Everything Wrong With National Treasure In 13 Minutes Or Less 

Let’s be fully honest with ourselves, the line “I’m gonna steal the Declaration of Independence” is worth taking at least five sins off for how horribly perfect it is.

To me, this movie is one of those movies you watched a ton as a kid and you absolutely loved it. And despite the fact you notice all the faults it has and such, you can't help but love it -- purely because of nostalgia.

"I'm going to steal the Declaration of Independence." Sean Bean- "One does not simply walk into Mordor."

What if Nicolas Cage stumbled across a secret society that wanted to steal the declaration in real life, and he made this movie to warn us about it?

Don't know why, I still enjoy this movie.

Damn, I forgot how much plot convenience this movie relies on.

Cinema Sins: everything wrong with National Treasure Me: okay, you've officially taken it too far buddy

How on earth didn't you sin the fact that the "2:20 PM position" of the shadow would depend on the time of year, given the earth's axial tilt?

Sin: Nicholas Cage is not being attacked by bees.

This dudes voice is in my head whenever I watch a movie

CinemaSins Sin: gunpowder lights just fine in frozen conditions, even hundreds of years old.

John Hancock signed his name as large as he did on the Declaration of Independence to make sure King George III could read it with out his glasses

The universe is crying because Sean Bean's name doesn't rhyme.

Sean Bean is later killed in prison in the directors cut. ...just kidding. We all needed a Sean Bean joke about him dying. You can go on now.

I can’t believe he missed the fact that Abigail hasn’t washed or wiped her hands once since touching the coin before she came to type her password. She hasn’t touched enough of other things to have all the residue naturally get wiped off of her fingers.

"Jesus, this henchman must be FROM Philadelphia!" 😂😂😂

3:16 This was something I actually thought about. In reality, you can't see lasers in air because light has to bounce off something in order to be reflected to your eyes. At raves or light shows they pump smoke into the air so that the entire trail the laser takes can be seen. So, in reality, that laser is probably invisible and is being shown for the viewer's sake.

"Amazing it still burns"? Cold dries things out, making them EASIER to burn. Just ask any Antarctic scientist.

“Why would you steal the Declaration?? Just tell the FBI!!!” **3 minutes later** “Of course the FBI wouldn’t believe them!!!”

Sins; The bell in the Tower is not the Liberty Bell, its the Centennial Bell. The Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, at which point the Liberty bell was located in the old wooden steeple of Independence Hall. The steeple was pulled down in 1781 and the bell moved to the lower brick part of the steeple with the existing tower seen in the film not being added until 1828. The wings of the building were demolished and rebuilt in 1812, and then later in 1898. Basically no information, maps or guides used in the film should have had any real relation to the current building at the time they were written. The Liberty Bell wasn't called such until 1835, and wasn't really considered a national symbol until around 1865 after Lincoln's death. So no one involved with the Declaration would have called it the 'Liberty Bell' nor regarded it as anything special.

3:16 This one isn't a sin, really. It's an invisible beam that is being shown for the sake of the viewer knowing what's going on. It'd been more of a sin not to show it, you'd just see Riley point the camera at an old lady and press a button that does nothing.

That awkward moment when CinemaSins realizes 300 came out 3 years after National Treasure, thus nullifying it's 3rd sin.

Honestly I wish they made more of these. They weren’t flawless but they were very entertaining

This was one of my favorites as a kid! I know a lot of people gave it shit for being so "ridiculous" but to me I loved the adventure and how it felt like they were living the dream. I'll always get goose bumps when he says "I'm going to steal the Declaration of Independence" and at the end when he lights up the room 💙 also Riley is a mood and I love him 🤣

I remember having a huge crush on that sidekick guy

It almost makes me think that in the original script, Riley was working for the bad guys, which would explain how they keep getting the info they need. You might even say that the attempted murder at the beginning was all a ruse to get Ben to trust Riley more by them surviving together, and then Riley could keep tabs on Ben. And if the idea was supposed to be that the bad guys were smart enough not to need all the clues, why did they keep ending up one step behind?

The Silence Dogood letters were existing documents when they decided to use them as the key. They were not written as a part of the plan to make a key. You DID have a great point with the bad guys not knowing the DoI would be in the repair room though. I never caught that.

It always bugged me, too, how not only did they happen to luck out with a sunny day so the shadow could fall on the bricks, but it's completely unrealistic to assume they also lucked out getting the right day in the right season. The sun's angle drastically changes over the course of a year, so that's a lot of freaking luck.

The main plot hole I noticed was that Ben's father said "And that clue will lead to another clue" and that he spent like 20 years searching and didn't even know Charlotte was a ship. That was only the first clue, so he had no way of knowing that there would be a chain. Instead of dismissing the treasure as a myth, he should be overjoyed that any semblance of progress was made, since he was useless.

Every frame of this movie is a masterpiece dammit.

Sin: Reilly grinding the gears in his new car

I really love this movie, saw it way too many times when it first came out on dvd, but I just watched it again and now I can't stop noticing everything that was pointed out in this video.

I'm sinning CinemaSins for overlooking the obvious sin of the treasure room exit that would have been an easy entrance.

According to a simple google search, Benjamin Franklin *is* the first person to ***suggest*** a concept of daylight savings time. Albeit, he did it as a joke: "American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin wrote an essay called “An Economical Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light” to the editor of The Journal of Paris in 1784. In the essay, he suggested, although jokingly, that Parisians could economize candle usage by getting people out of bed earlier in the morning, making use of the natural morning light instead." So the movie isn't totally wrong.

My favorite is when Abigail stops him from using the lemons on the Declaration, we see Ben just about to straight up douse it in lemon juices with no tact whatsoever.

The fact that the bad guys manage to keep up the entire time is completely inconceivable

All jokes aside the treasure room scene was seriously lit.

Despite all its flaws, it's one of those movies I could watch again and again.

“Go tell the FBI who Ian is and what he plans to do. They’ll take care of him.” Two seconds later “We shouldn’t be upset with the FBI for ignoring their tips. It was two dudes with no evidence.”

Sin: Riley grinding the Ferrari’s gears

I loved the National Treasure movies as a kid. :3

Cinema sins criticize the good guys not going to warn the FBI, then later has a go at the FBI for not responding to the tip they got.

fav line from the movie: "I'm hungry... This car smells weird."

About all the lack of security... I'd argue it's pretty accurate. I've always been a curious person, and I've casually wandered into some pretty crazy places without any bother. Store warehouses, construction sites, I once ended up in the back area of an aquarium here in FL, ran into 3 employees and casually just said hi and was polite and not one of them asked me to leave... lol Think about it, as a normal everyday citizen if you see someone walk somewhere odd, do you immediately call security or the police? No, you just assume it's someone else's problem and go on with your day. Sad but true. I've walked into secure places at a few places I wont mention and was VERY surprised at how little security there is, or how bad they are at their jobs. Just look at how many people get away with casual shoplifting in stores filled with cameras and who have security whose sole job it is to prevent theft, but people just casually grab stuff and leave. I think the lack of security in movies is very accurate, and I have my own living proof of it. I used to be a "rooftopper" with my girlfriend, until someone we followed on social media died, but Google Angela Nikolau for an example of what we would do. It involves bypassing a lot of security to climb buildings or cranes, or towers for fun. But surprisingly, again, it's less mission impossible, and more a casual stroll. People just don't care. They don't. Everywhere I've been, I've never been arrested or aggressively removed from anywhere, I've been asked nicely to leave or what I'm doing, and that is it. Sometimes if you're polite and honest, and just say you're curious and just harmlessly wandering, some people have left me alone, or offered me a tour (Behind the scenes at Busch Gardens, a girl gave me a tour a showed me where the giraffes sleep. Super cool girl. Very nice.). It just comes down to the word I keep using "casual" be casual, don't act suspicious or nervous and you'll be okay. If someone sees you, don't avoid them, look at them and wave or acknowledge them. Be cordial and respectful, and if you're confronted be respectful and see their position, "Hi, I'm just a curious person. If you'd like me to leave, I understand but I'm just so curious about this stuff, I bet you see cool stuff all the time working here! Tell me about some on our way out?" and you'll be surprised how often a bored employee will say fuck it and show you around, or let you go with a promise to not get into trouble. Acknowledge you understand the rules, not touching stuff, be careful, be respectful, and they will see you aren't gonna break anything or get hurt. Most places are off limits because people are idiots, show you aren't an idiot, and you'll be welcome. Have fun, stay safe and don't break the law. If someone asks you to leave. Leave. But be kind about it, they may change their mind! Get out there and SEE ALL THE THINGS!

I love this movie.

How about the fact if they'd actually rolled the Declaration up, it'd have probably fallen apart in their hands? Or would parchment have held up better than modern paper? I actually don't know this one...

Justin's voice is perfect for narration, Cinemasins is AWESOME!

2:03 Actually, John Hancock signed it big so King George III could read the Declaration of Independence without his spectacles🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

The bit about the cipher in the letters, the information wasn't IN the letters when they were written, it was an Ottendorf cipher, which can use any book or set of papers.

Everything wrong with Sharknado 1 and 2!!

8:56 Also, silencers (which are actually called suppressors) don't actually work like that anyway, only in the movies do they completely silence guns, in real life everybody within half a mile would still have heard gun shots. But still, I love this movie and the sequel and I hope they'll eventually get around to making the next one.

“The cake is a lie, am I right?” This subtle Portal reference literally made my day and I will now always think about Portal during that scene.

Genius, the letters in the Silence Dogood letters we used as part of the cipher AFTER they were written. That is how Ottendorf Ciphers work. Duh.

Can I just point out that, for fifteen years, the nuclear launch code was "00000000"? Now THAT is an insecure password.

"New lovers are almost always f*ck faces." Wow, was that last line a sin or a statement of fact? haha

Cinemasins: They should have just told the FBI. Also Cinemasins: Of course the FBI wouldn't believe them, they were just two people with a crazy story!

11:25 why would he be worried about booby traps? this whole treasure hunt had no booby traps whatsoever, we are talking about freemasons, not egyptians or mayans.

"john Hancock was a dick to space" bahahahaha too funny I almost had my chicken soup come out my nose laughing so hard

Sean Bean survives the entire movie without dying...

Bless you for pointing out the fact that Ian's plan revolved around getting the declaration down to the restoration room but not showing how he would know it was down there when he breaks in

There's also the fact that the ending scene of the movie that is set at "The Old North Church" is actually filmed in California, despite almost all the other scenes in the movie being set at the actual monuments/places.

Around 7:30 you should have dinged them for not acknowledging that the sun is in different places at the same time of day during different times of the year. 2:22 PM on June 10, for example, will be in a different spot than it will on 2:22 PM on December 10, so they wouldn't have a clue where to look in regard to where the sun would be on the day the clue giver had in mind...

That jibe at the last about new lovers seems to me to have a strong aroma of bitterness mixed with regret, tinged with some personal experience unfavorably remembered...

Have visited Independence Hall and Liberty Bell. The fact they make it from the clothing store to the area and to the top of the tower while having to buy tickets for a tour in between all in less than half an hour is crazy. Also Ian gets to the Liberty Bell in similar time, and that line was ridiculously long when I visited also.

Are we gonna ignore the fact they found the Charlotte a foot under the snow

Another thing wrong with this movie - there is 0 chance that they ran from 5th and Chestnut to City Hall, which is on fuckin' close to 13 miles away.

This is one of my favorite movies. I watched it a lot of times.

5:30 you mention "It just so happens to have a clue about the treasure". NO! It was just used as a cipher. Any book or text can be used as a cipher if enough text is present. I'm surprised you put this into your review. The rest was pretty funny though.

You missed how when Abigail put the password in on the keyboard, she didn't actually type, "Valley Forge."

Has anyone noticed that Nicholas Cage doesn't freak out once in this movie? I feel like that's the biggest sin.

this guy is a genius and it makes more sense now I just like how he adds the facts that were missed out.

I really love this movie, still💖

Also towards the beginning when Ben explained, "They are not going to heed a warning about something they think is safe." You should have said that Ben would be good at cinema sins.

Cold and dry is the perfect conditions to store gunpowder, getting wet from humidity is what ruins it. Just sayin... -ding

Dude this movie and the sequel are national treasures themselves. I love the movies. I own both on DVD.

one of my favourite movies,its so charming and its a fun little history test..

National Treasure is one of my all time favorite movies... one of the kind I could watch again and again. It's OK for a movie to have plot holes. Good stories often aren't particularly realistic. They're fantasies... and fantasies are more about the glamour of an idea than the plausibility of a plot. For me, National Treasure evoked a sense of wonder. That said, of course... it's very corny if you really think about it too much... and this video is entertaining.

Because John Hancock wrote his name so much bigger than the others "John Hancock" became a synonym for a signature. It used to be anyways, haven't heard it much lately.

This is a great movie, I can’t be told otherwise

Yes! National Treasure is one of my favourite films, but I;ve always wondered; What the hell was Ian's plan? He didn't know about the preservation room, and even if he did, he didn't know about Ben and Riley;s plan to get the Declaration put there.

10% is too much? only in cinema will someone turn down a shit ton of money because its "too much". in terms of money you can NEVER have enough of that. its like that bullshit money doesnt buy happiness. the way i see it i would rather be rich and miserable than poor and miserable. at least if im rich i can find plenty of ways to help cheer myself up. yeah ide be so unhapy and pouting on the beach outside my private mansion sipping a mojito with the only strenuous thing to do in my life being to apply sun screen and flip over as i work on my tan. yeah such a hardship but im sure i can manage ;D

Technically, Benjamin Franklin was actually the first person to suggest daylight savings time in 1874, except he was not taken seriously until 1895, when George Vernon Hudson set the plan in motion, but the latter suggested a two-hour shift instead of the conventional one. So the movie was in reality, correct.

The outtakes were the BEST! :D

Had so many of these same questions running through my head. But still enjoyed the movie

Wait Sean Bean doesn't die in this? No he has to die, he always dies.. Maybe in the credits?

Dude, the painting on the back of the hundred was done in the 1780s. It doesn't matter that the $100 was printed in 1928.

I love Cinema Sins and I love National Treasure.........and any movie with Sean Bean and Diane Kruger

Seeing as how this was posted in 2014 I don't think you'll read this but in case you do thank you. I love your channel and no matter my day is always brings you always bring a smile to my face. Happy New Year brother.

Nicolas used his Cage-Card to buy the Declaration of Independence.

say what you will, this is still one of my favorite movies of all time

Two other things to point out: Are we really supposed to believe that Ben manages to undo all the screws in the Declaration case and put it in the sleeve in a 5 second elevator ride? In that same regard, why did no one notice the empty case until the FBI searched the building. No one used the elevator or saw it as he came out? There’s only so many hiding places in one of those things

The Stan part at the end was hilarious

I like how the video points out early on that they didn't need to steal the Declaration because they could have just notified the FBI and waited for Ian to get caught trying to steal it, then it goes on to acknowledge the fact that Gates did tip off the FBI and they totally weren't at fault for not believing him. +5 sins to CinemaSins.

Please keep making these videos forever.

I love this movie. it's still one of my favorites 😍.

I actually really enjoy this movie, but I still love your video!

Just do "Everything Wrong with Nicolas Cage". Not just his movies, but any and everything that he has even breathed on.

The scene with the shadow from the clock tower really bother's me. The shadow would be a different angle every day of the year. Just like in celestial navigation you would need a sight reduction table. The shadow would only be right twice a year.

I never needed this, but I needed this.

Man! You rocked!! I was just blown away!! Don't know how the 12:40 minutes just flew!! In love with your work. Kudos! Would love to hear back to this comment if you can!