It’s film review time again folks. This time we went to see Uncharted. An action adventure movie apparently based on a video game (hmm..)

Plot

Nathan and Sam Drake are two brothers related to that old sea dog Sir Francis Drake. They live in an orphanage and Sam runs away after being arrested when the two try to steal an old map made by Magellan in the 1500s. The map was the start of a treasure hunt for Magellan’s lost gold. Sam promises to come back for Nathan but only ever keeps in touch with occasional postcards.

Tom Holland plays Nathan, who 15 years later ends up working in a New York bar and making money on the side as a slick pickpocket. He meets and teams up with Victor “Sully” Sullivan – played by Mark Wahlberg. Sully knew Sam and together they steal the diary of Juan Sebastian Elcano who survived Magellan and returned to Europe all those years ago. The crew of Magellan’s expedition hid the gold and the diary is (naturally) full of clues as to finding the whereabouts of the lost gold.

It all hinges on two gold crucifixes which double as keys that seem to open quite a lot. The boys steal one from an auction house and meet up with Chloe (played by Sophia Ali), who has the second “key”, in Barcelona.

Meanwhile a rich and powerful Spanish family headed by Santiago Moncada (played by Antonio Banderas), are hot on their tails with all the usual (and unusual) henchmen – or should that be hench-persons? They too want the two crucifixes to find the lost gold. Nathan, Sully and Chloe solve the clues which take them into the historic heart (and guts) of Barcelona. The two crucifixes unlocking various secret passageways etc… All good stuff.

The trail eventually leads to the Philippines (where Magellan was said to have died) and leads to ever more spectacular action. There are more clues in Nathan’s postcards from his brother and the crucifixes are once again useful in unlocking further information.

Uncharted is an all out action movie that make the most of its budget (which must have been fairly large!). There are plenty of double crosses along the way – no pun intended considering the importance of the two crucifixes. There are also a few surprises that I never saw coming. Enough, in all, to keep the movie running along at pace and have the younger viewers on the edge of their seats. Dani and several other kids around his age were visibly “chimping” at various points in the movie.

Critique

Imagine taking Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark, Nicolas Cage’s National Treasure and The Da Vinci Code, then mixing them in a blender for 30 minutes. Et Voilá! But that does not distract from this being an enjoyable movie. Not at all. It only adds to the fun. Throw in a fair bit of childish humour courtesy of Wahlberg (as he tends to do) and it is as much fun and excitement for adults as for the kids.

The final scenes could be described as another mix of well known movies: Pirates of the Caribbean meets The Goonies meets Peter Pan. As if that’s not enough there is a constant hint of Mission Impossible thrown in for good measure.

For an action/adventure/comic-book story the acting is not that important but generally it was solid throughout.  Holland goes some way to proving that he can survive in Hollywood without the Spiderman suit and Wahlberg does what he has done successfully for some years now.

No spoiler alert to say that there are a couple of those added on scenes that mix in with the final credits to make us believe there will be an Uncharted 2 movie in the near future. And why not? both Holland and Walberg are popular actors right now and there was a chemistry between them that promises more than one sequel.

It’s fair to say that viewers of any age would enjoy this film. I give this movie 4 stars out of 5.  That’s the same score Dani gave it. Roll on the sequel…