MovieChat Forums > National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007) Discussion > Plot holes, mistakes, and general stupid...

Plot holes, mistakes, and general stupidities!!! (a list for fun)

posted 17 years ago by loveistheonlyway
159 replies | jump to latest

I *LOVE* this movie, but sometimes it's fun to just look through our favorites and find what's wrong with them (like in Harry Potter, one of my favorite book series EVER: why can't he see the thestrels in his first four years at Hogwarts? Why did Harry's father come out of Voldy's wand before his mother in Prior Incantatem? But I digress ;-)

This board really took off over on Andromeda Strain, so I thought we should try it here!

This is a list of plot holes, mistakes, and general stupidities we found as we watched (and rewatched) the movie. No criticizing, getting angry, or correcting the list please: this is all for fun!

I'll start:

1) During the car chase in London, Riley had his MacBook, which has a webcam in it, so why bother running the red light? Why not just take a picture of the plank with his webcam?

2) How does finding the city of gold prove innocence? He still could have been in league with the KGC!

3) with the Lincoln assassination scene: In reality, nobody heard the gun go off. People were laughing too loudly (and Booth knew to shoot him then because he was an actor and was familiar with the play).

[–] Lone_stranger 17 years ago

I don't understand why they went through so much trouble breaking in to Buckingham Palace and the White House. It's not like they were doing anything illegal, and they already had the FBI sort of working with them trying to get Wilkinson, so why not just ask to see it? They are famous historians after all. The second thing I noticed is that when they are trying to break the cipher in the beginning, they do it by manually entering words and seeing if they work. Any semi competent code breaker would just run some sort of dictionary hack. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about anything.

Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K.

[–] woodpusher 17 years ago

Breaking the code required supervised decryption. They didn't even get all the letters of "Laboulaye" -- wasn't it "Labo--l-ye" or some such? In real life they might have had to run down a few blind alleys before they found the real key.

[–] twolfb 17 years ago

I know u said no corrections but I can't help it. Abigale's Cell Phone said Patrick Gates because he was calling from his fathers phone.

[–] imdbhajen 17 years ago

(random number) When they get "arrested" in london, they are forced to leave their personal belongings, which obviously can be traced back to them. Maybe Gates thought about this since he was planning on getting caught, but his girlfriend was not in on it, and her wallet and her ID is still in the custody of the Buchingham Palace security.

<I'll buy that for a dollar!>

[–] Zombie14 17 years ago

so the president of the USA managed to figure out the desk code and get the plank of wood out but the Queen of england never noticed this or no one called her to say hey we have the same desk mabye you have a plank of wood in yours???

"Just another freak, in the freak kingdom"

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] rizdek 17 years ago

This is not unique to this film. But I noticed that the ancient mechanisms that operated the various doors and gates in South Dakota all "worked." Just think of the maintenance needed to keep todays dam gates, locks and other heavy mechanisms operational and those built with modern materials and lubricants. No way would some lever in a hole in a rock cause some door to open at that long distance (when he stuck his hand in the hole in the rock). And no way would a 500 year old turn wheel still move the gates that would close off the water when all they had to build it with would have been ropes, timbers and rocks.

But many movies have these kind of ancient mechanisms all working smoothly and I enjoy them with "suspended disbelief."

my god its full of stars

[–] squa97 17 years ago

This film was miserable with its plot holes. I don't know the numbering system here but I think we were in the 20's so...

30. Wilkinson's character development was all over the board. You never know why he was trying to make his mark on history. Was he really descended from a Confederate general? Was he embarrassed by this because the South lost the war? He has henchmen and equipment that clones cel phones because...? I think a major plot point must have been changed midway through filming because he was setup to be a highly financed badass who turned out to be a chump.

31. The final room needs to be kept open or both rooms will fill with water and everyone drowns. Yet, once the door gets shut and Wilkinson stays behind, there is a daylight at the end of a tunnel that looks like it would easily dump any water out of the cavern. Was there an external door that opened when the interior door shut, like some sort of hydro-lock? I could really use a diagram here.

32. Why couldn't Wilkinson go back to the main chamber and wait for help to arrive? The water would never fill that room. It had been flowing when they arrived and the room was dry enough to light the oil on fire. Sure he had to go up the flight of stairs, but they would have been flooded, so just a little swim.

33. The President is the only man on the planet with access to the Secret Book, yet he's never read it and needs to ask Ben about the contents of page 47, which are never revealed to the audience or even to the guy who painstakingly researched it.

34. Cliche: Computer hackers can manipulate any professional security system using an iPhone from a bathroom stall.

35. Back to the water: It was dripping from the ceiling of the "City of Gold" yet they enter in the middle of the room. It would have taken a considerable amount of time for that room to completely empty, especially since the drainage tunnel was closed when they go to it.

36. A 5 letter word breaks the code on the first cipher...hmmm...did they try "Apple"?

37. The President has a well known list of possible birthday party sites that can be completely booked in an afternoon. Nothing suspicious there.

38. There are no cops or repurcusions for destroying half of London. You can just fly home.

----------------------
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?
http://www.cafepress.com/yojay/1486817

[–] woodpusher 17 years ago

I got that the President had read the book, including page 47, but page 47 presents a puzzle that the President cannot solve -- he requires Ben's help.

Of course others on this forum have posited that page 47 includes instructions to the next President of the United States, and that the President wants Ben to be his successor. It's a possibility but unlikely in my mind.

I'm surprised they didn't try Latin words...equus, copiae (copia would be the singular). Death is mors -- the genitive though is mortis and the ablative ("by death") would be morte.

[–] djbigjohna 17 years ago

you can get from new york to london in no time at all!!!!

[–] dcamonkeys 17 years ago

How and why did the Queen of England know the location of and have a map to an ancient Indian city of gold? If she was planning to help the Confederacy by leading them to it, wouldn't they need the parts of the map? How were they supposed to get them? (Somebody feel free to explain if I missed some exposition while watching the movie.)

[–] mark_jobling 17 years ago

39. Beer delivery vans drive around with beer kegs perched precariously on the back, ready to spill all over the road with deadly effect at the slightest disturbance.

40. No 39 doesn't matter, because the huge, heavy metal beer barrels will bounce off cars behind like ping pong balls when they hit them, rather than causing serious damage.

41. Visitors do not enter Buckingham Palace by the front gates - entrance is round the side.

42. The car chase jumps about all over London in random order (the bit where the taxi falls over is right next to my office - you can see my gym in the background).

43. UK fire engines do not make the same sounds as US ones, but the ones in this film seem to have US-style horns.

44. It's "bubble and squeak", not "bubbles and squeak" - not a plot hole, but definitely annoying, along with Mr Cage's Dick-Van-Dyke-in-Mary-Poppinsesque English accent.

[–] thatguy_ice 17 years ago

City of Gold...more like a room (not really a plot hole, but irritating non the less).

Sounds like orc mischief to me

[–] kitty_on_skates 17 years ago

Also, the city is what several hundred years old, and has been underwater the whole time and the gold is tarnished only on the edges. Something doesn't seem right about that.
What happened to Riley's bag? He was lifting up a brick that definitly wasn't heavy enough to be real gold, then his bag disappears.
If the Queen was helping the confederates, why would she split the plank? Why would she keep hers hidden?

[–] gmercer 17 years ago

I'm with you on #2. I don't understand how finding the city of gold proves innocence. I mean his name was still on the list of conspirators.

not sure if this was mentioned later on

they thought that proving there was a treasure would make him innocent because it was said Thomas Gates was on that list as a mastermind for the assassination, but Ben said it was just because there was a treasure map in the diary, find the treasure from the page and that will prove that was why Thomas Gates name was in the book

But as someone mentioned he could of been in leauge with the KGC and just be the guy who was working on the map

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] aliensatemybuick 16 years ago

I'd llike to take a stab at the "water" issue towards the end, not sure if people understand what was going on (I THINK I do). Anyway, there was an equilibrium between the water coming into the cavern and that going out, and that equilibrium resulted in a water level that kept the gold submerged. When the INPUT of water ceased, the cavern drained and the gold was exposed. However, closing off the input of water caused a tremendous backup of water on the other side of the input "gates", which built up enough pressure to eventually cause explosive destruction, resulting in a widening of the holes the water was coming into the cavern through, and a consequently greater rate of water input. This overwhelmed the ability of the water to escape out the bottom (output rate became limiting). The output shaft the Gates/Abigail escaped through was not in use initially (perhaps that shaft was not required to create the original equilibrium). They NEEDED a shaft that they could enter through and close the "door"/gate behind them, as the water rushing through the other output shafts (which WERE in use the whole time) would have had too much current, which may have drowned or pulverized them.

My take. I have other issues with the movie, but enjoyed it as the light entertainment it was ment to be. I did also have problems with the chronology (a cipher from 1865 which led to a statue built 11 years later which in turn led to a pair of desks built about 4 years after THAT). However the letter from Queen Victoria to General Pike circa 1865 does mention that Laboulaye WOULD (i.e.in the future) hide the clue(s) to the City of Gold's location, so one could argue that back in 1965, all one would have needed to do was see Laboulaye in person...since no one ever did, he decided to leave the clues for "posterity".

[–] skin_job 16 years ago

So who had the two planks with ancient writing on them? If it was Laboulaye, why not send a copy of the plank writing to Pike and let him figure it out? If it was Victoria, why not send the same to Pike in her letter to him? If they wanted to help the confederacy, they sure took their sweet time about it, not to mention risk the outrage of a certain-to-be-victorious North by attempting this boneheaded conspiracy in 1865 when the war was all but won!

My arse "Let's go"...they're filmin' MIDGETS!

[–] johndeckbose 15 years ago

Really off the point -- I like your signature line. In Bruges -- now that's a movie!

[–] tonyjason-1 15 years ago

@aliensatemybuick...... doubt the screenwriters put this much thought into the situation. Excellent post.

[–] kel_andry 17 years ago

gold doesn't rust or tarnish really (silver tarnishes) perhaps there was some magic gold power keeping it from going bad. :)

[–] TyrannosaurusRob 17 years ago

This maybe a mistake or stupidity, but when they first find the city of gold, does Nick say Jon (Voight) we found it?

[–] gmercer 17 years ago

Would have to check the goof section for that. Because I have seen in bloopers for movies before when one actor will referring to the person they are talking to by their real name and not character. (ie Chris Tucker in Rush Hour two kept calling the person he was talking to Jackie instead of Lee)

[–] estrellademar_2003 17 years ago

he says Dad we found it

[–] bikebryan 15 years ago

Gold does not tarnish. It is a neutral metal and is highly sought after in many electronics applications for this reason.

[–] bfromberkeley 17 years ago

Many folks seem to be bothered by Ben Gates getting kicked out of his home. That bothered me too, but the Riley_thing bothered me more. In the first movie, he looks like a San Francisco-South of Market-Santa Clara-Skateboarding-Techno-Bad Boy. In the second movie he is a Manhattan Metrosexual Literati. This trajectory is just WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!!!

B

[–] cleeclacker 17 years ago

its cool that people take the time to list general stupidities for this movie and all but it seems that one thing is missing from the general stupidities....the general stupidity of this movie.
Plot holes...check.
Mistake to make a sequel...check.
General stupidity...check.
How can a film FULL of oscar winners suck so bad?!?!?
And WHY did Nicolas Cage have a face lift? Why Nicolas, why? It looks horrible!
I was seriously distracted by it. Go back and have your face DE-lifted..really...do that immediately. And they should take Jon Voight's oscar away from him.

[–] johndeckbose 15 years ago

That's totally unfair about Jon Voight. His performance in Coming Home is beautiful. If they were gonna take his Oscar away, it should be for his moral about-face in private life, not because he's made bad movies since then. There's way too many examples of Oscar winners making bad movies later in life to head down that road.

[–] iceydevilfiend 16 years ago

just a little FYI on the Harry Potter part: he never came into contact with the thestrals during the first 4 years, he always got to school in different ways. 1st year: by the boats, 2nd year: by the car and so on and so forth.

[–] christopher-arnold-1 16 years ago

45) And a big one for the plot. Cloning a cell phone will not make an inbound call ring though to both phones.

[–] woodpusher 16 years ago

Which cell phone does it ring to?

[–] dave_moll 16 years ago

In England we dont use those toilet covers that riley puts down on the loo in the palace. Dont think I have ever seen one in good old blighty !

Not really a plot hole to be fair but a general grievance non-the-less

[–] sambora14 16 years ago

not a plot hole, but something that annoys me about this film...

its the same plot as the first one! Ben seeks treasure, someone else also seeks treasure and follows Ben around letting him do the work, they catch up and the other guy chases Ben to get an artifact off of him, Ben gives it up to the other (although indirectly in this film), they end up "teaming up" to find the treasure in a cave, they go down towards the treasure and the entrance closes behind them (the ladder disintegrates in the first and that platform falls apart in the second) they get to the treasure which is underground, and finally get out with the other guy not surviving (im not sure if Sean Bean died in the first one or not, i cant remember)

NT2 was the same as NT1 with different locations and a different treasure. thats about all the difference

also, in the first one Riley starts without his Ferrari, and Ben doesnt know Abi yet, and then Riley ends up buying a Ferrari and Ben ends up with Abi. in this one they both lose those two things right at the beginning (effectivly starting the same as the first movie) and, surprise surprise, get them back at the end.....how predictable is that -_-

the meaning of politics is two words.poli-which means many of and tics-which means bloodsuckers

[–] fosthoff 16 years ago

Agreed with sambora14:

Number Thirty-something = They start off acting like the treasure was solving the mystery of the Lincoln murder, but then they suddenly swerve way over into searching for ANOTHER giant historical treasure. How many treasures of that scale do we have hidden across America? Oh, and they had virtually nothing about the whole "solving the Lincoln murder" aspect. In the trailer, they kept saying about uncovering the secret of the murder led to some huge conspiracy. In the movie, they briefly use the Lincoln murder around the begining, and then almost completely forget it. Plus the only "conspiracy" I could tell was the thing about the Queen of England financing the Confederate group to divide and weaken America.

[–] tonyjason-1 15 years ago

@sambora14.... ever heard of a running gag?

[–] hyperion960 16 years ago

in his 3rd year he goes up in the carriage and it clearly states he assumes teh carriages must be pulled by invisible horses.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] yabssor_cult_eternal 15 years ago

f@ck off mythic420. i don't care about the freemasons, but i will stick up for the Knights. you think the muslims were peace loving people in the times of the crusades? they were (and a good portion still are today) just as radical and extreme as the Holy Catholic Church was. the Knights Templar weren't just war mongers and definately weren't devil worshippers. do some actual research before firing off another round of bullsh!t from that shotgun you call a mouth

[–] 15 years ago

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