Movie Review: Uncharted

Sic Parvis Magna means greatness from small beginnings, it's a inscription engraved on the iconic ring which Nathan Drake has kept with him all his life. These words seem fitting when talking about the 2022 live action Uncharted film as while its scope seems small and uninspired, I think there's enough here to not only entertain audiences but also establish a potential movie franchise. 

Based on the best-selling video game franchise by Naughty Dog, Uncharted tells a loose reimagining of the treasure hunter Nathan Drake's origins and how he ends up meeting his partner in crime Victor Sullivan. Together they set forth on an adventure to find the lost treasure of the Magellan expedition. Their adventure takes them to numerous locations across the world on the search for this treasure all the while avoiding rival treasure hunters who would have no qualms about killing them for getting in the way.  As a narrative set up, this is quintessentially Uncharted in nearly every aspect. The idea of chasing a lost treasure across several world locations and racing against other rival hunters in large action set pieces is all stuff you see in the video games, so it's easy to see the inspiration on full display. There's even a few cameos and musical notes from the games that show up in the movie which are just added points to how much this movie tries to pay homage to the series. On the flipside however, it's hard not to notice some half-baked attempts to incorporate and adapt aspects of the games as well. Plot beats and set pieces seem very akin to ones seen in the game but some definitely feel added with little intention other than to call back to the games and not to further the premise of this original narrative. The best way to explain this story is it's a surface level adaption, it tries to incorporate the best aspects of the series but it doesn't commit 100% to all of the ideas at play, some parts work while other parts don't, A good reflection of the weaker elements I think comes down to the characters. I think the movie gets Nate and Sully down well enough and each are played good by Holland and Wahlberg respectively. The remainder of the cast feel like a lesser implementation in comparison. Apart from the addition of Chloe Frazer the remainder of the cast are original characters and they seem less interesting with how they're written.  

In terms of action and direction I'd say the film feels quite competent in establishing an adventure very akin to Uncharted. It has a good mixture of character moments and large action set pieces to keep the narrative moving but also keep the audience entertained to a notable extent. The fact the film goes to several varied locations and utilises them to set up distinct action set pieces helps keep the entertainment value of the film running constantly. Again, similar to the narrative a lot of these set pieces are inspired from the games and while they don't perfectly emulate the scale of those moments, it does a nice job in paying tribute to them. One of the most iconic sequences in the franchise has always been the plane cargo sequence from Uncharted 3 and that is a scene this film tries to recreate in the biggest fashion. It's not all based on prior ideas though, there are original moments in the movie which feel few and far between but they are worth recognising for at least trying to emulate that Uncharted feeling with new concepts. 

Uncharted is a fun film, I can recognise an attempt to draw on everything that made the original games so iconic. While the narrative here isn't anything inspired or ground breaking I don't think it really needs to be. Sometimes a film can have value despite having a small scope and I think Uncharted fits that description perfectly, It's not without its issues but as far as video game adaptions go, I've seen far worse and I feel this film does a commendable attempt in adapting the games for the most part.