Uncharted

 

I've always had a lot of love for a good treasure hunting adventure movie, whether it was the Indiana Jones films, The Goonies, The Adventures of Tintin, the National Treasure films, or yes, even the Lara Croft movies I just love watching these movies. Intrepid adventurers following the clues, solving the puzzles, and avoiding booby traps while traveling across the world to find their prize. Uncharted fits very comfortably within this very specific genre.  

Nathan Drake (played by Tom Holland) is trying to make a living in New York City, working as a bartender while also engaging in a little light theft from the occasional customer. He is approached one night by Victor "Sully" Sullivan (played by Mark Wahlberg) who needs his help. He was working with Nathan's older brother Sam (played by Rudy Pankow) to find treasure hidden by Magellan's crew. He was lost track of Sam after he helped Sully steal the diary of Juan Sebastian Elcano's diary. He needs Nathan's help to try and find Sam and recover the treasure. Also seeking the treasure is Santiago Moncado (played by Antonio Banderas) and his associate, Jo Braddock (played by Tati Gabrielle). Santiago is a descendant of the family who originally funded Magellan's expedition. First task is to retrieve a golden cross linked to Magellan's crew from an Auction House while dodging Moncado and his men. From there, it's off to Barcelona to meet up with another of Sully's associates, Chloe (played by Sophia Ali), who has another cross that pairs with the one Nathan and Sully got, which turn out to be literal keys to begin the journey to finding the treasure, all the while trying to keep one step ahead of Moncado as well and determining if they can even trust one another. 

The film was directed by Rueben Fleischer from a script written by Rafe Lee Judkins, Art Marcum, and Matt Rosenberg and is based on the popular series of Playstation games. The filmmakers do a good job translating the game to the big screen, with the film remaining accessible to filmgoers who are unfamiliar with the games while also working in little nods to the game. The film does have it's share of memorable set pieces, including one involving Tom Holland clinging on for dear life dangling out the back of a large cargo plane while fighting off assorted goons that is easily one of the highlights of the movie. Another sequence I really enjoyed had Nathan, Chloe and Sully working their way around Barcelona trying to find a spot they need to unlock with their respective crosses (which are also secretly keys) only for each to encounter a unique obstacle: the keyholes are in a very busy underground nightclub and a busy Papa Johns, respectively. It made for an entertaining problem for them to solve in a way that acknowledges how cities like Barcelona that have a deep history have grown and evolved over the years in a really amusing way. Still, the film does hit the familiar beats of previous movies in this genre. Personally, I enjoyed this but it may feel a little too familiar for some filmgoers. 

Tom Holland does well as Nathan Drake, applying the same sort of charm that he has found great success with in the Spider-Man movies, but Nathan Drake is also a little bit more morally flexible than Peter Parker. He also proves to be up to the more physical side of the role as Drake finds himself going through some pretty serious scrapes throughout the film. Mark Wahlberg proves to be a good treasure hunting partner as Sully, playing off Holland well as the two swap quick witted one-liners. He also strikes the right balance with his character where you're not quite sure you can trust him or not. Sophia Ali completes their trio and likewise is another person we're not quite sure if they can trust or not. She had a decent chemistry with Tom Holland as well as a potential love interest. Antonio Banderas does the best he can as Moncado, but he never quite proves to be the intimidating threat the film needs him to be. Still, he does ground the role a bit and make him less of a one dimensional, mustache twirling villain. Curiously, those aspects more come through the character played by Tati Gabrielle, whose Jo Braddock proves to be far more ruthless in her desire to find the treasure and is willing to do anything to get it. It is refreshing to see this sort of role filled by a female character, which we still don't see enough. 

Overall, Uncharted may feel a little too familiar at times but in this case that's not a bad thing. It fits very comfortably within the treasure hunting adventure genre with a good sense of humor and all those well worn tropes re-invigorated with a certain amount of charm from the cast to carry us through. It's nothing more than a fun popcorn movie and, refreshingly, it never pretends to be more than that either. Maybe I was just in the mood for this kind of movie, but I sure did have a good time watching it.