Uncharted movie review: Action blockbuster will make you smile
Having become the champion of pandemic cinema with Spider-man: No Way Home, Tom Holland looks to make himself a new franchise in this live action adaptation of the Uncharted video game series.
He plays Nathan Drake, a barman and small-time thief with an encyclopaedic knowledge of history thanks to his missing older brother Sam. He is tracked down by Sully (Mark Wahlberg), an adventurer with a connection to Sam who sees potential in Nathan and offers him a job. The pair are looking to steal an ancient key that will lead them to the lost treasure of voyager Magellan. However, with the ruthless mercenary Braddock (Tati Gabrielle) also looking for the keys on behalf of a wealthy businessman (Antonio Banderas), Nathan must rely on his wits and courage in order to work out who he can trust.
Fans of the Uncharted video game may want to stop reading here, as this adaptation is very loose in a lot of ways. It retains the wit and adventure of the PlayStation series, but shifts in age and characterisation mean this is a different duo. To put it simply: the studio could get Holland and Wahlberg, so they made the rest of the film work around them. What transpires is a madcap series of stunts that rely heavily on the charisma of the leads, and the assumption that you won’t ask too many questions.
There are plenty of holes to pick at. The plot is often too frantic to follow, there is a double cross every couple of minutes, and only Holland comes close to being a character you can root for. However, there’s a pleasant mania to proceedings that are reminiscent of the National Treasure movies (although the script makes several unearned references to Indiana Jones). We’re here for a good time, not a long time, and Holland’s youthful exuberance fits perfectly into the world. He’s happy to flip, punch, and wisecrack his way across Europe, bickering back and forth with Wahlberg in a way that never gets old. Yes, the final aerial chase is ridiculous and overproduced, but this chaotic pair make it easier to swallow.
The rest of the cast are there to snarl and threaten, and nobody does it better than Gabrielle with ice cold delivery and henchmen to spare. Banderas feels detached, while fellow adventurer/love interest Chloe (Sophia Ali) is underdeveloped. However, Uncharted is all about big booms and quick gags as style beats substance into submission. It’s not clever, but it will make you smile.