National Treasure

Modern treasure hunters, led by archaeologist Ben Gates, search for a chest of riches rumored to have been stashed away by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin during the Revolutionary War. The chest's whereabouts may lie in secret clues embedded in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, and Gates is in a race to find the gold before his enemies do.

Critics largely dismissed National Treasure as too preposterous to take seriously, landing it well below the midpoint of mixed-to-negative professional opinion. Audiences disagreed sharply, embracing it as a crowd-pleasing adventure romp — a gap between critical and popular reception that has only widened as the film built a lasting fan base.