Uncharted: Film Review
The movie adaptation of the Uncharted PlayStation video games has been in development since 2008, with many directors coming and going and various actors set to play the hero Nathan Drake. It has finally come to fruition with Tom Holland as the lead and Ruben Fleischer behind the camera – was this the right combo? Read on to find out my verdict.
We meet adult Nathan Drake (Holland) as a barman working in New York. He is approached by Victor ‘Sully’ Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg), a seasoned fortune hunter, for his help with a quest. He wants to track down the lost gold from the voyages of Magellan and believes his former ally, Nathan’s long-lost brother Sam, sent his younger brother clues about the treasure’s location in the form of postcards. Nathan agrees to join the mission in the hope of being reconnected with Sam but it isn’t smooth sailing as their ruthless rivals – Moncada (Antonio Banderas) and his mercenary Braddock (Tati Gabrielle) – are never too far behind.
Given its troubled development history, I expected this to be terrible but it’s not, although it has plenty of issues. I didn’t care much about the quest or follow the story particularly well but I enjoyed watching the majority of it. It was surprisingly entertaining and had plenty of comedic lines (the recurring cat joke is great) and, as a fan of Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider, I liked seeing them piece all the clues together.
Holland and Wahlberg (but mostly Holland) are the main reasons why this film works. I liked them together; they had good mentor-mentee chemistry and a funny repartee. I enjoyed watching them hurl quips at each other far more than the action! Holland is sweet and charming in every role so it’s no surprise that he brought that energy to Nathan, although there’s not much distinction between him and Holland’s most famous character Peter Parker. Wahlberg does his usual thing, but it works for Sully, and they both nail the physical component with ease.
Considering this is an action-adventure, it’s a shame the film’s biggest weakness is its action sequences. The early auction house heist and parkour chase scenes are absolutely fine but there are two big, expensive setpieces that are ridiculous. In fact, they were amusing to watch simply because they were Fast and Furious-level silly. The CGI work wasn’t strong enough to pull those off and the use of green screen was obvious.
Between this and Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, Banderas is having a run of playing OTT, one-dimensional villains, which seems like an odd career move. Gabrielle is badass as the cutthroat mercenary Braddock but the character is equally shallow and I didn’t really get her motive. What’s her beef with Sully? Does she just want the gold or is there more to it? Who knows! Holland and Sully’s ally Chloe Frazer (Sophia Ali) – who has a confusing British or Australian accent – is given a bit more to do but I wanted more of her backstory.
Uncharted is not the complete write-off I presumed it would be and actually has some moments of brilliance. I’m not familiar with the video game, but as an outsider, Holland and Wahlberg seemed well suited to their roles and I’d have no problem watching their buddy treasure hunter energy in another film.
In cinemas Friday 11th February