Sony’s live-action video game adaptation “Uncharted,” in partnership with the game’s developers, PlayStation and Naughty Dog, has managed to succeed at the box office much to the surprise of fans and critics alike after its Feb. 18 premiere.
The original game series follows the protagonist Nathan Drake throughout four games released from 2007 to 2016. Players follow his journey from an amateur treasure hunter to a father, husband and accomplished world explorer. However, Ruben Fleischer, the film’s director, decided to not directly follow the story of any of these games. Instead, he opted to combine several aspects of the plot while inventing new stories to serve as a prequel to the games. Because of this, several elements that original fans were expecting to see brought to the big screen were not there. For example, Elena Fisher, a prominent character in the series and Nathan’s primary love interest, is entirely left out.
Besides the major missing pieces, what does end up being portrayed feels incredibly rushed. While the games gave audiences the opportunity to follow Nate from his childhood to his mid-40s at their own pace and watch him naturally develop, the film struggles to give viewers all the information they need to understand the story within the first half hour. For new fans who have never played the source material, the plot just seems sloppy and careless.
The “Uncharted” game series makes sure to place a lot of emphasis on the duality of both action and adventure stories. While Nate and his fellow characters do engage in fights, explosions, chases, etc., there is also always a puzzle or exploration element, highlighting Nate’s intelligence and historical passions in equal measure to his physical capabilities. With a $120 million budget, it makes sense that Sony managed to replicate at least the action portion. With practical filming locations such as Barcelona and Berlin and stunts like falling out of planes and gunfights on pirate ships, it would be a lie to say that this movie wasn’t beautifully captivating. Specific images are identical to scenes from the games and are brought to life on a scale that was never possible on the PlayStation.
However, because that much of the film’s runtime is spent on these elaborately choreographed stunts and action sequences, it leaves even less time for the story than they already had in trying to convert several 30-hour long playing experiences into a two-hour movie. The backstory that is newly invented for Nathan doesn’t seem to fit well with what viewers already know about his character and is also incredibly simple. With the main character receiving this offhand treatment, it’s no shock that the side characters have even less depth. Both Victor Sullivan and Chloe Frazer, portrayed in the film by Mark Wahlberg and Sophia Taylor Ali, respectively, are mere echoes of their roles in the games and have none of the subtle wisdom or skill that they were intended to add to Nate’s adventures.
Tom Holland’s portrayal of Nathan Drake is one of the film’s redeeming qualities and likely the primary reason for the movie’s surprising success. Video game adaptations are notoriously difficult to pull off, which previous attempts like “Assassin’s Creed” and “Mortal Kombat” can attest to. Holland’s peak stardom at the time of this film’s release, fresh off the record-breaking achievements of “Spiderman: No Way Home,” almost certainly has something to do with the movie’s top spot in the box offices for the past two weeks. With the added pressure of being the movie’s main selling point, Holland does not disappoint. He elegantly balances both the naivety and the maturity of Nathan as a character despite having a script that doesn’t offer him many opportunities. With an “Uncharted” film sequel already in talks, audiences will be eager to see if the extravagance of expensive tricks and top actors will be enough to sustain the shakily built foundation.
