Surprise, surprise! Naughty Dog’s Uncharted movie is surprisingly good, and an action-packed thrill ride from start to finish. With everything from outstanding CGI to the performances by all involved, this movie does justice to its namesake and the game series that it came from.
For those unaware, Uncharted is based on an action-adventure video game series of the same name by Sony’s Naughty Dog Studios, which has spanned 6 games over the last decade and a half and starred Nathan Drake (played by Tom Holland) as its protagonist in every installment of the series so far.
Uncharted Movie Review
Great Start to a Franchise, But Gets Lost in Itself: Young Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) is a treasure hunter and thief who is trying to make it big by stealing an ancient Indian jewel from an Arabian collector named Kuasa (Elizabeth Debicki). Kuasa’s brother is looking for Nathan so he can tell him where his mother is buried.
After a near-death experience, Nathan gets involved with Victor Sullivan (played by Richard McGonagle) who helps him get some fake passports to get out of Abu Dhabi. When trying to catch their flight, they run into Joshamee Gibbs (played by Graham McTavish) who gives them a ride in his plane.
Who Is Nathan Drake?
Long before he was Spider-Man, Tom Holland was making his mark in Hollywood. He took up acting at a young age and has since starred in two critically acclaimed TV series: Wolf Hall (2015) and (2016), as well as Mr. Selfridge (2013) and Bonkers (1993). However, one of his most memorable roles came when he starred alongside Mark Wahlberg in 2015’s action film, Max.
If you’re not yet familiar with him, we suggest you give him another look. His career is currently on an upward trajectory and we expect big things from him over the next few years—especially if you liked what you saw in Uncharted: The Lost Legacy!
Uncharted Movie The Storyline
One of my favorite aspects of playing Uncharted was how linear it felt. While games like The Last of Us and Batman: Arkham Asylum allowed you to roam freely, Uncharted had you sticking to an objective. And I love that about it. It’s almost like a focused action movie with a beginning, middle, and end; all you have to do is make sure Drake gets from point A to point B in one piece.
Instead of restricting me from going wherever I wanted, uncharted let me go anywhere as long as I played by its rules—and trust me when I say that no other game does that better than Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.
Uncharted Movie Casting (Part 1)
Tom Holland is, hands down, one of my favorite actors. Ever since his first appearance in Captain America: Civil War, I’ve been absolutely dying to see more of him. And with Spider-Man: Homecoming and now Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, I’ve not only seen a lot of him but I have also thoroughly enjoyed what he brings to each role he plays.
In Uncharted: The Lost Legacy we follow Chloe Frazer who is looking for an ancient relic called The Tusk of Ganesh. If you know anything about Naughty Dog, then you can probably guess that she gets roped into all sorts of shenanigans along her journey.
Uncharted Movie Supporting Cast
Unfortunately, Leela Savasta’s Chloe Frazer is rather underdeveloped and uninteresting; she seems to exist mostly to support Drake. The movie also suffers from an antagonist that’s so underwhelming that it ultimately doesn’t matter if he succeeds or fails. Part of what made Uncharted such a great game series was how memorable its villains were. Someone should have told Crowe that; and if they did, he should have listened.
Uncharted Movie Directing, Writing, and Editing
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: If there is one area of Uncharted where it does fall short in terms of comparison to other films (and other Indiana Jones films for that matter), it is with its directing. While I quite enjoyed Shawn Levy’s previous outings as a director (Night at the Museum) and found his work on Stranger Things to be worthy of high praise, some of his more recent movies (like This Is Where I Leave You and Cheaper by the Dozen 2) have been less successful, especially when they are compared to those that he has directed in years past.
On Uncharted though, there really isn’t much to complain about when it comes to Levy’s work behind the camera.
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Uncharted Movie Cinematography & Music
This movie is a visual experience. The cinematography is also part of what makes it feel like an action movie and not just a superhero film. If I had to compare it to other movies I would say it’s very similar to Mission Impossible: Fallout which is one of my favorite movies.
The music fits with all of those epic scenes and really brings out that sense of urgency. That being said, I feel like it does fall short when compared to some other films like Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War in terms of overall soundtrack.
Uncharted Movie Costumes & Effects
Put on Your Indiana Jones Hat: The Indiana Jones movies are amazing. They have humor, heart, and thrilling action sequences that make you want to watch over and over again. Though there were many characters in these films, everyone remembers and loves Indiana Jones.
And let’s face it: Harrison Ford was excellent in his role as an archaeologist from Princeton University who is great at getting himself into trouble through his adventures around the world. All of those details you remember about Indy? They were made possible by costuming and effects expert Mary E. Vogt. Vogt was responsible for all of Indy’s look – right down to his leather jacket, hat, shoes, and whip!
Should You See The Uncharted Movie?
Anyone who reads movie reviews knows that people can be pretty polarizing when it comes to Hollywood blockbusters. But today, we’re not going to review Uncharted. Instead, we’re going to see if it’s worth your time and money. This is a movie review for normal people who just want to know if something is worth their time (and their money). So is Uncharted one of those rare must-see movies? The answer: yes and no.
What We Liked About Uncharted
There are a lot of elements in Uncharted that just work. The story is pretty simple, but it’s told in a very linear way and kept together by some good acting. The movie isn’t really suspenseful (not a typical trait of action movies) but we were always interested to see what would happen next. They did an excellent job of keeping us informed without feeling like they were telling us everything.
If you enjoyed watching Indiana Jones as a kid, you’ll love Uncharted. It reminds us of those classic action-adventure movies where kids find treasures and go up against bad guys at every turn. It also has more than one scene that reminded us of National Treasure, which is another fun movie to watch when it comes on TV at night!
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What Could Have Been Better
Even though it’s still a great movie, there’s some room for improvement with Uncharted. Perhaps director Seth Gordon could have spent more time setting up in-the-moment details instead of using a lot of expository dialogue, especially at the start of each scene.
If you have ever seen or read about any of his other movies like Horrible Bosses or Identity Thief, then you know exactly what I mean when I say that all his films seem to follow a very similar script (not surprising considering both films were directed by him). The only good thing is that he keeps most of his comedy down to subtle background moments.
Final Thoughts on the Uncharted Movie
To say that Uncharted has been a long time coming would be an understatement. The big-screen adaptation of Naughty Dog’s beloved video game series was announced way back in 2011, and since then, it’s undergone a few different release date delays, various changes in the cast (including director Neil Druckmann), and now finally hits theaters on May 10.
With all that time to build hype around its upcoming release, one thing is clear – you don’t have to be a fan of video games or even seen any of its video game counterparts to enjoy Uncharted. At its core, it’s an action-adventure flick with some light comedic elements thrown in.
