“Uncharted,” released in theaters Feb. 18, 2022, is based on the video game of the same name from 2007. Both the game and the movie share a protagonist:  Nathan (Nate) Drake, a witty character that travels across the world to uncover historical puzzles and mysteries. Since Sony released the video game,  “Uncharted” became one of the best selling game franchises— it was only fitting for a movie to be modeled after it.

“Uncharted” stars Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg. Holland plays a young Nate, a man who’s brother, Sam, abandoned him at the age of ten years old, leaving him alone in foster care. This backstory develops within the first ten minutes of the movie, which also provides an explanation on why Nate was such a history fanatic. 

Nate becomes increasingly interested in the first map of the world and a long lost treasure, Megallian’s gold. When Nathan is approached by Victor Sullivan (Sully), played by Mark Wahlberg, he goes on a journey to finish what his brother started: finding Ferdinand Megallian’s vanished fortune. 

Chloe Frazer, played by Sophia Taylor Ali, helps Nate along the way. Chloe brings her intelligence and an important artifact needed for the voyage to the table. 

The gold is wanted by many individuals, but, after several power moves and unexpected twists, Jo Braddock surfaces as the movie’s main antagonist. Braddock, played by Tati Gabrielle, starts as the hired partner of Santiago Moncada, played by Antonio Banderas. Santiago believes that the gold is rightfully his, as he is a member of the House of Moncada. Therefore, he thinks he is the true heir of the gold. 

The video game and the movie have some substantial differences.  Elena Fisher, Nate’s love interest and one of the main characters in the video game, is not shown or even mentioned. This upset many fans. “Maybe we should start using the phrase, ‘the game was better,”  Jess Kroll said on Twitter; a twist on the famous phrase: “the book was better.”

Others felt that “Uncharted” was a good movie, but not video game accurate. “As an adaptation of the games, it kind of sucks & misses most of what made them great. But as a Tom Holland/Mark Wahlberg adventure film, it’s pretty entertaining & fun enough!” Connor Carey said on Twitter. 

Holland and Wahlberg were a perfect combination. The dynamic between Sully and Nate was entertaining to watch as Sully takes Nate under his wing and shows him the ropes of being a thief. The almost ‘father-son’ relationship between them was very amusing, and added a wholesome element to the action packed film. Similarly, the flirty dynamic between Chloe and Nathan leaves things open ended for a sequel. 

“Uncharted” was surprisingly satisfactory as a film, even though many expected it to be average since they thought Holland and Walhberg wouldn’t fit their roles right. The recent release of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which Holland starred in, seemed to influence the release of  “Uncharted,”  especially considering the amount of bad reviews it got prior to its release. According to Box Office Pro, “the film enjoyed the fourth-highest opening weekend of any video game adaptation in history, [making $226.4 million worldwide], behind only ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ ($58.02M), ‘Pokémon Detective Pikachu’ ($54.37M) and ‘Lara Croft: Tomb Raider’ ($47.74M).” 

However, the movie was favored more by the audience than it was by the critics. While Rotten Tomatoes gave “Uncharted” a low 40%, the audience seems to be giving the movie a 90%  score, with over 2,500 verified ratings—meaning that “Uncharted” can continue to grow in popularity and views as the audience spreads “positive word-of-mouth.” 

Overall, “Uncharted” was enjoyable. It was witty, suspenseful, exhilarating, mysterious, and thrilling to see the characters figure out the riddles as the audience tried to play along. “It’s like an Indiana Jones meets Pirates of the Caribbean type adventure. It is twisty and fun,” Twitter user BrandonDavisBD said.

The movie’s special effects were on point, the storytelling was hearty, the dialogue was easy to follow, the lighting and background music were perfectly selected, and the cast was charming, leading to a review of 4.3/5 stars. However, the  movie was predictable, and there were unrealistic elements, such as the scene where 2 pirate ships are carried by helicopters, in some scenes. If you can see past these issues, however, “Uncharted” is  an absolute must watch. 

“Uncharted” is now available to watch exclusively in theaters.