Movie Review: "Uncharted" (2022)
Uncharted Movie Review
Written by Stuart D. Monroe
Released by Columbia Pictures
Directed by Ruben Fleischer
Written by Rafe Judkins, Art Marcum, and Matt Holoway
2022, 116 minutes, Rated PG-13
Released on February 18th, 2022
Starring:
Tom Holland as Nathan Drake
Mark Wahlberg as Victor Sullivan
Antonio Banderas as Santiago Moncado
Sophia Ali as Chloe Frazer
Tati Gabrielle as Braddock
Steven Waddington as The Scotsman
Tiernan Jones as Young Nate
Rudy Pankow as Young Sam
Review:
Ah, the “video game movie”. Films based off video game franchises have a colorful and varied history. If we’re being honest, most of it has been admittedly subpar. Whether it’s a barely polished turd like Uwe Boll’s Postal or House of the Dead (my personal vote getter for worst video game movie of all time) or a gem like 1995’s Mortal Kombat or Super Mario Bros. (aka The Granddaddy of All Video Game Movies), all movies based off video games have three things in common: goofy and overblown action scenes, flashy casting, and a host of angry fanboys screaming, “THEY GOT IT SO WRONG!!”.
While I can’t speak to the latter category yet, I am pleased to say that Uncharted has plenty of the other two (along with a healthy dose of heart that only Tom Holland can bring to the screen). Uncharted is based off the popular PlayStation game series that took the Tomb Raider formula and polished it to a high sheen. Nathan Drake (Tom Holland, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War) is a direct descendant of the famous English explorer, Sir Francis Drake. Nathan isn’t as famous as his ancestor; in fact, he’s bartending in a semi-fancy bar when he’s approached by veteran treasure hunter / scoundrel, Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg; Boogie Nights, Ted). Sully is looking for some help in locating Ferdinand Magellan’s famous “lost gold”, and he believes Nathan is the man for the job. He also knows Nathan’s long lost brother, Sam. That’s enough to get the bartender with the famous ancestor started on the path to becoming the most famous explorer and treasure hunter in the family line. The pair cross the globe to find modern man’s greatest treasure, but they’ll have to deal with ruthless rival Santiago Moncado (Antonio Banderas; Interview with the Vampire) and his henchmen. Then there’s Sully’s “friend”, gorgeous fellow explorer, Chloe Frazer (Sophia Ali; Grey’s Anatomy)…
In its structure, pacing, and general narrative, Uncharted is essentially a buddy cop movie reskinned as a male-centric take on Tomb Raider. Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg are given plenty of solid banter to throw at each other, and their natural chemistry elevates the writing to some extent (even if it’s nothing we haven’t heard before). The rest of the cast are excellent in their roles; Steven Waddington’s Scottish toughie is a shitload of fun. Antonio Banderas is always amazing. Sophia Ali and Tati Gabrielle are thoroughly believable bad asses. Throw in some stunning shooting locations and top-notch cinematography from the criminally underrated Chung-hoon Chung (Oldboy, Zombieland: Double Tap), and you have a movie worth seeing in IMAX.
I freakin’ love it when screenings are in IMAX, but I digress…
The strength of Uncharted, however, is in the strong fight choreography that morphs into all-out, batshit crazy action set pieces that don’t just ask you to suspend your disbelief…they ask you to choke it down and damn well like it. And you know what? It’s pretty damn tasty (dare I say fun?) when you just enjoy the ride that Uncharted is giving you. The big finale takes what starts as an homage to The Goonies and turns it into a physics-defying stunt that will have you rolling your eyes while simultaneously wondering if this is how you really wanted Richard Donner to end that movie all along.
The now obligatory post-credits scenes leave little doubt that the goal is for Uncharted to take off a film series. There are revelations relevant to both the story of Nate’s brother, Sam, as well as a potential appearance from one of Drake’s biggest foes from the PlayStation games. I didn’t quite play enough of the game series to have the “Oh, damn!” response, but I still like where it’s headed.
Let’s be honest, folks- there will always be a place for action-explorer flicks tailor made for the big screen. Uncharted is a crossover with some room to grow.
Grade:
3.5 out of 5.0 stars
