Lets go over the plot real quick to refresh your memory about this gem of a movie. Nicholas Cage (the hero) & Sean Bean (the villain) are working together to find this treasure. Sean Bean "betrays" Cage, goes out to steal the Declaration, and without the heroics of Cage, would've gotten away with it to. But was that really what happened in the movie?
Lets go through this movie step by step. In the beginning, we're introduced to these two treasure hunters; Nicholas Cage playing the academic, and Sean Bean playing the financier. Check out that equipment they have. You think broke-ass Nick Cage could pay for all that? Hell no. Sean Bean paid for everything. Now, at the beginning, these two seem like great friends. They're laughing it up, having a good time. So far, so good.
But then, we come to the turning point of the movie. Once Cage figures out that the next clue is on the back of the Declaration of Independence, Bean, being the resourceful man and good friend of Cage, decides that he'll set up the operation to steal the Declaration. Here is Nicholas Cage, who has spent his entire life trying to get this treasure, who is right on the cusp of getting the treasure together with his good friend, and what does he say. He says no, and essentially says, "not only am I not gonna steal the Declaration of Independence with you, I'm gonna snitch on you and make sure you can't get it either."
Ok, so we're that far. If you need a recap, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ciUNC3U3I4, forward to 8 Minutes into the video, and watch Sean Bean get betrayed by his own friend.
Now, of course, Sean Bean is going to go get the Declaration of Independence on his own. After all, his good friend, Nick Cage, decided he wanted no part of it. But in perhaps the most bizzare twist in the movie, Nicholas Cage, after being so adamant against stealing the Declaration, decides that he's going to steal it before Bean can get his hands on it. Wait, what!? Why didn't Cage just work together with his friend like Sean Bean originally wanted. How does it make sense to steal something that you were against stealing in the first place? Essentially, Cage is just out to spite Bean.
And Cage steals the declaration thinking he's the good guy. His reasoning, essentially is similar to this: "In order to stop this bank from being robbed, I'm going to rob it first!" And take a look at Sean Bean's face when he walks in to see his once dear friend with the Declaration. You can see how confused he is to see him there, not confused because he thought Cage was dead, but confused at why Cage decided that he didn't want to steal the Declaration, then suddenly changed his mind and decided to steal it by himself.
It's the look of being betrayed, the look of man who was far too trusting and not quite understanding what he did to deserve this. You'll see this look on his face many more times, not just in this movie, but in almost all his movies. I'll continue some more later, but I've laid the foundation for how this movie pulled the biggest fast one on us we've ever seen and tricked us into believing Nick Cage was the hero, and Sean Bean was the villain, when in reality, Sean Bean was the one betrayed and played like a fool.
To Be Continued...
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