Uncharted
Year: 2022
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Starring: Sophia Ali, Antonio Banderas, Tati Gabrielle, Tom Holland & Mark Wahlberg
Runtime: 116 mins
BBFC: 12
Published: 15/02/22
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Starring: Sophia Ali, Antonio Banderas, Tati Gabrielle, Tom Holland & Mark Wahlberg
Runtime: 116 mins
BBFC: 12
Published: 15/02/22
I have a long and storied history with video game developer Naughty Dog with the Crash Bandicoot games being among the first games I ever played on the Sony PlayStation, and then the Jak and Daxter games being among my favourite games on the PS2, not to mention The Last of Us being one of my favourite games of all time. But I was late to the party with the Uncharted games, in fact it took until after I played The Last of Us back in 2013 to even acknowledge their existence. But since then I have played the games multiple times, falling in love with the great cast of characters and the mystical legends which they uncover.
Being as highly cinematic as they are, the Uncharted games have been ripe for a big screen adaptation for years and after an extremely troubled development (that began in all the way back in 2008) Uncharted has finally gotten its film adaptation. How does it fare against other video game adaptations, and does it lose anything that made the games special in the transition from an interactive medium?
History buff and supposed descendant of explorer Sir Francis Drake, Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) works as a fast talking and charismatic waiter who pickpockets his wealthy clientele to make a little extra money on the side. But when he’s caught in the act by an impressed Victor ‘Sully’ Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg), Nate is roped into helping the con-artist out with performing a heist on an auction to steal a valuable historic artefact. This artefact is the first step in uncovering the famous lost treasure of the Magellan expedition, and could help Nate reunite with his long-lost brother. But standing in their way is collector Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas), his army of mercenaries headed by Jo Braddock (Tati Gabrielle), and one of Sully’s former associates Chloe Frazer (Sophia Ali).
Being as highly cinematic as they are, the Uncharted games have been ripe for a big screen adaptation for years and after an extremely troubled development (that began in all the way back in 2008) Uncharted has finally gotten its film adaptation. How does it fare against other video game adaptations, and does it lose anything that made the games special in the transition from an interactive medium?
History buff and supposed descendant of explorer Sir Francis Drake, Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) works as a fast talking and charismatic waiter who pickpockets his wealthy clientele to make a little extra money on the side. But when he’s caught in the act by an impressed Victor ‘Sully’ Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg), Nate is roped into helping the con-artist out with performing a heist on an auction to steal a valuable historic artefact. This artefact is the first step in uncovering the famous lost treasure of the Magellan expedition, and could help Nate reunite with his long-lost brother. But standing in their way is collector Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas), his army of mercenaries headed by Jo Braddock (Tati Gabrielle), and one of Sully’s former associates Chloe Frazer (Sophia Ali).
To say I was sceptical when going in to Uncharted would be an understatement. Video games have a long history of making awful films, and even the best ones aren’t much to write home about. This was only amplified by the questionable casting of our leading men, particularly in Wahlberg as Sully. But I can thankfully say that Uncharted falls into the spectrum of better video game films, being a respectful adaptation of the games, and whilst it definitely won’t be an awards season darling I feel like it’s a fun adventure film the whole family can enjoy in the same style as Pirates of the Caribbean.
The story, for those familiar with the Uncharted games, uses Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End as the framing device for the story with a pirate treasure at the centre of it all. But it mixes this with elements from Uncharted 2: Among Thieves & Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, as well as a hefty dose of original content that reshapes the Uncharted narrative in a way that can appeal to new fans as well as the existing ones.
As a fan of the games, seeing the story play out the way it does in the film was definitely something I needed to get used to as things were wildly different from what I knew them to be, but ultimately a choice I think works for the best by introducing the majority of Nate’s backstory off the bat (something the games would build on and add to as the entries progressed to varying degrees of success). This of course won’t matter to newcomers who should be satisfied with the depth Nate has as a character, and how the various adversaries Nate & Sully face reveal more of the backstory surrounding Sully as the film progresses.
The action sequences were just as big as those that feature in the game, including a recreation of the iconic plane crash featured in the third game. The action sequences are fast paced, cleanly shot, and Holland in particular brings that essential witty charm to stop things from ever getting too serious.
The story, for those familiar with the Uncharted games, uses Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End as the framing device for the story with a pirate treasure at the centre of it all. But it mixes this with elements from Uncharted 2: Among Thieves & Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, as well as a hefty dose of original content that reshapes the Uncharted narrative in a way that can appeal to new fans as well as the existing ones.
As a fan of the games, seeing the story play out the way it does in the film was definitely something I needed to get used to as things were wildly different from what I knew them to be, but ultimately a choice I think works for the best by introducing the majority of Nate’s backstory off the bat (something the games would build on and add to as the entries progressed to varying degrees of success). This of course won’t matter to newcomers who should be satisfied with the depth Nate has as a character, and how the various adversaries Nate & Sully face reveal more of the backstory surrounding Sully as the film progresses.
The action sequences were just as big as those that feature in the game, including a recreation of the iconic plane crash featured in the third game. The action sequences are fast paced, cleanly shot, and Holland in particular brings that essential witty charm to stop things from ever getting too serious.
Speaking of which, Holland is a decent casting choice for Nate. Despite my initial reservations, Holland portrays a younger version of the much beloved character in a way that not only feels faithful to the original interpretation, but he also imbues the character with a lot of emotional depth that wasn’t seen until more recent entries in the game series.
But I am still on the fence about Wahlberg as Sully. He doesn’t look very much like Sully did in the game series, and he rarely exudes that world widened mature personality to balance out against Nate’s younger and brasher ego. He’s good in the film though and he definitely gets out some of the best gags, but to me he didn’t feel like Sully. For those unfamiliar with the games I’m sure this won’t be as much of an issue, but to me at least I would have liked someone a bit older and classier to play the role (Jeff Bridges maybe?).
Then we have Sophia Ali as Chloe Frazer, a fan favourite character from the games. Ali certainly looks the part for Chloe, and she delivers a reasonably strong performance, however there were times where it was clear that she was struggling to keep up the characters signature Australian accent and it did take me out of her performance somewhat.
As for Benderas and Gabrielle, I don’t feel like either actor was given the chance to shine in the film because the characters weren’t given much to do. Considering both play original characters, I would have hoped that more time would have been spent establishing who they are, especially with Gabrielle’s Jo Braddock. If anything, I would have rather seen them re-use Uncharted 4’s villains, Rafe Adler and Nadine Ross, who these characters are clearly inspired by in various ways, but perhaps they’re being saved for a sequel.
Uncharted was a lot better than I was expecting it to be, and it’s a film I can definitely see myself watching again. It’s similar in quality to 2018’s Tomb Raider and definitely one of the better video game adaptations I’ve seen. However, when compared to genre classics like Curse of the Black Pearl and obviously the Indiana Jones films, Uncharted does seem safe and a bit by the numbers. I do hope to see it get a sequel though as I would love to see the stories of Uncharted 2 or 3 get adapted to the big screen, as well as bring in all the great fan favourite characters that didn’t get a chance to be in this film. Grab the whole family and get yourselves a big tub of popcorn, because Uncharted will definitely scratch that family adventure film itch.
But I am still on the fence about Wahlberg as Sully. He doesn’t look very much like Sully did in the game series, and he rarely exudes that world widened mature personality to balance out against Nate’s younger and brasher ego. He’s good in the film though and he definitely gets out some of the best gags, but to me he didn’t feel like Sully. For those unfamiliar with the games I’m sure this won’t be as much of an issue, but to me at least I would have liked someone a bit older and classier to play the role (Jeff Bridges maybe?).
Then we have Sophia Ali as Chloe Frazer, a fan favourite character from the games. Ali certainly looks the part for Chloe, and she delivers a reasonably strong performance, however there were times where it was clear that she was struggling to keep up the characters signature Australian accent and it did take me out of her performance somewhat.
As for Benderas and Gabrielle, I don’t feel like either actor was given the chance to shine in the film because the characters weren’t given much to do. Considering both play original characters, I would have hoped that more time would have been spent establishing who they are, especially with Gabrielle’s Jo Braddock. If anything, I would have rather seen them re-use Uncharted 4’s villains, Rafe Adler and Nadine Ross, who these characters are clearly inspired by in various ways, but perhaps they’re being saved for a sequel.
Uncharted was a lot better than I was expecting it to be, and it’s a film I can definitely see myself watching again. It’s similar in quality to 2018’s Tomb Raider and definitely one of the better video game adaptations I’ve seen. However, when compared to genre classics like Curse of the Black Pearl and obviously the Indiana Jones films, Uncharted does seem safe and a bit by the numbers. I do hope to see it get a sequel though as I would love to see the stories of Uncharted 2 or 3 get adapted to the big screen, as well as bring in all the great fan favourite characters that didn’t get a chance to be in this film. Grab the whole family and get yourselves a big tub of popcorn, because Uncharted will definitely scratch that family adventure film itch.