Uncharted is a 2022 action adventure film directed by Ruben Fleischer, from a screenplay by Rafe Judkins, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway, with a story by Judkins. Fleischer is best known for 30 Minutes or Less, Gangster Squad, Venom, and Zombieland: Doubletap.

Street-smart Nathan Drake, is recruited by seasoned treasure hunter, Victor "Sully" Sullivan, to recover a fortune amassed by Ferdinand Magellan, and lost 500 years ago by the House of Moncada.

Serving as an origin story and prequel to the Uncharted videogame franchise created by Amy Hennig, the film stars Tom Holland as Nathan Drake, and Mark Wahlberg as his mentor Victor “Sully” Sullivan, along with Sophia Taylor Ali, Tati Gabrielle, and Antonio Banderas in supporting roles.

Uncharted premiered in theaters and IMAX 3D on February 18th, courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing.

THE GOOD

First off, I feel like I should preface this review by saying that I’m a huge fan of the Uncharted video games the film is based on. I have always felt like they in many ways bridged the gap from the Tomb Raider franchise, which I grew up playing, and had that rejuvenated Indiana Jones feel to them. They always felt similar with the style of play, and the immersive story and environments. Once it was announced that they were in talks to release a movie based on the games, I was pumped. They went back and forth with a number of actors rumored to take on the leading roles of Nathan Drake and Victor Sullivan, finally landing on Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, which needless to say, was more than fine by me. As you can imagine, I was going to see this movie on opening night. So, did it live up to my sky high expectations? Keep reading to find out!

Listen, don’t shoot the messenger on this one because I’m sure you have seen some of the early reactions, but Uncharted is a damn good movie. Full disclosure, I let some of the nonsense seep into my brain as well wondering if they botched yet another video game to film adaptation, but that couldn’t be further from the case here. First and foremost, Uncharted caters to the fanbase, and I’m talking shrimp cocktail and lobster rolls, not pigs in a blanket and deviled eggs. Fans of the video games will be fighting the urge to leave the theater and go fire up their Playstations, or at the very least will guarantee that's what they will be doing once they get home. Unless of course they have a movie review to write, but don’t worry I know what I will be doing later. Fans will also notice that the film draws quite a bit of inspiration from the newest Uncharted game, A Thief’s End, which according to Tom Holland is his favorite game in the series.

When you take the time out to visit the movie theater, you want an experience that will keep you engaged and entertained from beginning to end, and that is exactly what you get with Uncharted. The story and the characters are interesting and relatable, the pacing is great and it has a nice balance of action while slowing down when necessary, and it also has a very clear identity from the beginning. The origin story element sets the stage nicely and sprinkles in just enough background for the main characters to ensure everything makes sense. I also loved the back and forth banter between Holland and Wahlberg, and felt like both delivered a ton of great one-liners. Holland was pretty funny for the majority of the film, even finding ways to keep it light while having his butt kicked pretty good. Uncharted has it all in my opinion, a fantastic cast which I will talk about more later, great characters, an immersive storyline with plenty of emotion and intrigue, and enough action to keep you locked in throughout.

As I already touched on earlier in the review, one of the biggest strengths of Uncharted is its ability to stay true to the video games. I mean, we all know how hard it is to turn a video game into a movie, but to do that successfully and in such an authentic way, that’s one hell of an accomplishment if you ask me. I watched the movie with my brother who is also a huge fan of the games, and we were constantly nudging each other over the abundance of fan service found throughout the film. It was great! The fight sequences and big action scenes felt like a video game, and oftentimes even the way some of the enemies were standing felt like a video game. The Uncharted games are known for their fantastic cutscenes, and in many ways this movie felt like one long cutscene which is very much a compliment. I also really enjoyed the cinematography from Chung-hoon Chung, who recently did the horror thriller Last Night in Soho (check out our review here). He took full advantage of the magical sights thanks to filming taking place in Spain.

As promised, lets talk about the cast for a bit. I mean, even if you have zero attachment to the video games, the cast alone will surely fill the seats. Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg in the lead roles, with Antonio Banderas as a quality bad guy with a cool accent? Yeah, you know damn well you are interested in everything about what I just said. Holland fits the Nathan Drake mold perfectly, that is evident from the start. The breakout actor has seen his career skyrocket after landing a role as Spider-Man, but he has also proven he can act outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with films like Cherry, or The Devil All the Time, to use just a few examples. He is an a-list actor in every sense of the term, and I couldn’t be more pleased about him taking on this role.

Now Mark Wahlberg, who is definitely one of my favorite actors, felt a bit out of place in his role as Victor Sullivan, better known as Sully. At first anyway. But as the film progressed he started to become the character, and by the end I completely agreed with the casting decision. Plus, the movie is supposed to be an origin story/prequel so it makes sense why Sully would seem on the younger side compared to the video games.

According to some light research I did, before Wahlberg was given the role, other big names such as Bryan Cranston, Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Pratt, Chris Pine, Chris Hemsworth, Matthew McConaughey, and Woody Harrelson, were all considered. That gives you an idea of the allure surrounding this film. Antonio Banderas is fantastic as usual in his role as Santiago Moncado. I also really enjoyed Sophia Ali as Chloe Frazer, another character from the video games. She is as beautiful as she is untrustworthy. Tati Gabrielle was a badass in her role as Braddock, a real thorn in the side of Drake and Sully. I won’t give anything away, but one specific cameo in the film is simply EPIC, and the real ones will get it. That is all I am going to say about that. So yeah, just see the movie!

THE BAD

I’m not going to sit here and act like Uncharted is free of any warranted criticism, because that would be a bold faced lie, and I’m a pretty honest guy. Most of the time, anyway. But seriously, you can poke holes in several elements of the film if you look at it from an outsider's perspective, and what I mean by that is someone with no insight or appreciation of the video game franchise it is based on. Is the action extremely exaggerated and over-the-top at times? Sure it is. Are the fight sequences not quite as brutal as we might prefer, yes again.

But, if you have been paying attention during this review, one primary contributing factor keeps coming up, and that is the fact that at the end of the day this movie is based on a video game. I mean, need I say more? And I’m not talking about a video game with a mature rating, this is in the realm of a T (Teen 13+) rating, which might explain the abundance of children chaperoned to the theater by their ever so generous and caring parents. It also avoids feeling corny, which is a difficult balance if you ask me. I just can’t sit here and drop criticism when I feel like the ultimate goal was accomplished. If you feel otherwise, feel free to let us know in the comments section.

THE VERDICT

Action-packed, hilarious, and just an absolute blast right up until the end credits, Uncharted is undoubtedly one of the best video game to film adaptations to date. By the end the chemistry between Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg is bursting at the seams, and I personally cannot wait for the next movie which is surely inevitable. If you are a fan of the games you will love this movie without question, but you will still be more than pleased if you come in without any idea of what to expect. Do yourself a favor and check out Uncharted in theaters sooner than later, and be sure to stick around for both post-credit scenes as well.