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How is a movie based on a video game more soulless than the game itself? The knock against the world of gaming has long been that they lack a human element, but Ruben Fleischer ’s “Uncharted” feels emptier than the award-winning franchise on which it’s based. Dominated by green screen special effects and thin treasure-hunt plotting, “Uncharted” fundamentally lacks the sense of adventure that turned the Sony games into some of the most beloved of all time. What’s most startling is how much the games themselves feel more cinematic in terms of world building, character, and narrative than the actual movie. It’s not quite as disastrous as some video game adaptations, and it’s at least light enough on its feet to never insult the intelligence of its fan base as so many of these movies tend to do. However, “Uncharted” seems to want to ride the goodwill of the video game adventures of Nathan Drake more than create any of its own; it takes no risks and feels like a bare minimum effort in terms of storytelling. Roger famously said that video games can never be art . The ones on which this movie is based are certainly more artistic.

Nathan Drake ( Tom Holland ) was conceived as a throwback to Indiana Jones and the serial adventure films that inspired him. He should be a smooth-talking treasure hunter, someone who exists in a slightly gray moral area wherein stealing priceless artifacts is warranted because no one else can really appreciate them like Drake. Holland has the agility but quite simply lacks the weight and world-weariness needed for a character like Drake, who was raised in an orphanage and is willing to steal to make ends meet. If Indiana was typically the smartest person in a room, Drake needs to be the one with the sharpest instincts, someone who sees the puzzles of history from a place of expertise and courage. Holland is a smart actor, but he’s just wrong here, always looking a little bit like a kid dressing up as his favorite video game character.

While working at a bar and stealing jewelry from his patrons, Drake is approached by Victor Sullivan aka Sully ( Mark Wahlberg ), who tells him that he got close to one of the most famous lost treasures in history with Nathan’s brother Sam. They stole the diary of the famous explorer Juan Sebastian Elcano, which will guide them to treasure that was hidden by the Magellan expedition. They quickly cross paths with Santiago Moncada (an Antonio Banderas so underutilized that one has to believe half his part was cut), the heir to the family that funded the original expedition. Moncada’s will is enforced by the tough Jo Braddock ( Tati Gabrielle ) and the boys reunite with an old colleague of Sully’s in Barcelona named Chloe Frazier ( Sophia Ali , who pretty much steals the movie).

“Uncharted” bounces these characters off each other on a journey to Spain and the Philippines, but nothing has any weight to it. It’s green screen performing that ignores how much setting can matter in a film like this one. Design never once feels like a consideration, whether Nathan and Chloe are crawling through a nondescript tunnel to hidden treasure or Sully is getting into one of the few fight scenes in an actual Papa John’s. A film like “Uncharted” needs to transport audiences. We need to go on the journey, not just watch actors pretend to fall out of planes. The “Uncharted” games take players around the world. You’ll never once get that feeling during this cold, distant adventure film.

If anything saves “Uncharted” from the depths of the worst video game adaptations, it’s the relative charm of the cast. Holland may be miscast, but he’s just an incredibly likable movie star, and I hope he can find parts that better utilize his charms. Wahlberg creates a nice balance between his charisma and the exhausted tone of a treasure hunter who has seen and done enough, and just wants that final gig that can set him up for life. Banderas is wasted and Gabrielle is inconsistent, but Ali is arguably the one performer who gets that “Uncharted” should be fun. She gives the film some much-needed energy and unpredictability when she’s on-screen.

“Uncharted” is another one of those projects that has been through so many potential production teams over the years that it lost its identity. There are reports going back to 2008 about different filmmakers trying to get this movie made and David O. Russell , Neil Burger , Joe Carnahan , Shawn Levy , Dan Trachtenberg , and Travis Knight were all rumored or even attached at different points. When a project goes through so many iterations over the years, it can often lead to a final film that feels like a compromise, a watered-down version that took the most common, most basic elements of everything that had been suggested over the years. “Uncharted” checks boxes for fans and newbies but does so in such a predictable manner that it lacks any edge or spark. I’ve played through some of the “Uncharted” games from beginning to end more than once, a multiple-hour commitment. It may only take two to watch it, but I’ll probably never see this movie again.

Opens in theaters on Friday, February 18 th .

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

• Tom Holland as Nathan Drake
• Mark Wahlberg as Victor 'Sully' Sullivan
• Antonio Banderas as Santiago Moncada
• Sophia Ali as Chloe Frazer
• Tati Gabrielle as Braddock
• Steven Waddington as The Scotsman
• Pingi Moli as Hugo
• Matt Holloway
• Rafe Judkins
• Chris Lebenzon
• Richard Pearson

Cinematographer

• Chung-hoon Chung

Writer (story)

• Jon Hanley Rosenberg
• Mark D. Walker
• Ramin Djawadi
• Ruben Fleischer

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Tom holland and mark wahlberg in ‘uncharted’: film review.

Holland takes a breather from web-spinning to play treasure hunter Nathan Drake in this cinematic adaptation of the hugely popular PlayStation video game series.

By Frank Scheck

Frank Scheck

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This weekend, you’ll be able to go to theaters and see a highly entertaining thrill ride of a movie, featuring Tom Holland performing death-defying stunts and spending a good portion of the film’s running time engaging in witty banter and flying through the air.

I’m talking, of course, about Spider-Man: No Way Home .

Release date: Friday, Feb. 18

Cast: Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, Sophia Ali, Tati Gabrielle, Antonio Banderas

Director: Ruben Fleischer

Screenwriters: Rafe Lee Judkins, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway

Oh, there’s also Uncharted , the feature film version of the hit PlayStation video game series, starring Holland as globe-trotting, history-obsessed treasure hunter Nathan Drake and Mark Wahlberg as Victor “Sully” Sullivan, Nathan’s shady mentor. The film deviates from the video games in a number of ways, being an origin story featuring younger versions of the beloved characters. And if you’re thinking that Wahlberg once would have been a great choice to play Nathan himself, you’re not alone. The film has been in development for so many years that he was formerly attached to play the role until he eventually aged out of it.

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Resembling the love child of Tomb Raider , Raiders of the Lost Ark and National Treasure , Uncharted definitely feels like a video game adaptation, so rapidly segueing from one elaborate action set piece to another that your fingers may start twitching while watching it.  Director Ruben Fleischer knows his way around this sort of material, having previously helmed such movies as Venom and Zombieland , and he understands that the target audience isn’t particularly interested in deep characterizations or sophisticated dialogue.

Still, it would have been nice if screenwriters Rafe Lee Judkins, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway had come up with something more interesting than this generic adventure in which Nate and Sully team up to first commit a robbery at a high-end auction house and then head to exotic locales in search of Ferdinand Magellan’s lost treasure of gold. Or more interesting villains than the ruthless Santiago Moncada, played by Antonio Banderas in a performance that can best be described as detached. Or wittier exchanges than Sully constantly teasing Nate about his gum-chewing and Nate responding in kind about Sully’s habit of leaving too many open apps on his cell phone.

More problematically, Nate and Sully, mutually supportive in the games, here come across like a bickering couple on the verge of divorce. Wahlberg’s Sully looks and behaves disgruntled so much of the time that you begin to wonder how these two went on to form a long-running partnership. (Or maybe the actor was just annoyed at disappearing from the story for long stretches of time.)

This star vehicle doesn’t exactly feel like a stretch for Holland, since his Nate, an expert pickpocket, is basically a more larcenous Peter Parker minus the web-spinning — at one point, he apologizes to a bad guy he’s just sent plummeting to his death, which is exactly what Peter would do. As made evident by his many shirtless scenes, the actor clearly buffed up for the role, the better to perform the numerous high-octane stunts that include falling out of an airplane and a lengthy parkour-style foot chase.

The film features plenty of photogenic real-life locations and some genuinely exciting action sequences, including the aforementioned airplane scene — which opens the film and is reprised later on — and a breathless battle involving airborne 16 th -century sailing ships.

Refreshingly, it’s the female characters who are the most badass. Sully’s longtime treasure hunting associate Chloe Frazer (a charismatic Sophie Ali) more than keeps up with the guys when it comes to physical derring-do, and Moncado’s blade-wielding henchwoman Braddock (Tati Gabrielle, fearsome) is a homicidal villainess who could give James Bond a run for his money.

You can’t say that the makers of Uncharted lack confidence, since the film ends with the sort of cliffhanger that basically promises a sequel. It’s a bold move, considering the number of video game film adaptations that have crashed and burned, but with the charismatic Holland as its star, it just may pay off.

Full credits

Production companies: Arad Productions, Atlas Entertainment, PlayStation Productions Distributor: Columbia Pictures Cast: Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, Sophia Ali, Tati Gabrielle, Antonio Banderas Director: Ruben Fleischer Screenwriters: Rafe Lee Judkins, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway Producers: Charles Roven, Avi Arad, Alex Gartner, Ari Arad Executive producers: Ruben Fleischer, Robert J. Dohrmann, David Bernad, Tom Holland, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, Neil Druckmann, Evan Wells, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway Director of photography: Chung-hoon Chung Production designer: Shepherd Frankel Editors: Chris Lebenzon, Richard Pearson Costume designer: Marlene Stewart Composer: Ramin Djawadi Casting: Priscilla John, Orla Maxwell, Yael Moreno, John Papsidera, Anna-Lena Slater

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The critics must be crazy: tom holland’s ‘uncharted’ movie is great.

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Uncharted is a swashbuckling good time. The critics must be crazy.

Uncharted is a swashbuckling good time—a film that deviates in some ways from the video games, but sticks to their spirit, aesthetic and themes in every way that counts.

While I never pictured Tom Holland as Nathan Drake, he works quite well as a younger version of the treasure hunter we’ve come to know and love in the PlayStation exclusives from Naughty Dog.

The movie version differs in many ways from the games, but draws from them in all the ways that count: There are familiar set-pieces—the plane, the lost pirate ship, the Catholic orphanage—and scenarios—Nathan’s long-lost brother, Sam and the mystery surrounding his disappearance—and, of course, the cast of beloved characters.

While Mark Wahlberg’s Victor “Sully” Sullivan is quite a bit different from the video game version, I was actually pleasantly surprised by his performance. Wahlberg and Holland play well off one another, and as a “young Drake” and “young Sully” pairing, they pull it off. Again, we’re in “spirit of the games” territory here more than simply the look.

Holland doesn’t really look like Nathan Drake and Wahlberg doesn’t really look like Sully, but they still manage to bring the duo to life. Unlike the games, this is the story of the beginning of their partnership (and friendship) rather than a relationship that’s been built up over decades.

I liked the rest of the cast as well. Sophia Ali as Chloe Frazer, and Tati Gabrielle as the villain, Jo Braddock, are both solid casting choices, though Braddock never really becomes anything more than a one-note villain.

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As for the rest of the movie, it sits nicely in the “big cinematic action-adventure-treasure-heist” genre that the Uncharted games occupy. The story isn’t anything to write home about, but it’s perfectly fine and entertaining. There’s plenty of double-crossing, lots of jaw-dropping action and a good dose of humor throughout.

One thing I think the film does incredibly well is capture the spirit of puzzle-solving and tomb-raiding that the Uncharted game franchise is known for. It’s a pitch-perfect rendition of the many absurd puzzles we encounter in the games.

I always ask myself, “What kind of pirate buries their treasure and then concocts all these incredibly meticulous, over-the-top puzzles and booby-traps just to find the map?” It’s absurd but in a fun, engrossing way—just like the games, which themselves are based off of Indiana Jones and The Goonies and other similar adventure stories, all of which I also love.

To be fair, I’m not sure I’d place Uncharted the movie on the same pedestal as Indiana Jones or The Goonies, but then again this is just the first outing in what I hope becomes a new movie franchise. The movie has clearly been set up with a sequel in mind, and I can imagine it growing into its own shoes, so to speak. Also, any critic worth their salt should remember that the pedestal we place classic films on is one bulwarked by nostalgia.

A child who grows up on Holland’s Uncharted may look back on it with the same fondness I look back on The Last Crusade (though how can you beat Harrison Ford and Sean Connery as Indiana and his father?)

It’s not a perfect movie, no doubt, with perhaps a bit too much reliance on CGI and incompetent bad guys, but overall I enjoyed it a great deal. It also did two things better than the games: Not as much climbing and not as much shooting. I’ll have more to say about that in a separate piece.

The Critics Must Be Crazy

Critics are wrong about Tom Holland's 'Uncharted'

As you can see, I am in the minority of critics on this one—but well within the majority when it comes to the audience reaction. This is a huge disparity, too. Just 40% of critics give Uncharted a passing grade , while 90% of viewers enjoyed the film. The movie’s Cinema Score rating is “B+” which, while not as good as an “A” obviously, is still well above what we’d expect from such a Rotten tomato.

The action-disaster film Moonfall, for instance, received a 38% critic score on RT, with a 70% audience score—and a C+ Cinema Score (which is based on polling audiences directly as they leave theaters) . Viewers are not as happy with that one as they are Uncharted, though still generally more positive than critics. But the critical reception is almost identical to Uncharted.

Actually, there’s not much to report about the why behind critics’ distaste for this film. Many just found it bland or mediocre. Some critics who were fans of the games thought it didn’t live up to the source material, which is fair enough, though I think it’s pretty hard to adapt a video game and this one has more faithfully than most. Others called it an “Indiana Jones wannabee” which, well, yeah that’s kind of the point.

I wondered if we’d see any commentary on the fact that two white dudes were the heroes of the story while a Latin guy and a black chick were the villains—but I haven’t seen any so far, so that’s good! I think it’s great to see a diverse cast, regardless of who plays the hero and who plays the villain ( which is also why I’m not swayed by arguments that movies like Black Widow are somehow anti-male ).

I have noticed, in the past, certain ideological bents to these wildly disparate critic and audience scores. When I wrote about Ghostbusters: Afterlife for this very reason , I touched on this same question. Some critics still seemed angry that the all-female Ghostbusters didn’t make a splash, and viewed the new picture as revanchist (in ways it really wasn’t at all). All that culture war nonsense that plagued the first Ghostbusters reboot carried over to this one, and more’s the pity.

Again, I’m not going to say that Uncharted was the perfect movie, but as far as video game adaptations go it was a solid effort, and felt very true to the games. I think I went in with pretty low expectations, and ended up being pleasantly surprised. I think a “B+” is about right, though grading on a “video game adaptation” curve I’d go a bit higher.

A fun, rollicking adventure flick with likable protagonists, fun puzzles and big set-pieces—what’s not to love? Isn’t that basically the gist of the games?

Tomb Raider (2018)

P.S. It’s interesting that 2018’s Tomb Raider reboot scored so evenly among critics and audiences, with the former at 52% and the latter at 55% on Rotten Tomatoes.

I thought that was a really good adaptation of the rebooted video game franchise , and I think Walton Goggins’s Mathias Vogel was a far more interesting villain than any of Uncharted’s bad guys .

But what that film lacked, Uncharted has in spades: Namely, the Drake/Sully duo and a lot of exciting tomb-raiding / puzzle-solving. But I enjoyed Tomb Raider also, if not quite as much. And not just because I’m an Alicia Vikander fanboy, either, though she did a terrific job as Lara Croft.

Both Uncharted and Tomb Raider strike me as solid first entries in potentially very fun film franchises. Fortunately, Tomb Raider’s sequel is still in the works, now under the stewardship of Lovecraft Country’s Misha Green; and Uncharted is a box-office hit , leading Motion Picture Group Chairman and CEO Tom Rothman to call it a “a new hit movie franchise.”

Now we just have to wait until 2023 for HBO’s The Last Of Us, the second Naughty Dog game series to be adapted, this time for the small-screen. Don’t expect as many laughs, or as many hijinks, with the Pedro Pascal-led drama, however. While Uncharted can go dark sometimes, The Last Of Us basically lives in darkness.

What did you think of Uncharted ? Let me know on Twitter or Facebook .

If you want, you can also sign up for my diabolical newsletter on Substack and subscribe to my YouTube channel .

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Uncharted Reviews

Overall, “Uncharted” successfully captures the puzzle-solving and swashbuckling spirit of its video game source material while harking back to nostalgic action-adventure cinema.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Sep 3, 2024

If you go in expecting a grand adventure, Uncharted likely won’t deliver. Temper your expectations and you’ll likely leave thinking that the film was decent enough, despite having faults

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 29, 2024

If this movie has taught me anything it’s that video game movie adaptations will never be a sustainable avenue for Hollywood.

Full Review | Original Score: D+ | Sep 23, 2023

What will be most frustrating for fans of the video game franchise and distributors Sony is that the film fails to deliver the same level of quality as its source material, though newcomers might find more to enjoy.

Full Review | Aug 8, 2023

Tom is a solid Nathan Drake Sophia is a great Chloe Mark was Mark…. Nothing against him but he was nothing like Sully. As a long time fan of this gaming series I wanted more & left frustrated even with the fun glimmers that were throughout the film

Full Review | Jul 25, 2023

What started as a video game produced by Play Station became a movie that just doesn’t hit all the notes it desperately tries to.

Uncharted is an action-adventure flick, but despite a more entertaining last act, it fails to break the curse of videogame film adaptations due precisely to the lack of said action and adventure.

Full Review | Original Score: C- | Jul 25, 2023

With a predictable plot, rudimentary puzzles, and strawman characters, Uncharted never manages to find its narrative bearings.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 25, 2023

Uncharted fails to provide the most basic principles of an adventure movie. It is underwhelming and overloaded, without the charm of its clearly Spielberg-ian roots.

Uncharted heads into familiar action-adventure territory making for a forgettable video game adaptation.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Dec 4, 2022

While Uncharted rarely veers away from the charted territory, the film has enough fun with itself for an enjoyable ride.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 5, 2022

If you squint hard enough, you'll see what makes Holland great—charm, charisma, aw-shucks levels of approachability—but none of it saves the flick from being utterly forgettable.

Full Review | Oct 12, 2022

Uncharted seems fresh in the era of superhero blockbusters. Saying it’s not as great as one of the best video game series ever shouldn’t be a massive indictment as it’s a fun ride with a clear respect for the source material.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Sep 10, 2022

A globe-hopping adventure that manages to be visually boring and charm-sucking.

Full Review | Aug 26, 2022

It’s a fun ride, and there’s a cool cameo for gamers to enjoy, but it is not quite the film I had hoped it would be.

Full Review | Aug 23, 2022

“Uncharted” really leans on its star power, especially Holland who plays a very Holland-like character – charismatic, boyishly charming, a bit daffy, and with an unshakable innocence (even when he tries to talk tough).

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 16, 2022

The film's secret weapon is Tom Holland's natural athleticism.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 10, 2022

If you are after a relatively generic action-adventure, Uncharted probably fits the bill – although a Marvel-like reliance on digital effects does let down its larger action sequences.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Aug 9, 2022

Amidst the lukewarm broth of deepfakes and green screen that make for the main entertainment of this film, there are very few fun, memorable moments except for the most stupid ones, and we'd rather forget about those. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Jul 11, 2022

There's just enough that gleams here to be watchable. It's a film with a few shiny coins in its bag, rather than a whole bar, cavern or ship of riches.

Full Review | Jun 25, 2022

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‘Uncharted’ Review: Steal, Fight, Repeat

This inaptly titled treasure-hunt adventure recycles all the familiar clichés while giving Tom Holland a strenuous physical workout.

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By Manohla Dargis

At least give Sony credit for recycling. That is the best that can be said for its nitwit treasure-hunt movie “Uncharted,” an amalgam of clichés that were already past their sell-by date when Nicolas Cage plundered the box office in Disney’s “National Treasure” series. Now, it is Tom Holland’s turn to cash in with a musty story about ancient loot, old maps, lost ships, invisible ink and a wealthy scoundrel with disposable minions. But while he’s following in Cage’s inimitable footsteps, Holland also seems in training to become Tom Cruise 2.0.

The similarities between “Uncharted” and the first “National Treasure” are notable, with both movies adhering to the same booty-questing template. Each opens with a flashback of the protagonist as a wee lad eagerly being primed for adventure by an older male relative, a misty rite of passage that seems calculated to put a family-friendly stamp on an otherwise greed-driven setup. In “National Treasure,” the kid soon becomes a character played by Cage, whose singular, offbeat performance style can elevate and disrupt crummy material.

In “Uncharted,” the boy grows up to become a neo-buccaneer played by the boyish Holland, a likable, exuberantly physical performer who has traded his Spider-Man responsibilities for more old-school heroic duty. The Hollywood action movie seems an open field right now partly because most of the male stars who headline non-comic-book blockbusters are middle-aged or older. Holland is 25. He’s cute without being threatening or distractingly, Chalamet-esquely beautiful, and has enough presence and training ( dance, gymnastics, parkour ) that he can bluff and breeze past clichés while gracefully bouncing through fights and obstacles.

Cruise will be 61 when the next “Mission: Impossible” finally (maybe) opens in July 2023. He’s likely to keep going Energizer Bunny-style for years to come. Still, the paucity of young male actors who have the profile, credits and skill set to sell studio goods like “Uncharted” may prove a lucrative opportunity for Holland and his treasure-seeking handlers. At any rate that may explain the images of his character, Nate Drake, a thief who moonlights as a bartender (or vice versa), pulling some smooth moves on the job, a bit of juggling tomfoolery that instantly triggers images of Cruise in “Cocktail.”

Soon enough, though, Nate leaves behind his gig and his New York pad for an international escapade that he embarks on in tandem with Mark Wahlberg’s Sully, a more experienced, openly untrustworthy thief. A veteran of workaday blockbusters, Wahlberg serves twinned functions here as a presold pop-culture brand and an archetypal mentor for Nate. Sully can sprint, fight and trade unfunny quips without breaking a sweat, and Wahlberg is just fine delivering the same gruff, regular-guy performance that he always does. He shares top billing with Holland, but Wahlberg is largely onboard as training wheels for the younger actor.

“Uncharted” is based on a PlayStation game of the same name that first hit in 2007 and that tracks the globe-trotting doings of its Everyman hero, said to be descended from the British privateer Sir Francis Drake. The movie, directed by Ruben Fleischer, nods to the game and Sir Francis, who circumnavigated the globe in the 16th century and was instrumental in England’s challenge to Spain. Given the current climate, though, it’s a surprise that the movie didn’t quietly ignore Sir Francis, who participated in establishing the slave trade . In 2020, a statue of Sir Francis in Britain was draped in chains with a sign reading “decolonize history.”

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• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Street-smart Nathan Drake is recruited by seasoned treasure hunter Victor "Sully" Sullivan to recover a fortune amassed by Ferdinand Magellan, and lost 500 years ago by the House of Moncada. Street-smart Nathan Drake is recruited by seasoned treasure hunter Victor "Sully" Sullivan to recover a fortune amassed by Ferdinand Magellan, and lost 500 years ago by the House of Moncada. Street-smart Nathan Drake is recruited by seasoned treasure hunter Victor "Sully" Sullivan to recover a fortune amassed by Ferdinand Magellan, and lost 500 years ago by the House of Moncada.

• Ruben Fleischer
• Rafe Judkins
• Matt Holloway
• Tom Holland
• Mark Wahlberg
• Antonio Banderas
• 1.8K User reviews
• 273 Critic reviews
• 45 Metascore
• 5 nominations

Top cast 32

• Nathan Drake

• Victor Sullivan

• Santiago Moncada

• Chloe Frazer

• Jo Braddock

• The Scotsman

• Guard at Museum

• Sister Bernadette

• Police Officer

• Unsuspecting Doorman

• Luxury Sedan Driver

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia The film is the first feature production of Sony's PlayStation Productions.
• Goofs As depicted in the film, the types of ships used by Magellan on his voyage were carracks. At the time of their use, these were not ships known for their resistance to the elements. In fact, constant maintenance was required lest they literally deteriorate while in use. Such ships, after having been abandoned and partially submerged, while also in a tropical climate, would likely have rotted away to nothing after such a time.

Hotel Guest : [on seeing Nate and Chloe coming out of the ocean] Whoa! What the hell happened to you two?

Nathan Drake : [exasperated] Fell out of a car that fell out of a plane.

Hotel Guest : [bluntly] Huh. You know something like that happened to me once.

• Crazy credits There are two post credit scenes, one of which plays right after the movie finishes
• Connections Featured in Chris Stuckmann Movie Reviews: Uncharted (2022)
• Soundtracks Hello Hello Hello Written by Jared Solomon and Remi Wolf Performed by Remi Wolf Courtesy of Island Records Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User reviews 1.8K

• brycecharlie
• Feb 10, 2022
• How long is Uncharted? Powered by Alexa
• February 18, 2022 (United States)
• United States
• Official Facebook
• Official Instagram
• Uncharted: Fuera del mapa
• Lloret de Mar, Girona, Spain
• Columbia Pictures
• Arad Productions
• Atlas Entertainment
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $120,000,000 (estimated)
• $148,648,820
• $44,010,155
• Feb 20, 2022
• $407,141,258

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 56 minutes
• Dolby Digital
• IMAX 6-Track
• Dolby Atmos

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‘Uncharted’ boldly goes nowhere

Yet another forgettable video game adaptation..

There are worse movies than Uncharted , especially when it comes to the seemingly cursed genre of video game adaptations. But as I struggled to stay awake through the finale — yet another weightless action sequence where our heroes quip, defy physics and never feel like they're in any genuine danger — I couldn't help but wonder why the film was so aggressively average.

The PlayStation franchise started out as a Tomb Raider clone starring a dude who wasn't Indiana Jones. But, starting with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves , the games tapped into the language of action movies to put you in the center of innovative set pieces. They were cinematic in ways that few titles were in the early 2010s. But going in the opposite direction — bringing aspects of those games into a movie — doesn't work nearly as well.

Director Ruben Fleischer ( Zombieland , Venom ), along with screenwriters Rafe Lee Judkins, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, have crafted an origin story for the treasure hunter Nathan Drake (Tom Holland). It hits the notes you're expecting — his childhood as an orphan, his first team-up with his partner Victor "Sully" Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg), and a globe-trotting treasure hunt that defies logic — but it's all just a Cliff's Notes version of what we've seen in the games. And for a franchise that was already a watered-down version of Indiana Jones , a movie adaptation just highlights all of its inherent flaws. Watching Uncharted made me long for the basic pleasures of Nicholas Cage's National Treasure – at least that Indy clone had personality.

Even the iconic action scenes don’t hit as hard. The film opens mid free-fall, as Drake realizes he just fell out of a plane. Discerning viewers will instantly recognize the sequence from Uncharted 3. We watch as he hops across falling cargo (and wonder if that’s even possible while everything is falling), but the entire scene feels like Tom Holland is going on the world’s most extreme Disney World ride. Without the rumble of the Dualshock 3 controller in my hand, and my responsibility over Drake’s impending death, there just aren’t any stakes. It’s particularly unexciting compared to what we’ve seen in the recent Mission Impossible movies. Tom Cruise (and skydiving camera man Craig O'Brien) jumped out of an actual plane several times for our entertainment!

Still, it's somewhat surprising that this adaptation exists at all. Sony has been trying to develop an Uncharted film since 2008, starting with a loftier iteration by arthouse auteur David O. Russell. That version was going to star Wahlberg as an older Nathan Drake, as we see him in the games, and focus on the idea of family. But the project ended up changing hands several times over the last decade. By the time it was actually gearing up for production in 2020, Wahlberg had aged out of the starring role and into the older sidekick spot. (Sorry, Super Cool Mack Daddy , it happens to all of us.)

After we've seen so many video game films completely miss the mark, like Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City and Assassin's Creed , I'm starting to wonder if there's some sort of secret to making a good adaptation. Different audiences want different things, after all. Game fans typically want to see the characters and sequences they love so much legitimized on film. Discerning movie geeks may be comparing adaptations to other, usually better, films. And studio executives just want existing intellectual property that they can churn out to an undiscerning public.

There are a handful of memorable video game films, but they mostly seem like flukes. The original Mortal Kombat was iconic because of its killer soundtrack and (at the time) cutting-edge special effects. Werewolves Within doesn't have much to do with the VR title it's based on, aside from its name. And Sonic the Hedgehog was a blast, but that was mostly due to its lead performances.

As an avid gamer and cinephile, I'll never give up on hoping for successful adaptations. But it could just be that the two mediums are a bit incompatible. A film can never capture the interactive magic and freedom you get from a game. And when you're playing something, heavy-handed cut scenes and direction can often take you out of the experience (unless you’re Hideo Kojima , in which case gamers will argue it’s all a work of genius).

With its cinematic roots, Uncharted had a better shot at a decent adaptation than most games. It’s just a shame that, for a series that’s about exploring new lands and discovering forgotten treasure, it offers nothing new.

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Common Sense Media Review

Violence, language in too long game-based adventure.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Uncharted is a treasure hunt action-adventure movie that's based on the popular video game series featuring hero Nathan Drake (Tom Holland). Expect lots of largely bloodless action violence, much of it in the form of set pieces in which the main characters have to fight faceless,…

Why Age 12+?

Frequent action violence, with many set pieces in which the main characters must

Language and cursing includes "s--t," "son of a bitch," "hell," "bastards," "ass

Several scenes take place at bars, with characters ordering cocktails by name (m

Flirting. A male character looks suggestively at a woman's body as she walks awa

Characters are pursuing a trove of gold from a lost Spanish sailing foray; it's

Any Positive Content?

Central character Nate is intended to be seen as principled compared to his fell

The two top-billed stars are White men. Within the central quintet of tough, bra

Like in the game, the movie takes place in a world where people have few scruple

Violence & Scariness

Frequent action violence, with many set pieces in which the main characters must fight their way into or out of situations. Characters are often in mortal danger -- e.g., a scene in which they're trapped in an underground chamber filling with water. Two people are accidentally ejected from an aircraft and fall through the air while taking out villains. Deaths take place on-screen, including scenes in which throats are slit, characters are stabbed, and people fall off of planes and helicopters; blood is infrequent, and only one dead body is visible at length. Guns are used/brandished. Most of the opposition that main characters face is of the anonymous-henchperson type, with assailants seen quickly and dehumanized by shots that hide their faces.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Language and cursing includes "s--t," "son of a bitch," "hell," "bastards," "ass," "crap," "oh my God," and "Jesus" (as an exclamation). Characters frequently say something "sucks."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Several scenes take place at bars, with characters ordering cocktails by name (martini, negroni) and a bartender showily twirling bottles. In another scene, characters bond by drinking wine; by night's end, all look bleary and exhausted, and the room is littered with perhaps 10 bottles (for three people). A character holds, but does not smoke, a cigarette.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Flirting. A male character looks suggestively at a woman's body as she walks away; he's warned off by another character. References to characters being "together," and a scene in which characters are seen asleep in bed with the implication that they slept together. Female characters, particularly one antagonist, wear costumes that are impractically tight and bare; male characters are frequently seen shirtless.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Characters are pursuing a trove of gold from a lost Spanish sailing foray; it's said to be worth billions.

Positive Role Models

Central character Nate is intended to be seen as principled compared to his fellow adventurers, who don't hesitate to double-cross each other. And he is indeed loyal to those he considers his friends, but he also kills dozens in his pursuit of wealth and never seems to question it. Sully and Chloe are even less principled, betraying each other at almost every turn, as well as killing conveniently anonymous villains.

Diverse Representations

The two top-billed stars are White men. Within the central quintet of tough, brave characters, two are young women of color; everyone else is male. An antagonist is a man of unspecified Latino heritage who frequently speaks Spanish. Female characters are sexualized with bare, clingy costumes.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Positive Messages

Like in the game, the movie takes place in a world where people have few scruples and angle after ill-gotten gains (in this case, a missing treasure). Never considers what the Spanish treasure ship and the explorers who crewed it did to the land and people they plundered, nor whether finding and keeping the gold is worth the toll it ultimately takes.

Parents need to know that Uncharted is a treasure hunt action-adventure movie that's based on the popular video game series featuring hero Nathan Drake ( Tom Holland ). Expect lots of largely bloodless action violence, much of it in the form of set pieces in which the main characters have to fight faceless, dehumanized minions to get into or out of a location. Characters are frequently in mortal danger, including dangling from a flying plane and being trapped in an underground cavern that's filling with water. Guns are used, and people are killed by being hurled off of vehicles and falling great distances; one has his throat slit, and viewers see some blood and his dead body. Sexual content is limited to flirting, suggestive looks, and a scene that shows people in bed, implying that they slept together. While two of the main characters are women who are depicted as just as strong and brave as the men, they also wear clingy and sometimes unrealistically bare costumes that would be difficult to fight in, including spiked heels. Language includes "s--t," "son of a bitch," "hell," "oh my God," and more. Characters drink frequently; in one scene, three people share at least 10 bottles of wine and appear bleary and sloppy afterward. One character holds a cigarette and tries to light it but doesn't succeed. Drake is depicted as more heroic than the other characters because he doesn't betray his fellow adventurers, yet, like them, he pursues the lost Spanish gold at seemingly any cost, without concern for death and injury. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (21)
• Kids say (70)

Based on 21 parent reviews

More curse words than I thought

What's the story.

Based on the popular action-adventure video game series that started with Uncharted: Drake's Fortune , UNCHARTED focuses on the game's main protagonist: treasure hunter Nathan Drake ( Tom Holland ). Claiming that he and his long-lost brother, Sam (played as a teen by Rudy Pankow), are descended from renowned explorer Sir Francis Drake, Nathan is recruited by seasoned treasure hunter Victor "Sully" Sullivan ( Mark Wahlberg ) to search for the lost riches of Ferdinand Magellan, with the grudging accompaniment of their associate Chloe ( Sophia Ali ). But they aren't the only team on the hunt: Nathan and Sully's globe-trotting forays are closely followed by the ruthless and well-funded Moncada ( Antonio Banderas ) and his hired gun, Braddock (Tati Gabrielle).

Is It Any Good?

Beautiful to look at and crammed with heart-stopping adventure sequences set in picturesque foreign lands, this video game adaptation is thrilling, if overly long and morally iffy. What Uncharted mainly has going for it is adept adventure set piece directing and star Holland, who's an affable, even charming, lead. Nate is relatably anxious in the midst of mortal danger yet both game and good-humored, a fantastic foil for Wahlberg's Sully, who leans toward blank-faced derring-do. Holland's easygoing vibe makes viewers want to root for Nate on his quest in beautiful places and through immeasurable danger.

But that quest is more enjoyable if you switch off your brain before watching. It can't be denied that the only difference between Nate and Sully and the better-funded Moncada team that opposes them is that we're told the Moncada family is involved in criminal enterprises. Real bad stuff, the film tells us in a few throwaway lines, and then, poof!, Sully and Nate are seemingly cleared to kill as many people as they want in horrible ways in pursuit of treasure. That doesn't sound like a particularly heroic quest, but the film treats it as such (none of the characters questions whether this is a worthy goal, even when lives lost in the hunt mount into the dozens), which certainly detracts from the messages viewers might otherwise take away. Fans of the video games may not care: Scenes in which Nate and Sully leap through midair from planes and helicopters and ancient Spanish galleons are certainly exciting, and the Holland-and-Wahlberg buddy team is pleasant enough to anchor the movie if you don't think too hard about it.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about whether you need to have played any of the Uncharted games to appreciate this movie. Does knowing the game(s) help sharpen your enjoyment, or is the comparison distracting? Do video games typically make good fodder for movie adaptations? Why, or why not?

Many games have lots of deadly violence, with enemies killed in great numbers as the main character pursues their goal. How does the impact of that compare to what you see here?

How does Uncharted dehumanize the characters who die so that viewers don't consider their deaths important and it doesn't detract from the movie's flow? Is that OK?

How do you think viewers are meant to feel about Sully and Nate? About Chloe? Braddock? How do movies tell you who to root for and who to dislike? Consider that villains and heroes in this movie use the same ends to attain their means -- i.e., physical violence and trickery. With that in mind, what makes the heroes different from the villains?

Movie Details

• In theaters : February 18, 2022
• On DVD or streaming : May 10, 2022
• Cast : Tom Holland , Mark Wahlberg , Sophia Ali
• Director : Ruben Fleischer
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Middle Eastern/North African actors
• Studio : Columbia Pictures
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Topics : Adventures
• Run time : 116 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : violence/action and language
• Last updated : July 11, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

What to watch next.

Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection

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The Librarian: Quest for the Spear

Excellent adventure movies for family fun, best action movies for kids, related topics.

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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

Screen Rant

Uncharted: 10 fan theories about the tom holland movie, according to reddit.

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Tom Holland has been on a roll ever since his appearances as Spider-Man pushed him into the A-list. Holland will play the role of Nathan Drake in Uncharted , which is based on the PlayStation action-adventure series of the same that comprises four main installments.

RELATED:  10 Things Only Die-Hard Fans Know About The Uncharted Games

Fans on Reddit have voiced their takes on what the upcoming movie might be like, ranging from potential plot points to how the film will be stylized and presented. With the actual details relatively scarce, it’s worth looking into the theories that Redditors have presented while looking forward to the movie's release.

The Story Is A Movie Based On Drake's Life

This theory has pretty much no chance of coming true but it does bring up an interesting idea. Redditor kingslayer_89 thinks that “at the very end of the movie, it’s going to be revealed that this has been a movie within a movie based on Nate and Elena’s adventures.”

With Uncharted pegged to be a long-running franchise for Sony Picture s, it doesn’t seem possible that Tom Holland’s version will turn out to just be an actor. Still, the theory about the adventure overall being part of a collection of Nathan and Elena’s younger days could be something that the series could look into years down the line.

The Movie Will Be An Adaptation Of The Games' Events

According to Redditor Alpha-State_ , they expect that the “movie will recap everything that happened in the games.” Their theory is that the events that take place within the live-action story will be an adaptation of everything that players have seen in the game series.

It would mean that everything from the characters’ traits and intelligence levels in Uncharted entries will be identical within the movie. Should this happen, fans will know what to expect since it will essentially be an amalgamation of all the things that took place across the four games.

The Movie Is A Direct Prequel Of The Games

Redditor razt99 claims that the movie will be "set pre- Uncharted 1 with a 21-24-year-old Drake,” meaning that the events of the video game series would be canonical. Players have made their picks of the best Uncharted games over the years , so it could work well if the movie directly ties in with them.

Should the theory play out, the movie will be placed a short while after the flashback sequences in the third and fourth games and will explain how Nathan came across Chloe, whom he’d known already when she was introduced in the second installment.

The Movie Will Be In The Mold Of Indiana Jones

Redditor willem_the_foe thinks that the Uncharted movie will be predictable, feeling that the filmmakers only “need to make Indiana Jones V with Nate & Sully.” Their theory is that the film will be of the mold of the Indiana Jones series, only with the presence of different characters.

RELATED:  10 Characters That Were Totally Wasted In Uncharted

It’s easy to see this happening, seeing as the backdrop of treasure hunting through various obstacles is an aspect that the Indiana Jones films made popular in the first place. The chemistry between Nathan Drake and Sully could be the defining factor for Uncharted , as it’s the main thing that separates the movie from becoming a full-on Indiana Jones clone.

The Movie Will Rely Heavily On Aesthetic Quality

Action-adventure movies require a certain edge to stand out since there are so many similar offerings in the genre’s landscape. Redditor twilight_sparkle7511 thinks that it will contain a formula of an “amazing story, breathtaking set pieces, high paced action, the whole shebang.”

Basically, the Redditor considers the real possibility that Uncharted will go all-out with its action-adventure aesthetic by making use of blockbuster movie tropes. The film’s trailer has already teased major fight sequences and visuals in store, so this theory certainly has the best chance of coming true as to how the movie will ultimately turn out.

Sam Drake Will Make An Appearance

The premise of Uncharted has already been confirmed to feature Nathan’s search for his long-lost brother Sam, but Redditor JaneDoe00110101 claims that “they’ll include Sam in this movie… it’d be great if they could stick to the video game canon.”

They are of the belief that Sam will show up in person rather than be used as a way to drive the plot. Since the movie appears to be bringing in elements that were seen in all the four game installments, there’s a good chance that Sam could very well be part of the action in the story.

Nathan And Sully Will Meet Within The Story

The trailers imply that Sully and Nathan’s supposed first meeting is a ruse to fool others into thinking they aren’t allies, but Redditor WileECoyoteGenius thinks otherwise. According to them, the film is entirely a “Young Drake origin story like how he and Sully met.”

Should it turn out that Sully and Nathan will only just meet here, it will make adapting the third game’s origin story an impossibility since Nathan came across Sully when he was much younger. However, the film going the route the Redditor theorizes will enable it to wipe the slate clean and tell its story the way it wants to without being bogged down by the source material.

The Story Will Span Across Nathan's Young Adulthood

Uncharted games are always set in a short span of time, but Redditor Kriilp03 claims that “this would take place in Nates late teens to early 20s.” The theory considers the possibility that the story is set across a very long time, so much so that Nathan will be seen growing up onscreen.

RELATED:  10 Things To Do In Uncharted That Most Players Never Discover

There’s a good chance that the core plotline will play out in a continuous run while the gaps will be filled in an overarching manner, such as detailing how Nathan and Sully became friends and Nathan’s past with his brother. It could condense the games’ plotlines within a single movie.

Sully Will Have A Love Interest

While there are plenty of reasons to be excited for Tom Holland’s role in Uncharted , Mark Wahlberg’s Sully can be seen in detail as well. Redditor mcolwander90 thinks that “Having a love interest for Sully could work. There's a lot of potential in exploring that.”

Sully never had a romantic partner in the games, which would make a love interest in the movie a significant change. It can let fans understand who he is better and see the difference in his attitude as a treasure hunter to his romantic potential. This will mean the introduction of another character that hasn’t been promoted to be in the movie yet.

Nathan Will Be A Professional From The Beginning Of The Story

The movie seems to be indicating toward an origin story, although Redditor sourtooth3 isn’t convinced. They think that it will follow the “concept of the first game and have drake already established as a seasoned treasure hunter.” Under this theory, the need to establish Nathan will be eliminated in favor of the adventure.

The games never showed Nathan’s first venture into treasure hunting, with the protagonist already seen well set in his work when he was introduced. All things considered, it might be the way to go since fans of the games already know what the character is about, so presenting Tom Holland’s version as an ace from the beginning will ensure a steady pace to the story.

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