Long-delayed video game movie adaptation Uncharted is fine at best

Uncharted. // Courtesy Sony Pictures

After over a decade in development (and a litany of attached directors and stars), one of Sony’s biggest game properties is finally hitting the big screen. Uncharted marks the start of Sony’s Playstation Productions, a multi-platform plan that will see the studio bring several beloved games to the world of films and TV. 

Unfortunately, it would appear things still need some fine-tuning. Instead of something unique, Uncharted is a bloated and boring blockbuster that just happens to look pretty.

The majority of Nathan “Nate” Drake’s (Tom Holland) life has been spent alone. His parents disappeared when he was young. A few years later, Nate bid farewell to his older brother Sam (Rudy Pankow), who went off to live a life of adventure to avoid prison time. Nate has spent the majority of his 20s bartending at an upscale NYC joint while pickpocketing high-end marks. One day he meets his match in Victor “Sully” Sullivan—a rough-and-tumble Mark Wahlberg type—conveniently played by Walhberg himself.

It turns out Sam and Sully spent the last several years searching for one of the greatest treasures of all time—Magellan’s lost gold. Their last attempt at trying to locate one of the remaining puzzle pieces ends up with Sam vanishing. Sully believes Nate is the key to finding the treasure and possibly solving Sam’s disappearance. First, though, he needs Nate’s help to stay one step ahead of some bad guys led by billionaire Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas). Their journey takes them to Barcelona, to the middle of an ocean, and a Papa John’s—really wish that last bit was a joke.

As video game adaptations go, Uncharted is reasonably faithful. Parkour, spectacular set pieces, globetrotting, and a fair bit of archeological adventure are baked into the plot. These elements of the game were what made the concept of a big-screen adaptation so appealing. Yet, as has historically been the case with films of this nature, something gets lost in translation.

The very act of turning a video game into a movie puts the film’s creators at a loss for two reasons. For the casual viewer, a video game movie is just a movie. With no relationships or other ties to the original property, there’s no existing goodwill toward the story or characters. Gamers, on the other hand, are deprived of the sense of accomplishment that make playing a game so rewarding. Not to mention, whittling down a 10 to 20-hour narrative to fit the confines of acceptable movie length is a tricky feat to pull off.

Uncharted’s set pieces are relatively exciting (and gorgeously lensed by cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung). However, the story and characters get short shrift, especially in regard to female roles. Intrepid explorer Chloe (Sophia Ali) and mercenary Braddock (Tati Gabrielle) are defined only by their relationship to Sully. Of the two, Gabrielle’s portrayal of Braddock wins out through sheer badassery.

There’s nothing strictly wrong with Uncharted. The problem is that it’s all been done before with greater aplomb. For all the millions of dollars in bells and whistles on display, things never really rise above mediocrity. It’s the kind of disposable fare that’s becoming all too popular in Hollywood, where IP matters more than originality or ingenuity.