Uncharted is a PlayStation exclusive game series that generally speaking is the male version of Tomb Raider. The protagonist is Nathan Drake, a charming thief, explorer and Treasure Hunter who works with his older friend Sully and a few others that they come across in their journeys. This post is looking at the movie based on the games.

Tom Holland played Drake in this adventure, I couldn’t see him as the character because he comes across as young, not having the manly charm or even looks. Sully being Mark Wahlberg had the same problem of not seeming old enough. Thankfully, this movie was an origin story with bits that used ideas pulled from the games. Although I could see Wahlberg growing into Sully by the end, and the Chloe Fraser actress also fit quite well. If they do sequels to this, Holland might become right as movie Drake going on.

How’s it relate to the games? Holland dressed right, looking like a great cosplayer even if I didn’t think he was quite right. The extreme situations that Uncharted is known for like having Drake dangling from something dangerous, having flying ships and aerial boarding were all present, including the loop back structure from the famous train level, and having this sort of situation gave the right feel to the film. Drake isn’t supposed to be a killer in the games (even though he wipes out thousands of enemies) and the movie sticks to the idea, having him go as far as apologising when he kills someone. Then there’s the lack of trust, betrayals between the Treasure Hunters which is an exciting idea that fits the games but is overdone in movies. Nolan North (aka voice of Nathan Drake in games) has a little cameo too so the real character is in the movie.

As a movie, Uncharted has silly moments with action, slight racism against the Scottish and manages to be family friendly without too much bloodshed or peril. The acting is good enough and if you’re not a gamer who’s familiar with the series then my Tom Holland concerns shouldn’t be a bother. It’s a bit of a slow start but once it gets going and we get past the evil rich guy set up it becomes slightly less predictable, pulling some unexpected tricks. We even get a hint at a sequel featuring one of the video game villains.

What we’re left with is something that’s a nice but forgettable way to spend a couple of hours. Not perfect for gamers but good enough to grow on me at least. I hope we get a series from this.