Rating: 7.5
If you are a fan of Uncharted… stay away from this movie. If you, like me, just want a fun albeit mindless and generic action adventure movie, this is an enjoyable flick! It’s by no means a “good movie” but it’s all around fun and enjoyable. It’s in no way a new “Indiana Jones” for the modern age, but it does offer a few unique thrills along the way! For reference, I went in with low expectations and not really any prior knowledge of the Uncharted games, so my review is fully based on the movie itself, and may seem a little more positive than most because it wasn’t hard for it to exceed my expectations.
The biggest thing this movie has going for it is Tom Holland. If Tom Holland wasn’t in this movie, I don’t think I would have enjoyed it near as much. The film is truly driven by his charisma. I truly think Holland is one of the best action stars and actors in Hollywood right now, he was able to really carry this movie despite everything else working against him, such as the fact that he was very miscast. He is not at all Nathan Drake, but that’s not his fault, and he gives this role his all to try and deliver something worthwhile to fans. And damn, he really is so charming and likeable, and not only that but single-handedly improves the movie just by being in it. He shows here that he isn’t just Peter Parker, he’s an action star in the vein of Tom Cruise! He has this laser-like physical precision and confidence in his physicality, he sells the fights and action scenes so well and its very clear to see he did a lot of his own stunts, much like Cruise! Seeing him do flips, crazy jumps and every other stunt is exhilarating and makes the film feel different from most modern action fare; it makes this feel a little more special than all of the other “Indiana Jones wannabes”. Holland just did such a good job here, easily the highest point of the movie. He has the charisma, comedic timing, and the physicality for the action!
Now to get into some of the more mixed aspects. To continue with the cast, Mark Wahlberg felt a little off as Sully, and I hate to say it but I didn’t feel much chemistry between him and Holland or any of the other characters for that matter. And thats not the actors faults. I truly think it comes down to the lacklustre direction and the uninspired, mediocre script. The direction is very poor, and I knew it would be going in. Ruben Fleischer is someone who the studios hire as a last resort replacement, he just has no artistic voice and directs what’s on the page, not adding any intensity or style. Compared to his other work such as with Venom, this is his most ambitious project yet, and I thought he did fine by his standards, but this film could have used a much more talented filmmaker at the helm. The production value did feel quite slick however, especially with the action scenes. The setpieces are incredible, they are so much fun and bring so much spectacle! While a little preposterous, I did love final 3rd act setpieces with the flying pirate ships! The action is just so well done, fight sequences are so slick and I think that just comes down to how well the actors sold it… because the script sure didn’t do it any favours.
This screenplay is not great, and is easily the biggest weakness of this film. The plot was so disjointed and didn’t feel like a movie, just a collection of moments and plot points. It was very uninspired and felt mandated by studio execs who thought they knew Uncharted. But believe it or not… this script completely lacks the personality of Uncharted. It also just lacks story and character development, merely just serves as a connection between the action scenes, which is fun, but doesn’t make for a good movie. It has some very silly moments too, such as the treasure hunting and map following elements which were absolutely ridiculous. It just asked for too much suspension of disbelief from the audience. For example, there’s a very “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” like moment where the characters are in hidden chambers underneath the city, and the movie asks us to believe that the city just built itself around these hidden clues and rooms. One of the clues happens to be perfectly preserved in a Papa Johns restaurant (and yes I hated the blatant product placement), which just seemed so ridiculous to me. The movie also seemed to lose steam at times, but wisely used music to pick up the energy. It also tries way too hard to set up sequels rather than to tell a good, self-contained story.
But ultimately, I still had lots of fun with this movie. Trust me, its not the greatest thing you’ll see by any means, but if you’re looking for a fun action adventure this is a good time! While its no “Indiana Jones”, it does happen to be much more enjoyable than “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” at least! Its honestly one of the more solid adventure movies in recent memory, but it is not at all an Uncharted movie. And yeah, the screenplay and direction isn’t great, but the gorgeous locations, humour, action and cast do a lot to help make the movie a really fun time! Especially Tom Holland! I’d honestly see it for Tom Holland alone; he is the highlight of this movie, its completely driven by his physicality and charisma! I was surprised to have enjoyed this movie as much as I did, I ended up really liking it despite its major flaws.
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IMDb Rating: 6.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 39%
RT Audience Score: 90%
Metacritic Score: 47
CinemaScore:
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Sony - Columbia Pictures
Directed by Ruben Fleischer
Screenplay by Rafe Judkins, Art Marcum & Matt Holloway
Screen Story by Rafe Judkins, Jon Haley Rosenberg & Mark D. Walker
Cast: Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, Antonio Banderas, Sophia Ali, Tati Gabrielle, Steven Waddington
Runtime: 1hr 56min
Rating: PG
Action, Adventure
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Street-smart Nathan Drake, is recruited by seasoned treasure hunter, Victor "Sully" Sullivan, to recover a fortune amassed by Ferdinand Magellan, and lost 500 years ago by the House of Moncada.
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Fun Fact: Tom Holland calls his plane scene the hardest action sequence he's ever made.
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