National Treasure (2004)

Benjamin Franklin Gates is an American historian, cryptographer, and treasure hunter. When Ben was young, his grandfather John told him that Charles Carroll passed on a secret to their ancestor in 1832, of a fabled national treasure hidden in America by the Knights Templar, Founding Fathers, and Freemasons. The clue leading to the treasure is the phrase “The secret lies with Charlotte”. While Ben is convinced by the story, his skeptical father Patrick dismisses it as nonsense. Thirty years later, Ben and his friend, computer expert Riley Poole, head an expedition financed by wealthy Ian Howe to find the Charlotte, revealed to be a ship lost in the arctic. Within, they find a meerschaum pipe, whose engravings reveal the next clue is on the Declaration of Independence. When Ian reveals himself to be a crime boss and suggests stealing the Declaration, a fight ensues, and the group splits.

Ben and Riley report Ian’s plan to the FBI, and to Dr. Abigail Chase of the National Archives, but no one believes their claim. Ben decides to protect the Declaration by removing it from the Archives’ preservation room during a gala event. Obtaining Abigail’s fingerprints, Ben successfully obtains the Declaration, but is spotted by Ian’s group just as they break in to steal it. Ben tries to leave via the gift shop, but has to buy the Declaration when the clerk mistakes it for a souvenir copy. Abigail, suspecting something is amiss, confronts Ben and takes back the document. Ian promptly kidnaps her, but Ben and Riley rescue Abigail, tricking Ian by leaving behind a souvenir copy of the Declaration. FBI Agent Sadusky begins tracking Ben down.