Movie Review: ‘Uncharted’ is a solid if unspectacular game adaptation
Winning buddy-movie chemistry between "Uncharted" stars Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg helps overcome the film's weaknesses.
Tom Holland takes a confident leap forward as the leading man of Sony-branded IP in Uncharted (★★★☆☆), a solid if not spectacular film adaptation of the popular action-adventure game. Swinging into duty as treasure hunter Nathan Drake, Holland enlivens the by-the-numbers origin story with the affable wit, endearing vulnerability, and physical agility that distinguish his Peter Parker among the ever-increasing ranks of onscreen superheroes.
The sometime Avenger also continues to flex his muscle as a keen team player, buddying up smoothly with a sarcastic-funny Mark Wahlberg, who portrays Nate’s needling mentor Victor “Sully” Sullivan. Diverging from the established plotline of the game franchise, Sully tracks Nate down at the New York bar where he works — serving drinks and pickpocketing customers — to enlist Nate’s help in locating a fortune in gold hidden for centuries.
Tempted by the opportunity to fulfill his lifelong treasure hunting dreams, Nate also invests hope in the slight chance the adventure might lead him to his long-lost explorer brother, Sam. Thus loaded with compelling investigative, emotional, and financial motivation, he takes off with Sully in search of Magellan’s gold.
Director Ruben Fleischer (Venom) handles the globe-trotting angle of the assignment with aplomb, making effective use of locations principally in and around Spain to fill in for locales as far-flung as the Philippines. He and cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung frequently frame the actors against stunning real-life backdrops, like an imposing shot of rival fortune hunter Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas), plotting evil while seated in the shadow of Barcelona’s temple Sagrada Família.
The gorgeous scenery goes a long way towards compensating for stretches when the movie slows down for dimly lit, go-here-find-that exposition. There’s plenty of that. Although, in keeping with the gameplay, Nate and Sully’s quest — joined by fellow intrepid fortune hunter Chloe Frazer (an appealing Sophia Ali) — is guided by elaborate puzzles, coded messages, priceless maps, and hidden signs.
A zoomer Indiana Jones, Nate’s constantly solving riddles and deciphering runes, landing himself and Chloe in deadly predicaments. Fleischer stages several last-second escapes with token suspense, but, surprisingly for a film in the Indy mold, mostly dispenses the action in blunt, compact bursts — hand-to-hand scuffles and parkour chases, rather than intricate, sprawling set-pieces. That is, except for two thrilling midair sequences, one of which is partly revealed in the film’s trailer.
The second ups the ante, with a battle waged on galleons hoisted aloft, swinging wildly a hundred feet over the ocean. The visual effects, and sense of perspective when Nate’s dangling or falling from vertiginous heights, are impressive.
Holland, as he’s demonstrated since his debut in The Impossible, and certainly in his stint as Spider-Man, once again proves adept at grounding the effects fantasy in a believable reality. Nate is just a regular, maps-obsessed, extremely fit guy doing the best he can under outrageously dangerous circumstances.
And this likely will not be the last we see of him. A couple of mid-credits scenes strongly hint at Uncharted adventures to come — and, given the surprisingly engaging, brotherly rapport between Holland and Wahlberg, there’s seemingly more to explore with Nate and Sully, who’s ever wary of being double-crossed out of a fortune.
The audience will have their say in whether we see a sequel. But, as a first round, this lighthearted adventure, undergirded by intriguing family and trust issues, serves as a sound setup for taking the game to the next level.
Uncharted opens nationwide on Friday, Feb. 18, including Landmark’s Bethesda Row and Atlantic Plumbing cinemas. Visit www.landmarktheatres.com. For other theater options, visit www.fandango.com.
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