18 Feb Uncharted Review

UNCHARTED

dir. Ruben Fleischer, starring Tom Holland, Mark Whalberg, Sophia Ali, and Antonio Banderas

Uncharted, one of the bestselling franchises of adventure games, follows Nathan Drake as he traverses the world uncovering various historical mysteries and treasures. If that sounds all too familiar, the Uncharted series basically serves as a playable version of an Indiana Jones movie; clues to solve, puzzles to unravel, and bad guys to escape from. By raising the standards of single player video games with a focus on high production value and quality, complex storytelling, Uncharted’s method of storytelling has oft been favorably compared to Hollywood blockbuster storytelling. Those comparisons, after years of rumors and a revolving door of writers and directors, have finally come to fruition with Uncharted, directed by Ruben Fleischer and starring Tom Holland and Mark Whalberg.

Nathan Drake, separated from his old brother Sam when they were kids 15 years prior, now works as a bartender. Approached by Walberg’s Victor ‘Sully’ Sullivan to help finish an adventure that he and Sam started, Nathan is dragged into a world of adventurers, cutthroat thieves, and Scottish-accented rogues as they attempt to find explorer Ferdinand Magellan’s lost treasure. After a slow first act where Fleischer takes his time establishing Nathan Drake as a character, the film’s pace picks up a great deal with the entrance of Sully and the film’s Mcguffin. From there, the film’s 116-minute runtime flies by as they hop from location to location to get caught up in following clues through various mazes and puzzles. The chemistry between Nathan and Sully is the film’s strongest suit as Holland and Whalberg bicker and quip their way through action scenes. Comparisons to Indiana Jones are inevitable (Indy is briefly mentioned in the film); having a book to guide them (a la Last Crusade), spikes protruding from walls (Raiders of the Lost Ark), and a traveling montage of an animated plane flying (every Indiana Jones movie), the film’s tongue-in-cheek references and respect to the franchise lets audiences see the respect being given to the adventures that came before them.

Starring Tom Holland, Uncharted seems to be set as another franchise for the young actor to put on his resume. When playing Peter Parker, Holland’s greatest strength is his ability to play an almost manic nervousness as a kid overwhelmed in a world of superheroes and villains and his uncertainty in his role in the overall picture. Here in Uncharted, Holland projects a surefire confidence as Nathan Drake. While it’s made clear throughout the film that Nathan is trying to find his brother Sam, it’s also clear that Nathan is just as swept up in the mystery of it all as Sully is. That longing to find his brother, mixed with his quick wits when solving puzzles makes for a fun performance from Holland, but certainly not his best.

Mark Whalberg, meanwhile, continues his string of shallow tough guy roles that seems to keep the actor alive and in business. In Uncharted, Whalberg manages to find a few moments to poke fun at the tough guy tropes (references to his aging body make for a few good jokes) while still ahering to the performances that have graced the majority of his career. As Sully, Whalberg is equal parts charming and slimy, a character we immediately like and also immediately know we shouldn’t trust, but, like Nathan, would end up following anyway. Whalberg is in the film for just the right amount of time, disappearing somewhere towards the end of second act to give Holland and Sophia Ali’s characters some time to breathe.

Also starring Sophia Ali as Chloe Frazer (first introduced in Uncharted 2), the character is a walking ‘no honor amongst thieves’ cliche. Double crosses, triple crosses, and a constant wary eye makes Chloe’s insertion into the group a boost to their overall dynamics and keeps both Nathan and Sully on constant guard. Ali is great in the role, introduced at the right time in the story, and one that hopefully will return for the inevitable sequel. Also starring Antonio Banderas as our primary villain Santiago Moncada, the veteran actor continues to prove that he still has it. A clever antagonist with a decent motivation of seeing his family restored to their former prominence, Banderas appears sporadically throughout the movie as he’s always hot on the trail of Nathan and Sully. Rounding out the principal cast is Tati Gabrielle as Jo Braddock, employed by Santiago to work against Nathan and Sully. With more screen time than Banderas, Gabrille’s character suffers the most from a lack of development and a lack of any real motivation. Her actions towards the third act, while meant to be played a surprise twist, comes off more unexpectedly random than calculated. Still, Gabrielle is serviceable with what she’s given, and while Ali works as a foil for Nathan, Braddock’s clear history with Sully gives her some fun exchanges with Walberg.

Directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, Venom), Uncharted has proven that he’s capable of handling big budget blockbusters. Fleischer and cinematographer Chung Chung-hoon have fun with the camera, keeping it moving in unique ways that lends energy and dynamism to each scene. The film’s pacing is a bonus; from the second act on our characters get scant little time to breathe as they hop from set piece to set piece. It’s clear Fleischer’s intention was to keep his foot down on the adrenaline pedal as the story hurdles towards the third act climax; part of this might be to help hide some of the wonkier CGI that exists within the film, especially during that opening action scene and that same scene in full when the story loops back around to it. Still, thanks to a rousing score from red hot composer Ramin Djawadi, the music, the action, and the clear chemistry between the lead actors makes for an enjoyable time at the theater.

Overall, Uncharted is easily the best video game adaptation Hollywood has managed to produce so far. Granted it’s a low bar to clear, Fleischer’s decision to focus on making a solid action-adventure movie first and an adaptation second pays off; Uncharted is just as entertaining for those who’ve never played the game as it is for those who have. Not the strongest performance from Holland, it’s still clear to see that he and Whalberg had fun making this film and that fun translates from the set to the screen. While it’ll likely appear on few top ten lists at the end of the year, Uncharted is an enjoyable, jet setting adventure that’s sure to entertain and engage audiences for two hours; a popcorn flick cleverly snuck into the release schedule well ahead of summertime. Uncharted is currently in theaters.

Review by Darryl Mansel