Image provided by Sony
Fans of the video game franchise "Uncharted" have endured years of delayed progress on an adaption to their treasured game, but all that changed when Tom Holland came on board. Uncharted comes from Director Ruben Fleischer (Venom, Zombieland) and features an ensemble that includes Tom Holland in the lead role along with Mark Wahlberg, Sophia Ali and Antonio Banderas appearing as the film's villain. While Uncharted was left in capable hands with a star-studded cast & source material to create the next blockbuster franchise, it plays it safe and is ultimately the same fun but formulaic adventure movie that fails to elevate the genre.
Uncharted is a fun popcorn flick that is by no means horrible. The film is really fun with big set pieces that feature some really fun sequences. The visual effects are really well done and I thought that director Ruben Fleischer did his best with what he was given. The movie is full of easter eggs that fans of the video game series will love to see and the comedic moments between Holland & Wahlberg felt natural and the humor in the film came off better then I had anticipated.
The film wastes no time in getting started on the adventure and while this adaption has some really cool action sequences and moments from the video game that will have the die-hard fans drooling, it can't help but repeat typical adventure tropes, and relies on the constant moving plot & action spectacle to keep the movie interesting. The film seemed almost like it couldn't quite decide if it wanted to be a faithful adaptation or a brand new story with familiar moments. Uncharted also features an incredibly forgettable villain. Antonio Banderas does his best with what he is given, but this mustache twirling villain is incredibly one-dimensional and abmissal.
Overall, Uncharted is nothing to write home about. It's a fun time to sit back and relax to but is by no means anything great. The film's constant adventure keeps things interesting but Uncharted fails to capitalize on it's characters and it's overall story just felt like business as usual.
Grade: C-
Uncharted premieres in theaters February 18th, 2022.
Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
Written by: Rafe Lee Judkins, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway.
Cast: Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, Sophia Ali, Antonio Banderas