Review of 'Uncharted'

Beginning with an amazing aerial chase out the back of a cargo plane, Uncharted grabs your attention. Here thief Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) clings for his life on a chain of cargo boxes dangling out the back. We are then taken back in time to meet Nathan's (Tiernan Jones as a young boy) brother Sam (Rudy Pankow) as they attempt a robbery at a museum. Captured they are returned to their orphanage home but Sam runs away, leaving Nathan with a necklace to remember him by. Years later Nathan works in a cocktail bar where he is recruited by Victor Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) to go in search of Ferdinand Magellan's lost gold. They are competing with the ruthless Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas), heir to the Moncada family, who will stop at nothing to beat them to the prize. After a daring theft at an auction where Nathan narrowly avoids capture, they have the two crosses they need to unlock the secret location of the treasure aided by the reluctant Chloe Frazer (Sophia Ali).

A whole lot of fun from the Spider Man star Tom Holland and the super-star, and would-be restauranteur, Mark Wahlberg with a whole heap of action and adventure. The action sequences are wonderfully done though it has to be said the acrobatics of the stars is a bit hard to swallow - Really, these thieves are better than a Cirque du Soleil acrobat? The final sequence featuring Magellan's ships takes the action to a whole new level but is also very hard to swallow…though it looks pretty cool.

The banter between the Holland (who features in most of the action sequences) and Wahlberg does often seem a bit clunky with the chemistry the filmmakers are obviously hoping to establish never really convincing. I suppose this in a way summarises the problem with this film - It always feels so contrived and unnatural, never coming together, including the cliched and slightly clunky attempt at classic “Indiana Jones” style filmmaking with planes flying over the surface of a globe. Indeed, the Indiana Jones connection was very much on my mind as I watched it (and they often refer to this in the film itself) but whereas that was a masterclass at fun storytelling, choreography, and action this is a far more shallow and unconvincing affair.

A lot of fun and action with the occasional laugh out loud moment, “Uncharted” never really hits the mark. Still, grab the popcorn and turn off the brain…

Rating: “Really good but I have some issues”

Review Date: 2023-12-02

Directed by: Ruben Fleischer

Studio: Columbia Pictures

Year: 2022

Length: 116 minutes

Genre: Action/Adventure

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1464335/

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