > . > . > . > So…our founding fathers…at some point between the writing of the Declaration of Independance, the Constitution, and fighting a couple wars, had time to go put a clue to some mysterious treasure on a forzen continent? And on a part of the continent that, even by today’s standards, is apparantly very hard to reach? 😕 Obviously, they are looking for the city of the old ones near the moutains of madness. The freemasons were Cthulhu Worshippers! Tekel-li! ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709/23 "2004-11-09T03:36:22Z")
Everyone knows what’s _really_ on the back of the Declaration of Independence is a nudie sketch Benjamin Franklin did of Martha Washington wearing the Star of the Sea necklace. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709/24 "2004-11-09T03:48:59Z")
Actually, I **hope** that this movie is the highest of high camp – _satirizing_ the Illuminati/conspiracy theorist garbage, and played straight for laughs. Promos, of course, are 99% action and come-on scenes, not indicative of the actual content of the movie except in the vaguest of ways – like promoing the Bible by excerpting the raciest quotes from the Song of Solomon and by the Battle of Armageddon. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709/25 "2004-11-09T04:01:47Z")
> [@HPL](#): > > Obviously, they are looking for the city of the old ones near the moutains of madness. The freemasons were Cthulhu Worshippers! Tekel-li! Holy crap coincidence, Batman! I jsut started reading the short story “At the Mountains of Madness.” So far…it’s boring and very verbose, and I don’t see what would be so scary about it. Altough it was written in, like, 1930, so people were easier to scre back then. “A mountain? In Antarctica? Taller than Everest? Ahhhhhh!!! I can take no more!” ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709/26 "2004-11-09T17:09:43Z")
> [@Exapno Mapcase](#): > > I hate it when movies absolutely depend on the stupidity of the audience for their very existence. > [@rexnervous](#): > > Wow, that sounds like what a Dan Brown novel depends on as well. These two must be related, somehow. > [@Dooku](#): > > They’re actually making The Da Vinci Code . . . I am not looking forward to the renewed ignorance fighting that will surely result from that one. I think that these movies and books depend on the audience’s ability to suspend disbelief, not on their stupidity. I don’t think anyone expects the audience to actually believe everything they see or hear…it’s entertainment, not a documentary. 🙂 I enjoyed the three Dan Brown books I’ve read quite a bit: they were good reads, and highly entertaining. > [@NDP](#): > > It also looks like an Indiana Jones wannabe. Agreed. And another reason for my disappointment. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709/27 "2004-11-09T17:43:33Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > Everyone knows what’s _really_ on the back of the Declaration of Independence is a nudie sketch Benjamin Franklin did of Martha Washington wearing the Star of the Sea necklace. Hee hee! Although if the drawing is by Nic Cage of that co-star of his - is that Diana Kruger, the woman who played Helen in the movie _Troy_? (didn’t see it) - it could be interesting… As for the movie - feh. Bottom line? If the plot is twisty enough and the characters engaging, I might end up watching an Indiana-Jones-like movie centered around a cache of Girl Scout cookies sequestered in some tree-house. What I hate about these types of movies: - When the plot is just about a race to a treasure and double-crosses, not a genuinely interesting (if not entirely plausible) need to get the hidden stuf, with a cool mystery to decode. - When the characters are bland (read Dan Brown for clear examples) or their quirkiness is laid-on with a trowel as a substitute for real character depth (see Armageddon). I love a good version of this type of movie, but suspect NT will not be in this category. FWIW, I have read that the idea for NT has been kicking around Hollywood for at least a decade - which suggests a few things: 1. It pre-dated DaVinci 2. The script sucked so bad that it couldn’t get made until exec’s decided to jump on the DaVinci bandwagon 3. Bruckheimer got it on the cheap and is attempting to razzle-dazzle his way into getting folks to want to see it (via big star = Cage, big caper = stealing DoI, lots of explosions, etc.) This doesn’t bode well, folks. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709/28 "2004-11-09T17:50:13Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > I want to know where they found that special dollar bill, you know, the one that has Benjamin Franklin and 100 on the front, and the pyramid and ONE on the back. I’m not defending the movie in any way (I think it looks horrendously bad), but the commercials show Cage looking over all of the currency ($1, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100), not just one bill with a $100 on the front and the $1 back. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709/29 "2004-11-09T17:55:46Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > I think that these movies and books depend on the audience’s ability to suspend disbelief In some cases, it it more accurate to say that they depend on the audience’s ability to hang disbelief by the neck until it is dead, dead, dead. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709/30 "2004-11-09T18:10:03Z")
> [@down by law](#): > > ummm, armegeddon? > > pearl harbor? > > kangaroo jack? Whoosh? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709/31 "2004-11-09T18:16:52Z")
I am only going to see this movie for Sean Bean, and no other reason. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709/32 "2004-11-09T18:21:10Z")
It sounds just like a Dirk Pitt book. I’m not sure which one is going to be better though. I will watch it, maybe at the cheap theater, or on DVD. I do like Cage though. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709/33 "2004-11-09T18:36:58Z")
Wait, wait, wait… _Foucault’s Pendulum_ and _DaVinci Code_ are supposed to be similar? FP was about three guys essentially making fun of the whole idea of massive conspiracies and then getting drawn into the game too much. DC was about… well, like somebody else said, it’s basically a redux of the _Holy Blood, Holy Grail_. Everytime I hear the title “National Treasure,” I keep thinking it’s a “National Lampoon” movie. I still haven’t quite gotten it that this movie is supposed to be serious. ---
**Author:** ![shadowfax33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@shadowfax33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shadowfax33)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709/34 "2004-11-09T18:46:58Z")
Hey, maybe we’re not the intended audience. It’s rated PG (not PG-13) which is something of a rarity in a movie that \*isn’t \* intended for kids. Both my sons (ages 11 and 8) are hot to see it. Granted, it’ll probably be pretty stupid, but that never stopped them from enjoying a movie! I gotta admit, though, I love the line in the promos: Did Bigfoot steal it? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709/35 "2004-11-09T19:22:20Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > I think that these movies and books depend on the audience’s ability to suspend disbelief, not on their stupidity. I don’t think anyone expects the audience to actually believe everything they see or hear…it’s entertainment, not a documentary. > > I enjoyed the three Dan Brown books I’ve read quite a bit: they were good reads, and highly entertaining. I normally would agree if I hadn’t gotten beaten over the head from people _swearing_ that The Da Vinci Code was a holy bastion of truth. Making things worse is that when I looked at Dan Brown’s [website](http://www.danbrown.com/), I’ll be damned if he doesn’t actually believe it himself. If one of the books you read was Deception Point, I’d like to talk to you about a plot hole in there so large I could ride an alien bug through it. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709/36 "2004-11-09T19:43:30Z")
> [@audiobottle](#): > > well, like somebody else said, it’s basically a redux of the _Holy Blood, Holy Grail_. Or, as my friends like to refer to it, _Holy Blood, Holy Grail, Holy Shit!_ ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709/37 "2004-11-09T19:46:29Z")
Watching the commercials all I could think of was “Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr and numerous other founders all died broke and deeply in debt when they knew that this treasure existed? Just a handful or two would have kept them solvent” or “A brand new country that is so broke it has to borrow money from every nation in Europe just to meet operating expenses is sitting on ‘the largest treasure of all time’”. It could happen. And Thomas Jefferson might fly out my butt. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709/38 "2004-11-09T21:46:57Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Watching the commercials all I could think of was “Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr and numerous other founders all died broke and deeply in debt when they knew that this treasure existed? Just a handful or two would have kept them solvent” or “A brand new country that is so broke it has to borrow money from every nation in Europe just to meet operating expenses is sitting on ‘the largest treasure of all time’”. It could happen. And Thomas Jefferson might fly out my butt. I’m sure at the end, the treasure will turn out to be someting corny and hackneyed. Like Lincoln’s Gold from The Simpsons. “You have come seeking my gold, and you shall find it. It’s in the heart of every red-blooded American. Oh, isn’t that cute, it’s a metaphor!” ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709/39 "2004-11-09T22:30:13Z")
> [@Steve MB](#): > > In some cases, it it more accurate to say that they depend on the audience’s ability to hang disbelief by the neck until it is dead, dead, dead. True, true. But still and all, it’s just fiction. > [@Edward The Head](#): > > It sounds just like a Dirk Pitt book. Nah, there are no boats or underwater vessels featured prominently and there’s no short Italian sidekick. 😉 > [@Dooku](#): > > I normally would agree if I hadn’t gotten beaten over the head from people swearing that The Da Vinci Code was a holy bastion of truth. Well, that’s an entirely different kind of ignorance that needs to be fought. 😃 I did read _Deception Point_, but honestly I’m not concerned with plot holes or inconsistencies. It was a good read, and I was relieved that it wasn’t another _DaVinci Code/Angels & Demons_ (which are practically the same book, after all). ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709/40 "2004-11-10T02:36:10Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > honestly I’m not concerned with plot holes or inconsistencies. Aaarrgghh! The pain! The pain! Make it stop! Make it STOP! Two plus two is five! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-treasure/273709.md?page=3)