“Uncharted” is an action-adventure movie based on a video game series by the same name. The main characters: Nathan (Nate) Drake, played by Tom Holland, Chloe Frazer, played by Sophia Taylor Ali, and Victor Sullivan (Sully), played by Mark Wahlberg, share a similar group dynamic to their video game counterparts, but their personalities differ greatly. Unfortunately, this deviation in personality causes them to seem more distant from each other. This paired with an obnoxiously tropey storyline and dialogue, makes for an average movie experience.
As the movie opens, we are immediately thrust into an intense situation and we get to meet Nate right away. I was skeptical at first about Tom Holland being cast as Nathan Drake. He’s mostly known for Spider-Man, and being an awkward yet lovable character. “Uncharted” initially steers into this skid and follows the same scheme, but eases the viewer out of it to create a new character.
I found the storyline to be extremely familiar. It draws from many other historical, treasure hunting movies in a way that made it played-out. I did, however, enjoy the twist added by including an emphasis on larceny. This is true to the video games and makes an otherwise plain movie a little more fun. The fighting sequence towards the end also added to the fun and was, simply put, just cool.
Now, I’ve never played the games, so I reached out to someone who had to get their opinion. Blake Almandinger, a freshman here at Kirkwood, commented on the movie. He said he was let down by the lack of action. While there was, no doubt, a focus on puzzle solving and history in the games, a larger aspect, he said, was the fighting. Blake didn’t feel like this was reflected well in the movie.
He also wasn’t impressed with the version of Sully that was portrayed in the movie. The Sully he came to know, by playing the games, was a much more endearing, father figure in Nate’s life. In the movie, Sully is only really looking out for himself.
It wasn’t all bad news for fans of the video game though. There were several nods to the franchise such as: dangling cargo out of a plane, Nate’s notorious gun sling and the travel sequences.
Categories: Art & Life, Movie Reviews
