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Rating: 2 out of 5
I have played the Uncharted games many times from Naughty Dog. I have always enjoyed the adventures of Nathan Drake and his archaeological discoveries. When a movie was being made, I was very skeptical if it would be halfway decent. Video game movies are really hit-and-miss. Sometimes they are meh, and then sometimes they are straight-up ass. For the most part, they are straight-up ass. The issue is that studios are trying to fit a ten-hour game into a two-hour film, and it just doesn’t work out. My excitement was a little high with Tom Holland and Marky Mark himself, Mark Wahlberg starring in the movie. Well, I can officially say that the film was meh. It was decent but reminded you of other films.
How does Uncharted roll? It starts with Nathan Drake (Holland), a street-smart bartender who steals jewelry from unexpecting women. Drake catches the eye of seasoned treasure hunter but also a non-trustful, Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Wahlberg). Sully recruits Nathan to locate and recover the fabled treasure of the Magellan expedition. Drake knows about the fortune Magellan had amassed over 500 years but was lost by the House of Moncada. The pair must steal a particular item but what becomes a simple heist job soon becomes a freakin globe-trotting race to reach the ultimate prize. On their tail is the ruthless Santiago Moncada (Banderas), who believes he and his family are the rightful heirs. Nate and Sully reluctantly team up with Chloe Frazer (Ali) to help decipher clues. With each clue, they come closer and closer to finding the legendary $5 billion treasure. Little does Nathan know that Sully is hiding information about Nathan’s long-lost brother. Will the two work together to find the treasure or stab each other in the back?
Once again, and it hurts to say this, but overall, this film was meh. The story could’ve been another entry in the Young Indiana Jones series. It felt like an Indiana Jones film dressed up as a video game film. That is where the disappointment happened with this film. The only difference between an Indiana Jones film and this movie is the period it is set in. Let’s change that; it is more of a modern Indiana Jones film with a wealthy villain who wants some treasure. The only difference is that these characters look for a massive lost treasure. In contrast, Indiana Jones looks for a specific artifact.
The story is a baby where the father is Indiana Jones, and the mother is National Treasure. Yep, that’s it. That is where the screenwriters got their inspiration from. Once again, the story isn’t bad, but it’s not mind-blowing or great. It is something many people have seen before, and it takes away from the beloved video game series. I would rather just play an Uncharted game repeatedly than watch this film, but hey, at least you tried with the story.
That doesn’t mean that there wasn’t any entertaining, fun scene. The action of this film was quite fun to watch, and I enjoyed it even if some of the CGI was pretty meh. The scene where Nathan tried to steal the cross and jumping or swinging from chandelier to chandelier was funny because he was like Spider-Man but also fighting against two massive people. The ending was just as entertaining, with the ships flying and then crushing the woman. How can I forget about the famous scene where Nathan wakes up with his hook caught on drop packages? Dude leaps from each one only to be hit by a car while finding a way to survive. Once again, the action is great and a high point in this film.
There seemed to be very little chemistry among the cast. Everyone seemed to have the attitude of yea we in this film. Let’s make it and then roll out. Everything felt forced and not natural or even fun. That doesn’t mean some of the scenes between the characters were not fun to watch, but something was off. I can’t put my finger on it, but something just didn’t connect with anyone, and it showed in this film.
The lack of chemistry, it made the acting of this film meh. Tom Holland as Nathan “Nate” Drake was okay. Sometimes it is hard to split him from Peter Parker and Spider-Man. This was the same. He made Nathan a person who saw the good in almost everyone until they betrayed him. He started smarting up towards the end, but he was just a good guy that stole. Maybe he wasn’t a completely good guy, but he was fun to watch.
Mark Wahlberg as Victor “Sully” Sullivan was the old guy that complained and didn’t trust anyone. He was the character that would immediately take the money and run and not even give a second thought about you. Wahlberg has a way of making things seem awkward when complaining and trying to be the person who doesn’t care. It comes off as a meh and a head-scratcher. The good vibrations were not with him in this role.
Antonio Banderas as Santiago Moncada was a complete and utter bore. He was one of the blandest billionaire villains I have ever seen. You killed your pops in the car; oh well. Then you died and didn’t even make it to the treasure. Banderas didn’t seem to be in his role. I wasn’t expecting grand acting but damnit, try to be like Gary Oldman from the Professional.
Uncharted is another video game film that just went meh. The story is a cross between Indiana Jones and National Treasure. The acting was whatever because the chemistry was off. Besides making video game films, how about you go the route of the Last of Us and make a TV show. That way, you have more time to develop all characters, make a decent show and have something that can be eight hours rather than two. Get it together, video game films.
