National Treasure: How Nicholas Cage Betrayed Sean Bean

When we last left off, Sean Bean had just finished watching his good friend, Nick Cage, make off with the Declaration of Independence. If you recall, earlier in the film, Nick Cage had refused to steal the Declaration with Bean, and even went as far as to say "Ian [Sean Bean's Character], I'm not going to let YOU steal the Declaration of Independence." (apparently, that means that he will let himself steal the Declaration)

If you can also recall, these two were great friends, or at least business partners. When the entire historical community had turned against Nicholas Cage and his family, Sean Bean was right there, financing Cage's cooky dream.

But when the moment came, and big action needed to be taken, what happened to Bean? He was betrayed, as often happens, by his own friend. It'd be fine if it all ended there. But for Cage to then create his own plan to steal the Declaration without Bean is a literal stab to the back. Poor Sean Bean. All he wanted was to share in the glory with Cage, and Cage had to go out of his way to betray Bean and steal the Declaration for himself. It's a shame.


Do you see that look on Bean's face? That's the look of a man who has been betrayed. It's a look of genuine hurt.


So, getting back on track. We continue with the movie. With the Declaration stolen, naturally, the FBI will be on the case. They have video evidence showing Nick Cage steal the Declaration. So why are we labeling Bean the villain here? At this point in the movie, Bean hasn't even done anything illegal. (well, maybe trying to kill Nicholas Cage, but, I would argue, he didn't want to kill Cage in the first place, and really, he was protecting himself from Nick Cage betraying him)

And Cage is even captured by the FBI, with the FBI guy telling him that he has two options: 1) Go to jail for a really long time, or 2) Give back the Declaration, and go to jail for a really long time. As the FBI guy so succinctly puts it, "someone's has to go to jail." It's at this point that Cage pulls his biggest betrayal every by putting the frame on Sean Bean.

You see, at the end of the movie, Sean Bean goes to jail. Why? NICK CAGE STOLE THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE! He should be the one going to jail, not Sean Bean! And what makes this even more tragic is the fact that Sean Bean - always the class act - breaks Nick Cage out of FBI custody.

And even after being broken out of custody by Bean, Cage is still pulling his little tricks throughout the movie. Bean, true to his word, breaks Cage out, meets him at the correct spot, and, as per the deal they made, gives Cage back all his little trinkets as long as he tells him everything he knows. Bean follows the deal right to the letter. But Cage is always looking for the upper hand and betrays Sean Bean some more, leaving out important details and seemingly forgetting that he made a promise to Bean to tell him everything he knew.

Bean does everything for his old friend, and without Bean and his help, Cage would never have gotten the treasure. But at the end, Cage frames Bean for a crime he never committed (stealing the declaration of independence), and doesn't even give Bean credit for helping him find the treasure. And yet, we - the audience - came out of that movie thinking Cage was the hero. All I see here is a devious Nick Cage, a man who betrayed the trust of his friend, used his friend for money, and then kept the treasure and the glory for himself while pinning a crime that he should have gone to jail for on an innocent man. It isn't right.


Look at Bean in this picture again. He looks like he's about to cry. And I don't blame him. His good friend betrayed him, stole the treasure for himself, and left him out to dry. Remember this face. You'll see it again in other movies, I guarantee that.