One of the categories of films that tend to have horrible track records are those based on video games. From “Doom” to “Super Mario Brothers” and the understandably forgettable “Max Payne” where I thought Mark Wahlberg learned his lesson. Well, with him doing another one with “Uncharted,” I was wondering that specific question.
Directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, Venom), Wahlberg stars alongside Tom Holland, Antonio Banderas, Sophia Ali, and Tati Gabrielle. From its source material on the Sony PlayStation, Nathan Drake (Holland) is recruited by Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Wahlberg) to go on a quest to find the lost gold of the Magellan expedition. Hot on their hells to get there is another team led by the ruthless Santiago Moncada (Banderas) and hired mercenary Jo Braddock (Gabrielle). There is also Chloe Frazer (Ali), another fortune hunter who has a long history with Sullivan in this game of who you can trust and who you can’t as they race across the globe.
The cinematography here really works well alongside the CGI elements used to match up with each and every locale where the story takes place. Also on the positive front, “Uncharted” did not seem too long at just under two hours; however, there are some scenes which could easily have been trimmed down which I will get into.
On the flip side, this film has no originality and got very muddled to the point where I was confused with all of the side-switching that was going on. I do like quite a few of these actors, but that does not translate into good chemistry and this film proves it. Some of the action sequences are even beyond the suspension of disbelief, and one of the big chases towards the end of the film brought back horrible memories of the bus scene in “Swordfish”. (If you have seen the trailers or promo ads, you are aware of what I am referring to.)
Unfortunately, this film felt like a failed attempt that mixes “Raiders of the lost Ark,” “National Treasure,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” and “The Fast and the Furious”. It looks great, but the script just doesn’t back up the excitement factor, so I will recommend “Uncharted” as a viewing on cable.