![]() ![]() There’s an opportunity here to preserve the same energy that the original movies have, the same reverence for history and the interconnectedness of everything in our country, while also telling the ugly truth. Giving the story more time to breathe in a 10-episode format might even allow for a more nuanced and critical portrayal of history. In that way, I hope to see the Edge of History series grapple with the complexities of history in a way that the original film didn’t, focusing instead on how each clue can fit together while exploring the more general (and controversial) theme of American exceptionalism. That was a superpower, and I wanted to wield it. Instead, I think of the feeling I got when the score swelled and Ben Gates figured out a clue, based only on his knowledge of the past. In fact, this was my first experience with his work, so I was pretty shocked to see that the guy I perceived as a fairly straightforward Hollywood actor growing up had put out something like Face/Off. When I think of this movie, I don’t think of Nicolas Cage’s more subdued performance, which only briefly breaks into a characteristic yell. History has always been my favorite subject, spurred on by enthusiastic teachers who brought the past into the present. History can actually be a tool that the hero uses in action movies, like hacking or martial arts, and for a kid who was much more interested in reading than typing at the computer or punching and kicking things, I now felt like there was a place for me in the action pantheon. National Treasure made me believe that history is cool. And although the movie’s historical accuracy is questionable at best, it was the treatment of that fictional history that stood out. I can quote the movie backwards and forwards, the specific cadences of the line readings burned into my memory. We even took the National Treasure: Book of Secrets tour of Mount Vernon where I could walk through the same secret tunnels that Nic Cage did. My family traveled to the Intrepid aircraft carrier in New York City or Independence Hall in Philadelphia, spurred on by our mutual love of these locations as setpieces. And I’m one of the biggest National Treasure fans out there-since seeing the movie for the first time at eight years old, I was hooked on the combination between action-movie hijinks and intellectual problem-solving. Hot take, but hear me out: I truly don’t think that Nicolas Cage is the most important thing about the National Treasure movies. But something rubbed me the wrong way, and I think it’s because the characters themselves weren’t what created the movies’ enduring spirit. This reaction was understandable-I’m defensive of these movies and hoping for a sequel, and I love a good Nic Cage freakout. When the title for the new TV series was announced on July 6, many clamored for the return of series-star Cage in some way. Though more information will be given at the San Diego Comic-Con panel on July 21, we can expect that the adventure will be self-contained: according to Collider, it will be set in the world of National Treasure, but somewhat independent of the film’s events. The series will follow a new character, DREAMer Jess Morales (Lisette Olivera), and feature a younger cast, with Bartha returning as Riley. While there are conflicting accounts of whether or not a third movie will ever be made, there is something else on the horizon: the 10-episode Disney+ series National Treasure: Edge of History. There are always more secrets to be uncovered, though, which resulted in a sequel and a fairly devoted fanbase hoping for more. The team succeeds in finding the treasure, constantly described as too large for any one person to have, and they give the findings-statues, scrolls, and more-to various museums. The film is a fast-paced treasure hunt, with various connections to historical documents and events: the back of the Declaration has a cypher written in invisible ink, the Silence Dogood letters are used as a key for that cypher, and so on. After a disagreement with former treasure-hunting partner Ian Howe (Sean Bean), Ben’s search brings him to D.C.’s National Archives, where he and his partner-in-crime Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) try to explain to archivist Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger) that Howe is going to steal the Declaration. (No, really.) The film, followed by 2007’s National Treasure: Book of Secrets, is a strange mix of early-2000s action machismo combined with historical revisionism: Benjamin Franklin Gates (yes, that is his full name), played by Nicolas Cage, seeks to avenge his family name by finding a world-spanning treasure that was hidden by Freemasons. “I’m gonna steal the Declaration of Independence.”īut National Treasure, the 2004 Jon Turteltaub-helmed film, is more than a meme. It’s the line that launched a thousand memes: ![]()
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