Photo courtesy of Jorge A. Rosales, Wikipedia.
The movie “Uncharted,” starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, was incredibly captivating. Based on the video game series of the same title, the film took many liberties from the source material. Due to this, there has been some criticism about the movie’s stark differences from the video games, such as the handling of character origin stories, relationship dynamics and plotlines. However, as somebody who walked into the movie theater without prior knowledge of the story, I thought it was a great film.
The movie starts off strong in a way that can immediately draw an audience in. It begins mid-action sequence with Nathan Drake, played by Holland, trying to stop himself from falling out of a plane in the midst of a fight. It immediately cuts to fifteen years prior, jumping into the backstory of Holland’s character. I thought this was a really great scene to start the film; I was instantly hooked and curious to see what would happen after the “fifteen years ago” that could have led to the plane scene.
The plot was organized and cohesive throughout the entire movie, and the storyline was easy to follow. The characters and their arcs were also clear, especially the character Victor "Sully" Sullivan played by Wahlberg. At the beginning of the movie, Sully is an arrogant and greedy character, and throughout the story the audience sees him grow more and more. By the end of the movie, although still arrogant, he ends up achieving a rich and noticeable improvement of character that was easy for the audience to see.
The way the movie ended was exactly what I was looking for. I cannot say I was surprised by the plot twist, but I was very satisfied with it. Throughout the movie, we are presented with hints that suggest what actually is going on, leaving the audience very engaged. The ending left me with so many questions and curiosity about how the story will continue moving forward in possible later installments.
I definitely recommend “Uncharted” to all fans of action and adventure movies, especially if you are a fan of things similar to “Indiana Jones.” Although I thought the film was really fun to watch, I wish it was less predictable or had more action, because I really love when movies leave me on the edge of my seat. All in all, I think it was a really good movie that I will certainly watch again, and I encourage everyone to watch as well.
4/5 stars
mfazio@ramapo.edu
