I know its been a bit quiet around these parts for a few weeks but I watched a film this afternoon that I’ve been curious about ever since seeing the trailer a while back. Unfortunately I missed it on the big screen but after watching it today I felt compelled to share my thoughts with you guys.
Uncharted (2022)
Much like the mobile phone market is pretty much dominated by two main competitors (Apple and Samsung), the gaming world has always been the same. When I was a kid you either had a ZX Spectrum or a Commodore 64. Later you were either Nintendo or Sega and now (aside from hardcore PC gaming) it’s generally between the Sony Playstation or Microsoft’s Xbox.
Why am I giving you a history lesson on gaming? Well, because although I was a PlayStation guy up to the PlayStation 2 I defected to the other side and bought an Xbox 360 in 2009. Sadly that means I missed out on playing some popular PlayStation-only titles like the sequels to God of War 2 and the Uncharted series which this movie is based on.
If you haven’t seen it yet this is a fun action/adventure starring Tom Holland (latest Spider-Man trilogy), Mark Wahlberg (Ted), Antonio Banderas (Desperado),
Sophia Ali (Grey’s Anatomy) and Tati Gabrielle (You) among others.
This is what it’s about according to the internet:
“Treasure hunter Victor "Sully" Sullivan (Wahlberg) recruits street-smart Nathan Drake (Holland) to help him recover a 500-year-old lost fortune amassed by explorer Ferdinand Magellan. What starts out as a heist soon becomes a globe-trotting, white-knuckle race to reach the prize before the ruthless Santiago Moncada (Banderas) can get his hands on it. If Sully and Nate can decipher the clues and solve one of the world's oldest mysteries, they stand to find $5 billion in treasure - but only if they can learn to work together.”
I really enjoyed this movie!
It’s exactly what you want from a treasure-hunting-action-adventure.
It has tonnes of action, a load of perilous adventure and a healthy dose of comedy thanks largely to the excellent chemistry between Holland and Wahlberg.
Having not played the games I can’t say how true the film is to them - or for that matter whether it lives up to how good I’ve heard they are. What I do know is that film adaptations of video games rarely deliver on the same level (the Resident Evil series being the most infuriating example) so I’d be interested to hear how this movie compares from anyone who’s played the games.
This is actually one of the few times I’ve watched a film adaptation of a game with the luxury of ignorance, and as a result I probably enjoyed it a lot more for it.
Obviously no treasure hunting adventure movie will ever be able to compete with the first three Indiana Jones films (let’s not talk about the fourth one) but this one makes a respectable effort.
Games like Uncharted and Tomb Raider, as well as films like National Treasure were of course heavily inspired by the beloved 80s franchise and all have succeeded in putting their own spin on the idea. There’s even a nice little nod to the Indy films in this movie when we see a sequence where a plane carrying our heroes flies over a map with its path marked with a red line, just like in the classic Harrison Ford movies.
Antonio Banderas is a welcome addition to the cast as the film’s antagonist, although I did think he was a little under-utilised like in a lot of his more recent roles.
Sophia Ali and Tati Gabrielle (neither of whom I’ve seen in anything before this) are fresh faces and play their parts well, especially Gabrielle, though I’m not entirely sold on the hair do…
Look out also for a cameo from Nolan Worth (the actor who voices Nathan Drake in the games) as the hotel guest on the beach sun lounger.
This is a really fun, over the top action thrill ride that’ll have you questioning the likelihood of certain scenarios, while at the same time accepting them due to the sheer entertainment factor.
Tom Holland is certainly proving that he’s destined to be remembered for more than just playing Spider-Man and I’m looking forward to seeing what he does next.
Uncharted is released on DVD and Blu-Ray on the 9th May but if you can’t wait that long it’s available to “buy & keep” on Sky and Amazon Prime Video from £13.99 right now.
Seen it? Let me know what you think.
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