Uncharted Review

Quick Thoughts - A big budget smoke and mirror show that sits atop an enjoyable, but ultimately mediocre movie. Amidst all the chaos, Tom Holland gives a lively performance and solidifies his role as the face of action movies for decades to come (if he desires).

What went wrong:

• It was overproduced (see final half an hour of the film) - National Treasure is arguably the greatest treasure hunt movie of all and it did so with a small budget and no CGI. Why could it get away with that? Because the story could stand on its own. The big CGI pirate ship being carried by a helicopter in Uncharted isn’t the problem itself, but mainly the coverup to the problem - the story wasn’t super exciting on its own.

• The chemistry between Wahlberg and Holland was really awkward at times.

• Too many twists - twists are expected to some degree, but throw in too many of them and the audience will start to roll their eyes. Uncharted creeps just past that line.

• Plot issues, specifically in the first half an hour. I had never interacted with the Uncharted story prior to seeing the film, so maybe that is why I am in the dark here. Some more backstory being given on the two characters would have been nice before diving immediately into the treasure hunt.

What went right:

• In the middle of a movie, there is a fight in a bar that involves loud club music and people being punched to the beat of the music - it is just as much fun as it sounds.

• The chemistry between Tom Holland and Sophia Ali was really good.

• It was a really fun watch - those in the theater seemed to have just as much fun.

• Lots of cities and locations involved in the plot - the “James Bond around the world” approach.

Rating - 64/100

Best Performance - Tom Holland as Nathan Drake

Honorable Mention - Antonio Bandaras as Santiago Moncada and Sophia Ali as Chloe Frazer

Will I watch again - I would watch it again, but I probably won’t

Would I recommend - If you enjoy big budget action movies then you will have a good time watching this. Everyone else should probably steer clear.

Final Takeaways - It will be fun to see where Tom Holland goes from here. I think we will start to really lean into more dramatic/serious roles in the coming years, so we should enjoy him in movies like this while he’s still doing them. That final 20 minutes made me realize how much I would like to see him play Peter in a live action Peter Pan.