Uncharted

Obvious cgi, plot holes, and lack of character depth made uncharted fall in the kind of lame category. Some funny moments between Wahlberg and Holland and decent sets. It was just too unbelievable.

The Uncharted video game franchise is my favourite series of games ever made. I thought I should get that out of the way before diving into my review. Upon the countless storylines I'm sure they went over and numerous directors leaving the project before settling on Ruben Fleischer, I was worried, but still very excited to see these characters on the big screen. This will also be a completely unbiased review because I can't even compare it to the games. Too many things have been changed to really compare it. With all of that said, let's dive in.

The story begins with young Nathan Drake, a bartender who had one day planned on finding treasure with his brother Sam. After the disappearance of his brother, he never felt the need to get back into the game. When Victor Sullivan (Sully) appears after his shift one night, he brings up the past, saying that he worked with his brother Sam. This instantly makes Nathan want to be a part of this story and the two of them form a bond. These two believe that a fortune left behind by Ferdinand Magellan over 500 years ago is still sitting somewhere in the world. They take this journey together, but they're not the only ones after this treasure, which leads to a lot of predictability as well.

When I first heard that Tom Holland was cast to play Nathan Drake and Mark Wahlberg would be playing Sully, I, like many other fans, was left scratching my head. It was clear that they wanted to start these characters younger than they were in the game in order to build a long-running franchise, but it just didn't seem right. Again, I'm wasn't about to let my love of the games sway me in any direction though. I'm a huge fan of both Holland and Wahlberg, so here's the catch-22 happening in my head. Did I enjoy this movie overall and did I enjoy these two in their respective roles? I absolutely did! Do I still feel that it was a little miscast and that they should've been older? I absolutely do! For both of those reasons and for a few negatives I'm about to get into, I believe Uncharted is an okay, entertaining movie for the most part.

Ruben Fleischer has been a very hit-or-miss director for me, directing both Zombieland films, which I think are great, as well as Venom, which I had some fun with, but he has also done some pretty bad films in Gangster Squad and 30 Minutes or Less. His films always have a very clean look to them and a silly/fun tone. I was worried that tone wouldn't fit an Uncharted movie and I do feel that way after having seen the film as well. Bright and colourful (other than landscapes around them) is not how I ever saw an Uncharted movie looking, but again, it was adapted and I'm not going to complain about the look. What I feel is the weakest aspect of this film is the fact that there's absolutely no grit. Nobody is ever dirty, there's barely any blood, and it never feels like stakes are high because these characters can go through a lot without a scratch.

Overall, I probably have more to critique than praise when talking about Uncharted, but that's just because the Screenplay felt like it was hitting random bullet points instead of fleshing out the world they're living in. It never felt lived-in. Still, I love the cast (including Antonio Banderas and Sophia Ali as well), the banter between Nathan and Sully was fun, the action is cool, and I left the theatre feeling positive enough about the film that I would love to see them continue. I will gladly go back for a sequel, but I just hope they evolve these characters more and get down to a grittier, dirtier story. Yes, the point of Uncharted is to have fun and tell a great story, but I felt the story was a little hollow here. I think it's a movie worth seeing and I recommend it because I think there is potential for so much better in the future. This film is just okay overall, but the groundwork has now been laid for something even better.

I'm being really generous with 6 stars, because this movie is neither really funny, nor really exciting.

Not any good? The CGI effects are pretty special, but personally I often get bored when the CGI effects are the only thing keeping a movie afloat. And there are basically only 2 CGI spectacle scenes that are noteworthy and even those I found somewhat overkill and boring.

Let's forget about the story. This is merely another adventure movie, like the Pirates of the Carribean meets National Treasure. It'll do if there is nothing else to watch, but dont expect any originality, dont expect many laughs and dont expect much thrillling action either...

This Uncharted adaptation is decent at best. The video games are work of art. This movie is formulaic, cheesy, unrealistic, and a slap in the face to the greatness of the game. The casting is obviously horrible as they look nothing like they do in the game. I didn't like how different elements from different games were infused as well into one movie when they should keep them separate as they are already making sequels so what's the point? Overall it is a fun movie but don't expect Naughty Dog quality on production.

Let's keep it real: this is as losely put together as is possible. The movie tries to incorporate as many references to the games as it can, while covering as much ground as it can. Some might even say it takes on too much ... I am not one of those people. Some may be dissapointed, because they expected something ... that was sort of a copy of the games - which would not make much sense in my book to be honest.

Or you may not like the casting. Holland aside, it is Wahlberg who seems missplaced as Sully. I reckon since he was considered for the Nathan Drake part (which I guess tells you how long this must have been in development, no offense), they thought "well at least he can play this mentor role".

Well Mentor may be stretching it a bit .. but you get where I am going with this. Drakes and Sullys relationship is explored or rather established in a different light and tone ... which you'll either find fine or disturbing I guess. Also Holland still seems so incredibly young you may feel he's too young ... again, you have to get over certain things.

There's enough entertainment and action in this to keep you on the edge of your seat. Solid stunts and digital effects work. Not all twists work, but even the weird choice for Wahlberg as Sully actually can work for the viewer (again: suspension of disbelief) ... one thing is for sure: the chemistry between the two leads is incredible! Try to enjoy this for what it is .. even if you are a hardcore fan of the games ... or not.