Watched Uncharted

When it comes to video game adaptations in movies, most of them failed whereas only very few of them succeeded. I watched Uncharted last week and I went in with very low expectations. Well, turns out it was quite a ride.

The film was just got released in my area recently. And as usual, I didn’t watch any trailers at all. The only thing that I know of the film was a photo featuring Tom Holland and his costume design which is very accurate compared to the games. I’ve probably read news somewhere on the internet Mark Wahlberg is cast as Sully. I tend not to read any movie critics or reviews before picking what to watch.

First thing first, I gotta tell you I’m not a fanboy. To anyone who didn’t play the games, Uncharted is an action adventure game created by Naughty Dog. The game’s theme is a mix of Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider. It follows the story of a treasure hunter named Nathan Drake. I’ve played Uncharted 2 & 3 a long time ago. Back in the day, they were considered to be the “blockbuster” on Playstation 3 with its top-notch visuals. I’ve also played Uncharted 4 on Playstation 4 in 2016. I didn’t get a chance on playing the first one. I still own the games and keep them in my game collection.

The film starts off in a scene very identical to Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. The overall action sequences are on point, set design, and costumes are quite nice. The plot moves at a very fast pace. Getting to the point real quick and seems like there’s no time to waste. I appreciate that they include Nate’s brother Sam in the story as well. However, for Nate and Sully, the character relationship is a bit too weak. Also, I’m curious to know why they went for British accents. Apparently, Sony wants to make this film a series very badly and they cast Tom Holland as the younger version of Nathan Drake—the new Indiana Jones.

To me, the best part of the movie is the treasure hunting. They’re chasing after a treasure throughout the entire movie. I love the part where they work together to solve puzzles while they’re also fighting with each other. Sophia Ali as Chloe Frazer is a very nice touch to the story. She’s charming within the trio. The romance between Nate and Chloe is not quite there. The story somehow successfully shows what “trust issues” actually mean.

Greatness from Small Beginnings.

I think the film missed the mark completely. The portrayals of the game’s characters are not even close to the originals. There’re some comedy elements but they miss the punch very often. I guess they’re trying way too hard to please people who have played the games. Seeing Nolan North has a brief cameo in the film and hearing the iconic soundtrack gives the audience a bit nostalgic feel. The movie relies too much on CGI and if it’s done in a realistic style it would be a bonus point.

Speaking of movie adaptations, Uncharted reminds me of the reboot of Tomb Raider (2018) starring Alicia Vikander. In my opinion, it tops the previous titles by Angelina Jolie. I think it probably because was the actress did a great job as Lara Croft. I’ve played the Tomb Raider trilogy. To be fair, Angelina has done that way before “next-gen consoles” was a thing. Personally, I think Alicia is a very good fit for the character. I like the way she’s performed and looks exactly like Lara Croft. I really hope she can get a sequel.

I’ll digress a bit more. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) also is a not bad adaptation. As for Assassin’s Creed (2016), a big no.

That’s it, see you next time.

This is #Day26 of #100DaysToOffload.

Footnotes

1. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2007), Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (2011), and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (2016) were a video game franchise developed by Naughty Dog. ↩︎
2. Tomb Raider (2013) on PS3, Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016) and Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018) developed by Square Enix. ↩︎

---

• Reply via Email: [email protected]
• Comment on Mastodon