Movie Review: Uncharted (PG13 – 116 minutes)

 

The Uncharted games are distributed by Naughty Dog through Sony PlayStation consoles. The first one was released in 2007, followed by three sequels and one spin off.  I loved all the games, they feel like playing an Indiana Jones style adventure treasure-hunting movie.  Nathan Drake, the lead of the games, is fun and relatable with enough skills to get out of tricky situations, puzzle areas, and random gunfights.  He is a descendant of Sir Francis Drake and was raised in an orphanage with his older brother Sam. Over the course of the games, he and his mentor, Victor Sullivan (Sully), go on adventures sometimes with partner/adversary Chloe Frazer, or Elena, the journalist who Nate eventually marries and has a kid with – yes, the stories are that detailed.

The game series has been rumored to become a movie for years with various stars attached. Fans (including Nathan Fillion) wanted Nathan Fillion to play Nate, to the point that he made a fan film short with Stephen Lang.  I really (really) wanted to see that movie, but hey - we have come to the point where we get an Uncharted movie starring the extremely likeable Tom Holland.

This movie picks up (as the games sometimes do) with Nate regaining consciousness while hanging in mid-air out of a plane.  We go through a few flashbacks to the orphanage and his older brother Sam, to his working as a bartender and meeting Sully.  Sully strongly encourages the nimble-fingered and treasure-history savvy Nate to join him on a quest for the lost gold from Magellan’s voyage.  Together, they work with Chole Frazer to compete against Santiago Moncada, who believes his family is due the lost treasure, and Moncada’s own treasure-hunter-mercenary, Braddock.  Treasure-hunting hijinks and double-crosses ensue.

The movie is directed by Ruben Fleischer, who directed both Zombielands and the first Venom.  It is swiftly paced and action-packed. The treasure hunting-sequences are engaging and the fight sequences are entertaining.  I enjoyed it more than I expected, and I think it will deliver for those familiar with the games as well as those who have not heard of them.  The scope does not feel as grand or big as some of the games, but admittedly, that is mainly due to the fact that this shot during the pandemic and travel was more limited than a true globe-trotting treasure-hunting adventure deserves.  The cast each bring their own touches to characters that feel familiar both as archetypes and to those that played the games.

Tom Holland continues to be the most charming guy around. As much as I wanted Fillion to play Nate forever, going younger allows them to tell more stories – which I am already looking forward to. Holland is capable of both the action sequences and the guy-with-a-lot-of-historical-knowledge puzzle-solving sequences. You have to believe he is well informed, can solve a riddle, but can also hold his own in a fight.

Mark Whalberg is fine as Sully, but there were so many better choices out there.  He’s easy to buy in the action sequences, but less easy to buy in the riddle-solving scenes, which works because Holland handles most of those. Again, going a bit younger allows them to continue for many years, and he does appear with Sully’s trademark moustache in the post-credits sequence, so who knows. I’m trying to not let my severe dislike of Mark Whalberg color my opinion of his performance.

I love Antonio Banderas as a villain and he certainly oozes his way through Moncada as a guy who believes he is due far more than he is.  I would have loved even a little more of him in this movie – he does more string-pulling than treasure-hunting, and I think I wanted to see him out in the field, mixing it up a bit, throwing some punches and continuing to taunt our heroes.

Chloe has always been one of my favorite characters from the game, she’s the lead of the spin-off and that one is my favorite.  Claudia Black expertly voices her in the games and here Sophia Ali does a wonderful job portraying her. She is essentially the flip side to Nate, equally skilled, but with perhaps a looser moral compass. Looking forward to seeing what else she will get up to.

Tati Gabrielle plays Braddock, who starts out as a henchman and levels up to big bad. She provides levity when necessary and cold-bloodedness when necessary as well.

Overall, the movie is certainly fun and the perfect running length (just under two hours) for an action-adventure.  There’s a super fun Nolan North cameo, who voiced Nate in the games.  I especially appreciated the use of the game’s score in the movie when Nate gets his full outfit.  Since that music theme plays anytime the game is loading, you get very familiar with in after a run through. I will say, there weren't enough scenes of Nate randomly accidentally falling off a cliff while whatever character is next to him yells, "Nate, no!" repeatedly - which is a hallmark of my skilled gameplay.  

I definitely enjoyed this movie far more than I expected to and honestly, a lot of that is due to Holland’s chemistry and charm.  He continues to make some great choices and I am now on board with him as Nathan Drake – I hope they make a bunch more of these.

8 out of 10

Fan Film!