‘No, no, no no, no!’ ‘is one of the trademark phrases of adventurer Nathan Drake in the popular Naughty Dog video game, usually as he struggles to gain purchase on a crumbling temple ledge; if you haven’t played the four astonishingly cinematic Uncharted games, you’ve missed out on one of life’s hidden treasures. Drake is a thief and an adventurer, and his life is a non-stop story of discovery, betrayal and friendship; climbing up a train as it dangles over a precipice, solving centuries old puzzles in mythical kingdoms, navigating ancient buildings at they collapse and firing RPG’s at marauding enemies from horseback. But after a number of wrong turns, and despite the efforts of top talent in front of and behind the camera, one of the best video games of all time makes for a rather ordinary movie.
So non-gamers can start here, since you don’t need a VR helmet to enjoy this lush, expensive venture from Playstation; Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) is a bartender AND a thief in New York, and he’s approached by suave action-man Sully (Mark Wahlberg) to track down some legendary gold. Hoping to find some clues as to the whereabouts of his long-missing brother, Drake agrees, launching the upstart and his snarky mentor onto a cross-globe trip that takes them up against the ruthless Moncada (Antonio Banderas) and his gang of hardball mercenaries.
Part of the problem here is that Uncharted the game featured a world derived from films, then developed into something rather more extravagant; the formula is hard to reverse engineer back to traditional movie tropes. The characters of Drake and pal Victor ‘Sully’ Sullivan were fairly boilerplate creations, and their adventures were initially generic; as the games developed, so did the characters and the sophistication of the story. Aside from a brief opening flashback, Ruben Fleischer’s film barely features any of the game’s well-developed lore, looking more like a bland sub-Red Notice action film, and only the last half hour creates the kind of imaginative diorama of ‘Indiana Jones on steroids’ run-and gun-action that the games conjured up with such good humour. There’s a brief shot of Sully doggedly climbing up the mast of a galleon being held in mid-air by a helicopter that’s exactly the right grandiose vibe; it just takes this film a long time to get there.
The casting isn’t great either; Holland is too young for Drake, constantly on the brink or retiring in the game, and Wahlberg doesn’t have Sully’s grizzled cigar-chomping style; Nathan Fillion and Nick Offerman could have filled these roles with much more character. The takeaway is that Uncharted isn’t a game-changer like the IP that it’s based on, but it is a competent blockbuster that will probably work best for those who have never heard of Drake. Holland and Wahlberg are personable stars, and the big action highlights are certainly grand in scope; the best of these lift knockout moments directly from the game like getting caught in the billowing nets of a cargo plane mid-flight. With less humour or gunplay, but more bickering and tedious plotting than might have been expected, the final sequences of Uncharted eventually tap into the enterprising mojo that powers the much-loved franchise, but it’s too little and too late for the millions who will prefer to play the game.
Uncharted is in UK cinemas now and in US cinemas from Feb 18th 2022.
Completely agree that Holland is too young for this role; I would have much preferred Fillion. I get that he’s 50, but that hasn’t stopped older action stars.
I’m getting that people who dodn’t know the game find this an engaging action flick, but it feels like a step down if you love the game; Nathan Drake is about one more gig, rather than a fresh-faced newbie. I guess people dig Holland right now, and that’s what gets the film made..
We must have been watching different films. I knew nothing of the source video game so came at this fresh. Looks to me like a new franchise. Thought Holland was just right and they were a great pairing. Clues, crosses, double-crosses, great female action characters, non-stop story, and the grand finale of ancient ships bursting our of the water in an amazing aerial duel.
The airborne stuff was like the game. It’s like being Indiana Jones, just a cinematic game to play, the film really doesn’t do it justice. Hope they get it right next time.
No idea it was a game. So hope there are gazillion like me who don’t care whether the adaptation was good or bad and just want to see an enjoyable picture without bringing pre-judgements to the table. Incidentally, one of the bits in the trailer came from the end-credits section pushing the sequel.
Sticking to Football Manager and Angry Birds for me, thank you very much!
I think I’d rather eat a bowl of mac&cheese…
I do a great mac and cheese. With bacon bits.
I like pepperoni myself. With onions and green peppers.
But the real question is, what kind of cheeses do you use?
No onion, sorry.
Mozzarella, cheddar, blue…
Blue cheese eh? I like the flavor but am not sure how it blends into the mac. Is it stringy like mozzarella or what?
Three cheese mac is possible, a bit of stringiness is acceptable, maybe pulverise some potato crisps and sprinkle them on top, then put in a pyrex dish in the over at 180 degrees for about twenty minutes. Then grill the top a little, and serve up for a hearty evening meal.
Blerk.
What’s your problem? Nothing wrong with a recipe swap?
Macaroni cheese. Blerk. Cauliflower cheese yum. There’s a good swap!
I’m not sure how good the Captain is with his veg. But I’m in!
Especially nice is the Jamie Oliver recipe for cauliflower & broccoli cheese with crispy breadcrumb topping and 3 cheeses. I know he’s a knob but that’s the yummiest recipe for cauliflower cheese I’ve done so far.
Not tried that meal myself, myself, but I can confirm that Jamie Oliver is a knob.
Will be catching this on Monday so forgive me for skipping past the entire review – for the moment.
I forgive you; the takeaway is that it’s worth seeing for non-gamers.
Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. Is that it?
Haven’t played the game, won’t see the movie.
But at least the comments seem to be semi-functional this morning.
The game is phenomenonal, like being Indiana Jones in an Indiana Jones movie. A better movie than most movies. Don’t your library have games, or just dinosaur toys?
I’ll see this at some point when it turns up on Amazon or the like. I have never heard of the game so won’t be disappointed in that aspect at least.
I think you’ll find is a more-than-passable Saturday night flick when it turns up on streaming…
I thought so from the trailer.
Is the correct answer.