Uncharted Movie Review: Tom Holland deserves a better story for his strong performance as Nathan Drake

Tom Holland delivers a fun performance as Nathan Drake. However, as a film, Uncharted simply doesn’t have the sense of wonder or heart of the video game franchise.

Mark Wahlberg never comes across as Victor Sullivan. However, Uncharted is at its best when it’s just Wahlberg’s Sully and Holland’s Nate riffing with each other. When the film splits them off from one another, Uncharted tends to go off the rails.

The biggest issue with the film is these characters with the exception of Nate aren’t likable. Everyone’s out for themselves, which makes caring for anybody except Nate difficult. Sophia Ali is solid as thief Chloe Frazier, but her character isn’t given enough to do. The same issue plagues Antonio Banderas as Santiago Moncada. He could have been a great villain in line with the Uncharted games. However, he’s utterly wasted.

The film starts off on a strong emotional note and ends in a thrilling fashion. However, the 2nd act of the film set in Spain grounds the film to a halt. Ali and Holland try to infuse some chemistry between Chloe and Nate. However, the script is no help once so ever.

Director Ruben Fleisher does a capable job of shooting the action sequences. However, there needed to be more set pieces in the film and more stakes. Holland is fantastic in the action scenes.

Fleisher is clearly comfortable with the comedic back-and-forths between the characters as these scenes have a kinetic flow that the dramatic scenes lack.

Despite the problem with this Uncharted film, there are enough promising aspects for a sequel. Depending on how The Last of Us fares on HBO next year, Neil Druckman should probably take on a more hands-on role with the script. With Shawn Levy’s recent success, perhaps Sony will be willing to give Levy another shot at the franchise.

With the overview out of the way, let’s dive deeper into the elements that stood out in Uncharted.

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Nate and Sully in Uncharted

Holland succeeds far more in transforming into Drake than Wahlberg does as Sully. Wahlberg just seems like Wahlberg. Holland nails the combination of a history geek and thief with heart. He excels in the actions scenes and does what he can to elevate the weak screenplay.

Holland and Wahlberg do have great chemistry. They butt heads often, but towards the end of the film, their relationship does begin to resemble the relationship Sully and Nate have in the games. Unfortunately, Sully spends so much of the time trying to screw Nate over. You basically want Nate to leave Sully behind for most of the film.

The change in their partnership in the 3rd act just kind of happens. There’s no real buildup or reason for Sully to suddenly care about Nate either. The film does none of the work to set up this 3rd act change. It just happens. Essentially, the Fleisher and screenplay want audiences to just accept the partnership based on the perception we have from the game.

Treasue Hunting

The opening of the film does a great job of setting up the relationship between Nate and his older brother Sam. One change from the games is Sully has worked with Sam before. In fact, the reason Sully seeks out Nate is due to Sam’s disappearance.

Sully believes Sam left Nate a clue. Sully recruits Nate at a New York City bar. Nate is a skilled bartender who uses his inane history knowledge to regale guests or bore them to a stupor. He uses these opportunities to pickpocket unsuspecting guests. It’s a wonderful introduction to Nate’s skills as a thief. Sully oversees Nate’s “lift” and offers him a job. Nate turns it down at first but eventually relents. Like most of the conflicts, most resolutions come too easy in Uncharted.

Before long Nate and Sully are heading off to Barcelona where Nate meets Chloe. Doesn’t take long for everyone to start turning on each other. Eventually, Uncharted does leave Spain for the Philippines and that’s pretty much the extent of the globetrotting.

The clues and mysteries aren’t particularly clever. While there are some surprises, there are no hidden civilizations found or any awe-inspiring moments until the 3rd act.

Wasted Potential

The villains are the biggest problem in Uncharted. Banderas seems poised to be a classic Uncharted villain but is mightily underused. The screenplay does just enough to illustrate why Ferdinand Magellan’s treasure is so important to the Mercado family. Unfortunately, Banderas is off-screen for so long of the film’s runtime it seems like a waste of time.

Tati Gabrielle looks fantastic as Braddock, another mercenary hunting the treasure. She has a history with Sully and provides real menace when given the opportunity. Unfortunately, those scenes are few and far between. There was no reason to have Banderas in the film. If he wasn’t in the film, then Uncharted could have spent more time fleshing out Braddock’s past with Sully and her reasoning for going after this particular treasure.

Uncharted Final Thoughts

The ingredients for a good film are evident in Uncharted. Unfortunately, the dish simply doesn’t come together as a cohesive whole. Holland does make for a great Drake. If he can get a script worthy of his effort and talent, then Uncharted can be a fun film franchise.

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