Uncharted (2022) | Film Review

“Nuns. Why’s it always gotta be nuns?”

If you were not already aware, you won’t be too far into the big-screen adaptation of one of Playstation’s largest video games before you notice the obvious connections to the godfather of modern adventure, Indiana Jones. Thankfully, as the games so often did, the film adaptation of Uncharted honors its ancestors as well, even if a bit on the nose with that line. But the real question is this: does the movie respect the series it takes its own name from?

In this origin story, Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) is an orphan who is separated from his brother, Sam, as a child due to a poorly conceived breaking-and-entering job. On this job, we learn of the Drake brothers’ fascination with a treasure amassed by Ferdinand Magellan and lost to the world by the House of Moncada. While Nathan continues to receive postcards from Sam throughout his life, he never sees him again.

Fast forward to the present day, and Nate is now a bartender with sticky fingers and a few too many viewings of Cocktail under his belt. One night, a “random” encounter with a slyly manipulative treasure hunter named Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) convinces Nathan to give up his life as a bottle-slinger and get into the treasure game… and possibly find his brother Sam as well.

Along for the ride is fellow treasure seeker Chloe Frazer (Sophia Ali, pitch-perfect casting), badass assassin with a bitchin’ stylist Braddock (Tati Gabrielle), and Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas), a maniacal narcissist who believes these riches are his family’s legacy. As far as casting goes, Uncharted is stacked in names with genuine talent.

If you have played the Uncharted games (which I have, repeatedly), then you probably have had a tinge of trepidation this entire time as you awaited to see if Tom Holland could possibly capture the screen presence of the sarcastic rapscallion and historian adventurer that IS Nathan Drake. In the games, Nathan is basically Bradley Cooper with a shoulder holster (or Nathan Fillion if you really want to get serious). Tom Holland has evolved into a very good Spider-Man, but Nathan Drake?

Here’s the good with the bad for game fans: Tom Holland pulls off the role with aplomb, he is also not the Nathan Drake you know. Not yet. But by the end, he has edged much closer to the Nate that fans love. It is also an odd choice to create an origin story with new elements, yet borrow heavily from action set-pieces found in the games that technically occur later in the series (an entire airplane sequence from the film is directly lifted from Uncharted 3). Still, this team makes it work.

For movie fans who prefer to get outside a bit more than me and have never touched the games, you’ll be quite content. Tom Holland nicely rises to the occasion to elevate his blockbuster stature with a role that affords him more opportunities for gunfights and quite a bit of exciting parkour. There is an emerging confidence to Holland’s portrayal that inspires excitement for what the future of this potential franchise might hold.

Mark Wahlberg is Mark Wahlberg. That’s a good thing if you’re a Wahlberg fan (I am), not as great if you’re a Sully fan (I also am). It’s a situation of we have to just let those things go that we WANT and enjoy the movie as its presented. Wahlberg’s Sully is a confidence man who lives almost distinctively by his lack of code, and Nathan’s brash earnestness might just be the thing that jolts his moral compass to life. Nate and Sully onscreen share an easy chemistry that could have easily been exploited into an even stronger back-and-forth dynamic. With a bit sharper writing in the witty retort department, future sequels could really capitalize on the charm at hand with Holland and Wahlberg in the cockpit.

Director Ruben Fleischer is a filmmaker who knows how to make the ridiculous and outlandish “fun” (Venom, Zombieland), and Uncharted is no exception. This is a rollicking adventure that I can easily see as one you will frequently re-watch while channel surfing. Set-pieces are engaging and thrilling, with at least one genuinely surprising twist. For a sprawling, worldwide adventure though, the cinematography never quite POPS to open the film up to an Indiana Jones-level. As well as the action occasionally suffers from quick cuts and extreme editing, but the potential is there for something great down the road. If a future installment is greenlit, I would happily jump onboard. After all, in the game world Uncharted 2 was an incredible leap in quality from Uncharted 1.

Uncharted is not exactly what gamers wanted, but it also does not completely miss the mark. There is enough respect for the video games here to know they care about the fans. For general audiences who just wanted another Indiana Jones-esque treasure romp, you’re in for a rollicking thrill ride with a cast of charmers led by Holland and Wahlberg. By the time the end credits tease the next adventure, you’ll be ready to chart another course.

Uncharted is now playing in theaters worldwide
Starring Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, Antonio Banderas, Sophia Ali, Tati Gabrielle
Screenplay by Rafe Judkins, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway
Directed by Ruben Fleischer