Considering the quality of the material out there, it’s a mystery as to why video game hits seem to struggle to convert to the big screen.
As a regular gamer, I can tell you with absolute certainty that some of the best stories I’ve seen told exist in that medium.
One of the biggest modern franchises, which is exclusive to the PlayStation, is Uncharted; which is Naughty Dog’s modern take on the Indiana Jones-style of treasure hunting adventure.
And, after many years of speculation, Sony have finally pulled the trigger on sending Nathan “Nate” Drake to cinema screens.
The results are, as seems to be the way, slightly disappointing given how great the many video games are.
But Uncharted is certainly an enjoyable watch despite it’s obvious flaws.
Casting Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg as Nate and Victor “Sully” Sullivan respectively proved Sony meant business here, but in truth neither really embody the characters I’ve come to love.
That being said, both do a solid job in what is essentially an origin story for the pair (it’s not the same as their PS background, by the way).
Nate is a fast-fingered barman who does a bit of pick-pocketing on the side.
But he also harbours dreams of reconnecting with his brother Sam (Rudy Pankow) and hunting down the mythical lost treasure of Ferdinand Magellan.
Sully, who is a treasure hunter, recruits an initially reluctant Nate to join him and franchise favourite Chloe Frazer (Sophia Ali) in discovering the location of the lost fortune.
However, the Moncada family believe that the treasure is their birthright and the youngest living member of that house, Santiago (Antonio Banderas), wants to find it too.
He’s got huge resources and employs Braddock (Tati Gabrielle) to rival Nate, Sully and Chloe in a high-stakes treasure hunt across the globe.
As a plot, that sounds like something directly from the Uncharted games, which is a obviously a good thing.
The action is enjoyable and frequent, including more than a few nods to the games and a couple of crowd-pleasing Easter Eggs.
Holland and Wahlberg are a solid duo – even though they perhaps wouldn’t have been my pick – and by the end credits they do feel more like their video game counterparts.
Ali, meanwhile, is a great Chloe and often steals the show when she appears. I’d certainly like to see more of her in the sequel (if it’s ever made) and it’d be nice to see Elena introduced, too.
Banderas brings gravitas to the party as a reasonable villain, but he perhaps could have got more screen time.
On the whole, Uncharted has a good National Treasure vibe going.
But it struggles to reach the heights of its source material, meaning it will perhaps go the way of other great video games that made for middling movies.
Voice Verdict: 6.5/10 (reviewed at Boston Savoy)
