Uncharted (2022) Movie Review

Hello guys and welcome back for another round of movie reviews with Movie Nerd, a place where you can be nerdy about movies!

Here it is guys, finally, the movie has hit the big screen and, for me, being a huge fan of the games and, since I played the games as well and loved them, I was really looking forward to this adaptation, hoping that it will not fall under the curse of game to movie adaptation but, unfortunately, I was left with only the hope after I had done seen the movie earlier this evening. More about my opinion in a second but, first, a little synopsis for you guys:

• Street-smart Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) is recruited by seasoned treasure hunter Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) to recover a fortune amassed by Ferdinand Magellan and lost 500 years ago by the House of Moncada. What starts as a heist job for the duo becomes a globe-trotting, white-knuckle race to reach the prize before the ruthless Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas), who believes he and his family are the rightful heirs. If Nate and Sully can decipher the clues and solve one of the world’s oldest mysteries, they stand to find $5 billion in treasure and perhaps even Nate’s long-lost brother...but only if they can learn to work together.

So, first of all, I really need to say this, although it has been said a lot since this movie was announced, that the perfect guy to play Nathan Drake is Nathan Fillion, who indeed played Drake in a short film a few years back and seeing Tom Holland in this role, however good of an actor he is, he still looks and acts like Peter Parker and, I know, this movie is like the origin story of Nathan, who is not really the treasure hunter that we seen and played in the games, he is still learning the ropes. Plus, it is also an origin story of his relationship with Sully and Chloe and how those relationships will evolve into the relationships we experience in the games.

Being a massive fan of the game series, I was a bit let down by the movie because it did not felt like a adaptation of an Uncharted game, it really felt like a cheap copy of the game and of other really superior adventure movies. Leaving the games out of the discussion, as an adventure movie, it's pretty generic and full of everything that we had seen in better movies of this genre, movies like the Indiana Jones series, which this one really takes inspiration and actually references it plus others like the Pirates of the Caribbean series, which the movie also references when Jack Sparrow name is mentioned and Tomb Raider and The Mummy. Also, having some very illogical moments, with scenes that defy logic and really any credibility, makes you think of the Fast and Furious franchise. So, in other words, this movie is a mish mash of everything.

It really takes it's inspiration, mostly, from the fourth game of the series, A Thief's End, which, in this movie's case, should have been called A Thief's Beginning. I really liked the part we see with Nate and his brother Sam, a part that really defines the core of this movie and it's story, which is the curiosity of the unknown and it's mysteries and the thirst to discover those mysteries, a part of the story that really makes you think about your childhood and how, as a kid, every single one of us was curious about everything.

Until it's last act, the movie is very lackluster, it's not that exciting, it does not have that many action sequences and when it does have some action, it's very short lived. It has a fast pace, which is good because the lack of action would surely make you drift off into the dream land. But, when it comes to it's third act, the movie really becomes an Uncharted game, with some great action sequences and a very alert pacing. There, the action is really good and very enjoyable and exciting. I really saw the Uncharted part of the movie only in the third act, which was supposed to be the whole movie.

I really dug the humor, it really was very similar with the humor from the games, especially with the interactions between Sully and Nate, which were always fun to watch and experience, proof, I think, of the good chemistry between Tom and Mark.

Overall, if you are part of the group of individuals who haven't play the games, I think this movie will be a satisfactory experience as a adventure movie but, for gamers, such as myself, who have played the games and really enjoyed them, this will surely be a let down, not a very drastic one but a let down nonetheless. The movie is not bad, is just fine but, for an Uncharted adaptation, I really think the movie does not do the games justice. 6/10

OK guys, that was my review for this one. Next up, we return to Texas for a new massacre, which I think will come out sometime next week. Until then, take care, stay safe, stay nerdy and keep on reviewing!