Uncharted

If there's one video game adaptation we've been looking forward to, it's the adventurous action game series created by Amy Hennig, developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation consoles. Each of the many video games offered over the years on different PlayStation consoles allowed players to play as Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter who travels the world. 

From the first Uncharted: Drake's Fortune game released on PlayStation 3 in 2007 to Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection in 2022 on Playstation, this game series has been a resounding success with no less than 41 million units sold. Because of its many qualities, both visual and scripted, this series was bound to be transposed to the big screen. After the success of movie adaptations such as Tomb Raider (three films to date) and many others, there were enough ideas and solid bases to create a new cinematographic saga. However, the film is really disappointing as the lack of inspiration is visible on the screen and especially the film is cruelly lacking of rhythm and impressive and original scenes.

After presenting the difficult childhood of young Nathan Drake (Tom Holland), an orphan living with his older brother as a child in an orphanage and we witness their separation, the action resumes in our days. Nathan Drake, like his older brother, has become a thief and also works as a bartender to make ends meet. His past resurfaces when he is recruited by treasure hunter Victor "Sully" Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) to recover a fortune lost by Ferdinand Magellan 500 years earlier.  What follows is a frantic race across the world to reach the prize before the ruthless Moncada (Antonio Banderas) and his henchmen, who believe that he and his family are the rightful heirs. If Nate and Sully, who will be supported by Chloe Fraze (Sophia Ali), can decipher the clues and solve one of the world's oldest mysteries, they will have the chance to find a treasure estimated at $5 billion and possibly even Nate's long lost brother.

Despite its perfect casting and a very functional duo composed of actors Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg Uncharted disappoints not only by its cutting but also by its total failure to create an immersive universe worthy of great adventure films. Certainly the director Ruben Fleischer is far from having the undeniable know-how of Steven Spielberg to give life to an adventurer like Indiana Jones but he had managed to convince us with films like Zombieland (2009), Zombieland: Double Tap (2019) and to give life to the cult Marvel comics character Venom (2018). 

However, in this case, we find ourselves facing a film too close to the universe of Benjamin Gates with a humor not always well calibrated and especially we do not find the DNA of Uncharted. The scene during the end credits is also surprising and cruelly lacks consistency. While the main cast is rather convincing, the script by Rafe Judkins, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway is rather unfinished, as if these scriptwriters had not understood the essence of Nathan Drake's universe and were trying to recycle ideas taken from various films, including the Pirates of the Caribbean saga. After seeing the best scenes in the trailer the film completely disappoints and it's a shame because Tom Holland is perfect in his role.

Uncharted
Directed by Ruben Fleischer
Produced by Charles Roven, Avi Arad, Alex Gartner, Ari Arad
Written by Rafe Judkins, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway
Based on the PlayStation video game Uncharted by Naughty Dog Studios by Amy Hennig
Starring Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, Sophia Ali, Tati Gabrielle, Antonio Banderas
Music by Ramin Djawadi
Cinematography: Chung-hoon Chung
Edited by Chris Lebenzon, Richard Pearson
Production companies: Columbia Pictures, PlayStation Productions, Atlas Entertainment, Arad Productions
Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing (United States), Sony Pictures Releasing France (France)
Release date : February 11, 2022 (United Kingdom), February 16, 2022 (France), February 18, 2022 (United States)
Running time : 116 minutes

Seen on February 15, 2021 at Gaumont Disney Village, Room 01 seat L17

Mulder's Mark: