“Uncharted” Review
Tom Holland stars in “Uncharted” as Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter pursuing a long-lost gold treasure trove.
One kind of action film I’m always a sucker for is a treasure hunt. Films where the main characters are hunting down some kind of artifact, running from bad guys and constantly adapting to an ever changing playing field. Films like “National Treasure,” “Romancing The Stone” and the “Indiana Jones” series are among my favorites and I see enough elements from those films in “Uncharted.” While not perfect by any stretch, “Uncharted” has enough silly fun and great leads to make a relatively satisfying experience.
Based on the hit video game series, aspiring treasure hunter Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) discovers a lead to the long lost treasure of Ferdinand Magellan, a treasure both he and his long-lost brother Sam were obsessed with. Teaming up with an untrustworthy rogue named Victor “Sully” Sullivan, Drake and Sully travel around the world to find the treasure while outrunning a fellow hunter (Antonio Banderas) who believes the treasure is his by birthright.
After wowing us all with six performances as Spider-Man, there was little doubt for Tom Holland to bring that same charisma to the role of Nathan Drake. While there has been criticism towards Holland for how young he looks, his performance as Drake combines wit and brawn into a fun blockbuster hero. Whalberg is also wonderful as Drake’s mentor who constantly is double crossing everyone. You know he’s a good guy, but there’s an unreliable factor to him that keeps him interesting.
With the film being based on action-packed video games, you’d expect the action of the films to be just as good. The creativity with some of these action sequences is memorable and director Ruben Fleischer (“Zombieland,” “Venom” and “Zombieland: Double Tap”) handles them all with great energy. The film’s climatic brawl, involving two pirate ships suspended in the air by helicopter, was incredibly fun.
Unfortunately, bogging down the film is its screenplay. While the story is the right amount of ridiculous fun, the dialogue isn’t particularly interesting. Everyone’s lines could be switched around and no one would notice. The film also underutilizes some characters including Sully, who disappears from the film with no explanation for about 15 minutes.
Antonio Banderas isn’t even the main villain. Despite being an incredible actor and an action legend in the “Mexico” Trilogy and “The Mask of Zorro,” his character is generally wasted.
Ultimately, “Uncharted” can’t live up to the games because the games have a level of interaction that just isn’t possible in film. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to adapt them, but something really new should be thrown into the mix. Instead, the film feels like a straightforward adaptation that’s missing something to really wow the audience.
“Uncharted” is a bit of a mess but if you’re looking for an action film with likable leads and some creative action sequences, then this might be enough.
