Directed by Ruben Fleischer, Uncharted, is the newest film from Columbia Pictures. It’s based on the popular 2007 video game series of the same name. The film stars Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, Sophia Ali, Tati Gabrielle, and Antonio Banderas.

Street-smart Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) is recruited by seasoned treasure hunter Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) to recover a fortune amassed by Ferdinand Magellan and lost 500 years ago by the House of Moncada. What starts as a heist job becomes a race to reach the prize before the ruthless Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas), who believes he and his family are the rightful heirs. 

What to expect from Uncharted

Uncharted introduces us to one of video gaming’s most popular and charismatic leads of the last 15 years, in a globetrotting treasure hunt that treads a lot of familiar ground. If you’ve played any of the games, you’ll feel like you’ve seen – or been in – this movie. It utilizes a lot of scenes pulled straight from the games, and the cinematography often reflects familiar in-game camera movements. Tom Holland is a great Nathan Drake, and I do hope we get to see him in a few more Uncharted flicks.

The casting overall is adequate, excellent even in the case of Ali’s Chloe and Gabrielle’s Braddock, however, Wahlburg’s Sully is the weakest character element. Drake and Sully’s relationship is core to Drake’s story, but Holland’s charisma can’t quite compensate for the lack of chemistry between him and his co-star. A stronger Sully would have given this otherwise somewhat generic action-adventure game adaptation a lot more heart. If we get subsequent Uncharted films, I’d really hope to see their mentor-mentee friendship come to life.

On the villain front, I found myself wishing Antonio Banderas had more screen time as Santiago Moncada – he’s an excellent actor, but underutilized here; I’d have loved some scene-chewing from the Big Bad. Both Moncada and Braddock could have used a bit more on-screen development to flesh out the antagonists (and I’d never say no to more of Banderas speaking menacing Spanish from an Imax screen). Braddock and Chloe, however, are excellent counterpoints to one another and have some great scenes together. This film does pass the Bechdel test, if that metric figures into your moviegoing criteria, and both women do in fact wear practical shoes for the majority of the film.

In the third act, you’ll want to fully suspend your sense of disbelief for one of the most novel and ridiculous aerial fight scenes I think I’ve ever seen.  If you manage to talk yourself out of some physics impossibilities, it’s an incredibly fun sequence, with lots of swashbuckling, 30 feet above the ocean. The Uncharted games aren’t the most grounded in reality but this was… a lot. Just go with it and you’ll have an amazing time. 

If you liked the games, you’ll be happy seeing Holland’s Drake on the big screen

The action scenes and effects in Uncharted are both really strong and enjoyable. This isn’t a complicated or mind-blowing film, but it is very fun. If you liked playing the games, you’ll likely be happy seeing Holland’s Drake on the big screen, and I think gamers will be generally satisfied (though see my caveat regarding Sully and Drake’s dynamic above). From the opening scene, I frequently found myself having flashbacks to playing sequences that the film references and the camera work definitely reflected the play experience. It’s a solid video game movie, very entertaining, and sets us up for a series – I just hope that subsequent films are a bit more inventive. The games gave us a complete arc for Nathan Drake, and I’d be excited to see how that translates to the big screen. I fully expect a renaissance of Drake cosplayers this year.

Be sure to stay tuned for two post-credit scenes! If you need me, I’ll be replaying Uncharted. This film is rated PG-13 and will be in theaters everywhere on February 18th. 

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