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. What starts as a heist job for the duo becomes a globe-trotting race to reach the prize before the ruthless Santiago Moncada, who believes his family are the rightful heirs. If Nate and Sully can decipher the clues and solve one of the world's oldest mysteries, they stand to find $5 billion in treasure and perhaps even Nate's lost brother but only if they learn to work together. This movie follows the series of video games under the same name, Uncharted, bringing a separate depiction to the big screen. I have been a massive fan of the games and have thoroughly enjoyed them across the board from the gameplay, the story, the action, the mystery and most of all, the characters. Those who have played all the titles over the years have grown very attached to these characters, which is why I think many people had a slightly hard time getting into this film. Many will instantly notice how some of the main figures for this production bear little resemblance to their counterparts. Now this isn't necessarily the problem as it also comes down to the performance, which again was set apart from the games. I have always found it strange that when given such substantial content and source material, these movies manage to alter the simplest of things, which fundamentally undo what made those products so beloved or fan favourites. Now this is not to say I hated the film, I did enjoy it, but I didn't love it. It was an extremely entertaining adventure flick full of action, stunts and treasure hunting, which you would come to expect, however, it lacked the feeling of the Uncharted brand. Whilst yes, it is full of nods, references and characters taken straight from the series, had I not known about the video games this would have felt like any generic adventure flick. Although being labelled and advertised as an Uncharted movie, I had hoped to see much of the title's aspects be resurrected in this feature and be unmistakably recognisable as a product of this franchise. What the film does do, is create its own story and combine a variety of significant segments across each game into one. Viewers will notice scenes like, for instance, the plane that Drake falls out of is straight out of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Video Game 2011), which was a phenomenal part of that game and was equally one of the best parts of this film. Especially with the cameo of the voice actor for Drake delivering a hilarious scene saying he too fell out of a plane once. Drake is played by Tom Holland who is acceptable despite looking much younger. He brought over the energy needed and had that witty charm of the up-and-coming explorer. This is, after all, treated as a backstory, showing the early years of this soon-to-be team. Sully is played by Mark Wahlberg, who is pretty comical and wiser in this line of work being Drake's "mentor" although looking astronomically different to the original white hair, tash, cigar-smoking Sully. We also get to see a younger Chloe Frazer, who spends her time bickering with the other two and double-crossing them for her own self-interests. Some characters never make an appearance in this like Elena, but we do get mention of Sam. There are some fantastic moments in this flick. Don't get me wrong, I liked the two ship wreaks flying side by side in the final battle that was pretty intense and a huge spectacle but I do feel like they used up so many parts from each game that going forward, there isn't a lot left to utilize. With the end credit scene showing Drake and Sully in their classic attire, with their iconic attitudes, and Sully's tash, it finally felt like an Uncharted product. I was quite sad we didn't spend more time with these versions, but with a cliffhanger ending, there is hope for a second entry to deliver the true experience. Overall, Uncharted is a fun caper that is full of puzzle-solving, explosions, stunts, beautiful locations, over-the-top fights and some comedic one-liners. It has all the makings of a laid-back adventure flick, but in the realms of the Uncharted series, it isn't quite there.
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