Uncharted

Starring: Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, Sophia Ali, Antonio Banderas, Tati Gabrielle, Steven Waddington, Pingi Moli
Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure
2022

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) teams with an experienced treasure hunter (Mark Wahlberg) to search for a treasure that may also reveal the whereabouts of his missing brother.

Review:

Tim: Uncharted is one of the more pleasant surprises of 2022. I absolutely did not expect to enjoy this movie nearly as much as I did. True, I love adventure/treasure hunt movies. But, this adaptation of a video game seemed like it was poised to disappoint, like so many others (the Tomb Raider movies come to mind). Fortunately, that wasn't the case. This is a rousing action adventure film that is delightfully entertaining. I've never played the games, but I heard that they are a faithful adaptation while not requiring an understanding before seeing the film. I certainly went into the movie with only the briefest understanding of the adventures of Nathan Drake and I left it wildly entertained.

I want to give Ruben Fleischer credit- he directs a rousing, enjoyable film. I had such high hopes for him after the excellent Zombieland, but he's mostly disappointed since then. This is a return to form for him. He directs the movie confidently, allowing the actors space to breathe, highlighting the humor, and delivering some solid action set pieces. This is certainly a film that punches above its weight class.

The story does a good job of keeping things moving. The movie was the right length, at just under 2 hours. Fleischer keeps the pace up, so there's no moments where it drags or bottoms out. He balances continual action with required character development to deliver a movie that's just fun to watch. I enjoyed the mystery element of these treasure hunters trying to solve an centuries-old puzzle, with the more modern action sequences. These certainly require some suspension of disbelief, but they are just so much fun to watch. The highlight action scene is obviously the plane sequence. We get a taste of it at the beginning before returning to it in the back half of the film. The visual effects might not have been terrific (I never actually believed any of this was happening), but it was still entertaining. The helicopters flying sailing ships scene was absurd in the best ways and truly enjoyable to watch. We need more movies to take chances on big action sequences like that one.

I have to admit I was a bit skeptical about Tom Holland playing Nathan Drake. As I said, I never played the games, but Holland never seems imposing- it's partially why he makes such a good Spider-Man. I struggled to see him in this role. While I don't think he fits physically, I was so impressed by his performance. He balances the action out with effective comedy and it results in a charismatic, likable character. That's high praise- I just liked him in this role and I would absolutely watch him play it again. Mark Wahlberg was brilliantly cast as well. He's another actor who has perfected that action/comedy blend and it was wonderful seeing him as Sully. Holland and Wahlberg have authentic chemistry on screen and their bickering and bantering was an absolute highlight of the film. They were so much fun together. I have to give Wahlberg credit- for years I didn't take him seriously as an actor. He's proven over and over how good he is. He takes a role like this, that could have been forgettable and steals scenes left and right.

While the Holland-Wahlberg duo is fantastic, the rest of the cast felt weaker. Sophia Ali felt like a miscast. She has a few nice moments but her character was utterly bland and forgettable. She does a decent enough job with her performance, but she never elevates the character. Antonio Banderas is always fun in these scenery-chewing villainous roles, but it felt like his performance faded too much into the background. He's good, but never great in the role. Tati Gabrielle was decent, but not as menacing as she believed she was. Again, no loud complaints about what she did, but she never makes the character seem memorable. The supporting cast is definitely plagued by this problem.

As a whole, I truly enjoyed Uncharted. It's not quite great and it doesn't belong in the utter echelon of adventure treasure hunt movies, but it gets far closer than I ever imagined it would. I had a blast watching this movie and I certainly hope Sony turns this into a real franchise. Indiana Jones isn't the only adventurer out there and I would love to see many, many more adventures of Nathan Drake.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Sahara, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones in the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade