Provided an opinion piece about National Treasure for Ramble On, a new arts and culture magazine at the College of William & Mary (2019).
After receiving a 45 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, I think it is safe to say that the 2004 American adventure film, National Treasure, had its fair share of problems. Despite this, it was nominated for multiple awards, like the BMI Film & TV Awards for musical score, the Visual Effects Society Awards for best use of models and miniatures, and the World Stunt Awards for Diane Kruger’s deserving stunt-work in kissing Nicolas Cage. The driving force in the film is Benjamin Franklin Gates’ (Nicolas Cage) ego. But first, I believe it would be a disservice if we did not spend a brief moment to touch on the names of these characters. The entire Gates family seems to have taken a page out of Harry Potter’s book. Benjamin Gates’ father is named Patrick Henry Gates, and his grandfather is named John Adams Gates. I feel like this is a concept that we as a society have just collectively suppressed. In conclusion, the Gates family are all big nerds. But back to Benjamin Gates’ ego: Ben spends the entire movie trying to find a treasure of jewels, precious metals, artifacts, big blue man statues, etc. left by the Knights of Templar. This all began when Mr. Charles Carroll (Terrence Currier), the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence confides in his coachman, Thomas Gates (Jason Earles), that there is a treasure and the secret of it lies with Charlotte. Thomas Gates takes this information and decides to name all of his children weird historic names, guaranteeing that they will be bullied and ridiculed in years to come.
Comments