Uncharted Does Not Overstay Its Welcome

Until now, the Tomb Raider movies (both the Angelina Jolie and Alicia Vikander ones) were the only video game-to-film adaptations I really enjoyed. The criticism faced by a video game adaptation is that it's either too boring (Assassin's Creed), or sitting through it feels like watching someone else play the video game (Doom). The 2018 Tomb Raider, starring Alicia Vikander, worked because it was exciting and delivered a protagonist who felt more human than just a pixelated character. On the other hand, The Lara Croft: Tomb Raider films were delightfully silly. Now comes Uncharted, another video game movie I had a good time with. It sheds all pretension of wanting to be original (a character first refuses an offer and then accepts it after a few moments) and focuses on being a mindless entertainer with some decent set-pieces (a cargo plane sequence is a knockout).

The characters in Uncharted move around the globe in search of a treasure. All of them are greedy, motivated by money and can double-cross you anytime. The exception here is Nathan (Tom Holland). His heart is pure, and he just wants to reunite with his brother. Since the premise is that you can't trust anyone, the narrative packs shocking twists and turns as characters change their allegiance. These twists remind you of the Mission: Impossible movies, where fake masks are blatantly used for surprises. Here, the mask is figurative. When it's pulled off, it reveals the materialistic nature of the characters. It did leave me open-mouthed during some moments.

However, this deception technique fails when applied to Nathan and Chloe's (Sophia Ali) relationship: two characters who don't trust each other even after saving each other from life-threatening danger (he rescues her from drowning, and she rescues him from falling without a parachute). A spark of compassion is evident between them which the movie doesn't allow to burn because it's more interested in pulling the rug from under our feet. I was not convinced by lines like, "The minute you start to trust someone, you lose". They sounded like excuses. In fact, I could see Nathan and Chloe teaming up much more easily than Nathan and Victor (Mark Wahlberg). Compare these two pairs, and you will see that the former has more chemistry than the latter. But I guess the film was just following the rules of the source material.

All in all, Uncharted is a step in the right direction for video game adaptations. It's breezy, it's fun, and it does not overstay its welcome. Call me if there is a sequel.