By: Amanda Guarragi
Normally, video game adaptations don’t always have the best track record. We’ve gone from Assassin’s Creed to Monster Hunter to Resident Evil and the majority of the time the storytelling is weak. Now enters, Uncharted, one of the most beloved video game franchises ever. The reason why this one works is because they took the outline of the video game and tweaked it a bit to make it more cinematic for the general audience. There is no way to incorporate all the little details that a video game so expertly does with its gameplay. If anything, other studios looking to adapt any other video game should look at Sony because they actually did something right.
This by no means is one of the best video game adaptations (which isn’t saying much), but it feels more like an action-adventure and a heist film wrapped into one. We see Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) and his wisecracking partner Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) embark on a dangerous quest to find the greatest treasure never found, while also tracking clues that may lead to Nate’s long-lost brother. Surprisingly, Holland and Wahlberg had solid chemistry and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of them in the future. They seem like such an unlikely pairing but they worked for what the movie was. The script was pretty straightforward as it neatly explored Drake’s backstory towards the beginning with his brother, obviously setting the emotional connection for Drake throughout the entire film.
Even though the CGI was really bad and you could notice the green screen, the action pieces were executed quite well. There are four massive action sequences that build up with tension and the editing for the fight choreography was great. The heists were strong and intricate, which worked when each action sequence got bigger and more life-threatening. There is one action scene in the third act that put a big smile on my face because of how insane it was. It also reminded me of one of my favourite action-adventure films ever. The supporting characters were good as well; Santiago (Antonio Banderas), Braddock (Tati Gabrielle), and Chloe Frazer (Sophia Ali) all brought their ‘A’-game and kicked some butt. Of course, Banderas is a scene-stealer whenever he’s on-screen, he was perfect as the villain in this one.
Uncharted is an action-adventure movie first and a video game adaptation second. Holland steals the spotlight and really carries this movie on his shoulders. He charges up his charm and has great chemistry with the entire cast. Unfortunately, Wahlberg was miscast as Sully and I wanted to see more from Banderas. The script is incredibly basic and some pieces of dialogue were really cheesy, but the important part is that the action scenes were fun and executed well. Yes, this film is messy, but it was fun just to get lost and go on a wild adventure with some thieves. Honestly, I wouldn’t be mad if they ended up making a trilogy, just because of how different it feels in the action department. So turn off your brain and try to enjoy this entertaining heist films to date.
Candid Cinema 