Movie Review: Uncharted (2022)

Synopsis: Orphan Nate Drake is working as a bartender and pickpocket when he meets Victor "Sully" Sullivan, a fortune hunter who claims to have worked with his long-lost brother, Sam, searching for roughly $5 billion in gold hidden by Ferdinand Magellan. Hoping to reunite with Sam, Nate agrees to help Sully steal a jeweled cross that is also one of two keys needed to find the treasure and join in the search. However, he quickly learns he can't trust anyone.

Who's in it? The movie stars Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, Sophia Ali, Tati Gabrielle and Antonio Banderas.

Review: I'm not a huge fan of the Uncharted video game series and, because of that, had some doubts about watching this movie. However, the weather was kind of crappy today and this was available on Netflix, so my wife and I gave it a try. It more than exceeded my expectations.

I think the best way I could describe this movie is it is a combination of Raiders of the Lost Ark, National Treasure and Goonies. Basically, it's a simple treasure hunt movie complete with riddles, exotic locations and plenty of action. When you throw in the fact the protagonist has no idea who he can trust, it's an entertaining way to spend a couple hours.

The last thing I mentioned, not knowing who to trust, was one of the things that kept me hooked. Everyone from Sully (Wahlberg) to his partner/rival Chloe (Ali) seemed to have an ulterior motive, especially since Sully lied to Nate (Holland) about what happened to his brother (Rudy Pankow). As a result, I didn't know when he should be watching his back when around his "friends."

Another thing I found I liked about this movie was how it had two strong female characters, Chloe and Jo (Gabrielle), including one that was the main antagonist (Jo), without messing things up with an unneeded romantic subplot (though it did look like Nate and Chloe might end up together). It's not something you see in a lot of films, and I feel like other movies could learn from this.

I did think the final action scenes, involving flying ships, were a bit over the top, especially since I'm not convinced that would work in real life and there were a couple predictable moments. However, I'll still give the movie some credit because, while the believability wasn't quite there, it was still fun to watch and that's kind of the point.

Final Opinion: I had my doubts but truly enjoyed this movie and can't wait for a sequel.

My Grade: A