Director: Ruben Fleischer
Cast: Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, Antonio Banderas, Sophia Ali, Tati Gabrielle
Screenwriters: Rafe Judkins, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway
While working as a bartender, thief Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) is approached by seasoned treasure hunter Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) and offered the chance to recover a lost fortune—and find his missing brother along the way. Jumping at the opportunity to bring his brother home, Drake teams up with Sully on a mission that takes them across the globe and throws them right into the path of danger.
Unfortunately Uncharted isn’t swimming in uncharted territory—perhaps it might have fared better if it was, and didn’t have to face comparison to the much beloved PlayStation games on which it was based. As with all adaptations of treasured source materials, the film came with high expectations. The original Uncharted video games are already cinematic in their own right, setting a high standard right out of the gate. Adding more competition to the mix, the Uncharted film didn’t just have to worry about doing justice to its source material either; any new entrants in the treasure hunting genre are already automatically up against the legacy—and the bar—set by the Indiana Jones films.
Incidentally, Indiana Jones served as an inspiration for the original Uncharted video games. All in all, there was no shortage of fantastic inspiration for those behind the film version of Uncharted to look upon in their efforts to make something truly spectacular. And yet, despite spending years in development, the film fails to truly step out of the shadow of the long cherished content that came before it. Even with a massive budget and a couple of A-list leads, Uncharted seems to misread the map to success entirely, deviating from a number of key checkpoints along the way, and ultimately failing to secure whatever that elusive treasure is that makes its source material so special.
Nevertheless, regardless of how it lives up to the games, Uncharted still ticks all of the boxes as far as a fair action adventure film goes. Containing all the key ingredients of a classic treasure hunt, there’s enough in the way of stunts, globetrotting and double crosses to keep an audience entertained for the 1hr 56 minute run time. It’s simply missing that crucial ingredient that turns metal into gold, and makes the real magic happen.
This is, in part, due to the dialogue, which is distinctly witty in the games, yet falls so flat in the film that it might well have been rolled over and crushed by the boulder from Raiders of the Lost Ark. The exposition is cut and dry, servicing the plot and doing little more to add any colour to the script. It doesn’t help that there is a distinct lack of comedy either—in dialogue, as well as in plot, the film misses many an opportunity to truly lean into the fun.
Unfortunately, the performances also do little to add much spark to the screen. Tom Holland and Mark Walberg have both previously proven that they are perfectly capable of being charismatic on screen individually, yet together they fail to build much chemistry, no matter whether they’re fighting or finding their way to friendship. There is a feeling of going through the motions; at times Mark Walberg’s Sully seemed more like Mark Walberg going treasure hunting than the iconic Sully himself. Unfortunately there’s not much chemistry happening between any of the other characters either; while there are a few good moments from individuals here and there, the onscreen relationships are bland at best, and forced and awkward at their worst. Fans of the games will be disappointed to see that many of the characters’ iconic personality traits also got lost in translation. In the Uncharted games, Sully is known for his wit, humour and loud personality. In the movie, he is known for… none of that.
At least the plot is constantly moving. Sully and Drake, along with gold hunter Chloe Frazer (Sophia Ali), get into fights, face traps, and work on outsmarting villains, goons and each other as they make their bid for the gold. They collect clues, unravel riddles, traverse tunnels, cross the globe; the film includes all the features of your basic treasure hunting starter pack.
Although Uncharted may be fundamentally straightforward, viewers will be pleased to know that it’s not entirely devoid of fun, unbridled spectacle. The last twenty minutes picks up the ball with an extravagant pirate ship battle held in the skies, finally tapping into some of the spark that fuels its source material—if only the film could have bought more displays of such brilliantly unapologetic, audacious wonder to the screen.
While it may not capture all of the magic at the heart of the games on which it was based, Uncharted still delivers the promised adventure. However, with the original games and the Indiana Jones films to look back on for inspiration, it could have been so much more. Fans of the games are advised to enjoy the ride, but temper their expectations; Uncharted may be an adventure, but it’s more like an adventure in which you escape with your life instead of leaving with the gold.
