Streaming Service: Netflix
Movie Name/Year: Uncharted (2022)
Genre: Action, Adventure
Length: 1h 56min
Rating: PG-13
Production/Distribution: Arad Productions, Atlas Entertainment, Ayuntamiento
de Madrid, B&H Film Distribution, Big Picture 2 Films, Columbia Pictures,
Columbia Pictures Corporation, Naughty Dog, PlayStation Productions, Sony
Computer Entertainment America, Sony Pictures Entertainment Iberia, Sony
Pictures Filmverleih, Sony Pictures Releasing, Sony Pictures Releasing
Argentina, Sony Pictures Releasing Australia, Sony Pictures Releasing Canada,
Sony Pictures Releasing International, Sony Pictures Releasing Italia, United
International Pictures (UIP), Universal Pictures International (UPI)
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Writers: Art Marcum, Rafe Judkins, Matt
Holloway, Amy Hennig, Jon Hanley Rosenberg, Mark D. Walker
Actors: Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg,
Antonio Banderas, Sophia Ali, Tati Gabrielle, Patricia Meeden, Sarah Petrick, Jesús
Evita, Steven Waddington, Tiernan Jones, Pingi Moli, Rudy Pankow
IMDb Blurb: The story is a prequel to the
games, starring Holland as a younger Drake, showing us details of how he came
to meet and befriend Sully.
Cat’s Point of View:
Both Selina and I were seriously excited to see Uncharted hit the big screen. It was, in
fact, the #1 pick for my personal Top 20 Movies Coming Out in February 2022 – and it narrowly
missed the same distinction on Selina’s list, landing at #2.
I should probably begin with a disclosure that I haven’t
ever played the Uncharted games. I
have, however, had a general understanding of their premise and a gist of
what made them tick. As a fan of the Action-Adventure genre, this sort of
treasure-hunting tale has always been right up my alley. I’ve been hooked ever
since seeing Indiana Jones and the Temple
of Doom (1984) in the theater when I was little. I’m down for stories that
are even slightly in the same vein. I generally don’t even care if they’re
derivative and rehashing common tropes and clichés – this sort of movie is just
plain fun for me so I enjoy the brain candy and gloss over the things that
drive the critics bananas.
There are cases where that hasn’t worked in the past -
especially with video game adaptations. Yes, we’re looking squarely at you, Monster Hunter (2020). Thankfully, Uncharted didn’t fall into that
category.
Uncharted was
successful on many levels. I honestly don’t understand what soured the
naysayers on it – but they’re entitled to their own opinions (even if they’re
wrong). There were a lot of things working in this production’s favor.
Let’s start with the cast.

I absolutely adore Tom Holland (Spies in Disguise, Onward, Spider-Man: No Way Home). His comedic
timing is outstanding, he is capable of doing his own stunts – and more often
than not actually does as much as he can get away with. He also can dance and
sing, and generally evokes the feeling that he would be the best little brother
one could hope for. I think he worked within the part of Nathan Drake
brilliantly. He’s even a big fan of the games and was dedicated to doing the
source material justice. Uncharted is
even somewhat based on his favorite game in the series. This was a passion project
for him to the point that he signed on as an Executive Producer for this film,
and was the first time he has done such.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt to know that the movie had the
figurative stamp of approval from none other than the voice-actor for the role
of Nathan Drake in the games, Nolan North (Love
Death & Robots, Rick and Morty, Star Trek: Lower Decks). He, in fact,
appears as a cameo in Uncharted and
interacts briefly with Holland’s Drake character.
I’ve seen a lot of bashing of Mark Wahlberg (Spenser Confidential, Father Stu, Me Time)
in the role of Sully. I couldn’t say that this was his best performance ever,
but I think he worked well with what he was given in this production. Sometimes
a lot of his characters come off as one-note, but I still end up invested in
them every time all the same. I assure you that has nothing to do with the fact
that I’ve been following his career ever since he was touring with The Funky
Bunch.
The ladies were kicking some bootay as well, here. Sophia
Ali (Truth or Dare, Grey's Anatomy, The
Wilds) and Tati Gabrielle (The 100,
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, The Owl House) were serving all sorts
of fierceness in their respective roles.
I couldn’t omit Antonio Banderas (The Laundromat, The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard, Code Name Banshee),
either. I was getting some of the same intensity and vibes that I got from his
character in Assassins (1995), way
back in the day, and I was excited about it.

Director, Ruben Fleischer (Gangster Squad, Venom, Superstore), did a bang-up job with this
adaptation, really. Some of the scenes were so iconic – and holy crap the whole
sequence with the boats. I’m not going to get any more specific than that
because spoilers – but if you watch it, you’ll see. I had a good feeling about
this project while it was still in the works, considering this was the same
director that brought us the Zombieland
(2009) movies.
Overall the production value for Uncharted was great, as well and there were plenty of little Easter
Eggs throughout the movie as well as its soundtrack for fans of the games and
their developer.
Uncharted was the
sort of movie you might expect to have premiered in late spring or early summer
rather than February. I enjoyed it thoroughly and wouldn’t hesitate to
recommend it to others. (In fact, I pestered my family until they watched it
with me while it was On Demand before it landed on Netflix.) Grab some popcorn
and settle in for an adventure.
Rotten
Tomatoes Critic Score – 41%
Rotten
Tomatoes Audience Score – 90%
Metascore – 45%
Metacritic
User Score – 6.2/10
IMDB
Score – 6.3/10
Trust
the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4/5
PS
– There are 2 extra scenes at the end of the movie – one is immediately after
the movie is over & the other is post-credits.
Movie
Trailer:
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