Uncharted: Its Criticisms and Praises

Uncharted, starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, is an action-packed adventure film based on the storyline of a popular video game (also called Uncharted). The movie follows Nate, an orphan, who is recruited by Sully, a seasoned treasure hunter, to recover an ancient fortune accumulated by Ferdinand Magellan. Premiering in theaters February 18, 2022, the movie has not only massed large numbers of viewership but mixed reviews as well. A few friends and I took it upon ourselves to purchase a ticket and give our own criticisms.

Uncharted has a 41 percent rotten tomatoes rating and a 90 percent overall audience review. On rotten tomatoes, a rating of 60 and above declares a movie as ‘good’, and below is considered poor. Some common criticisms of the movie include the miscasting of the characters and the lack of a father-like portrayal between the two leads. In the video game, Nathan Drake is in his early 30s and many believe Tom Holland is too young to play this character. Another criticism of Holland’s casting is his portrayal of the character. Holland portrays the character as quirky and awkward, however, the character is supposed to be cocky, self-assured, and quick on his feet. Sully and Nate’s relationship throughout the movie lacks trust as Sully constantly tries to one-up Nate and, for most of the movie, prioritizes the gold over Nate. Top critic Nell Minow says, “It achieves the primary goal of based-on-a-video-game movies, which is that the non-stunts parts like storyline and character don’t get in the way of the stunts parts, which are the reason we are there.” “Uncharted” is like a well-tooled sports car with an underpowered engine. The car does keep going, but not at high speed. Vroom . . . vroom? Vroom . . . sputter,” explains top critic, Mark Feeney. Compared to critics, the approval rating among audiences appears to be high, with plenty enjoying the film. Elizabeth Bongard is an avid movie watcher and states to visit the cinema quite often, we met her at the same viewing for the movie and asked her a couple of questions regarding the film. When asked what she liked about the movie she responded, “I liked how the story moved along. It just always kept me guessing….there were some plot points I was able to guess, but barely any.” She further went on to praise the chemistry between Holland and Walhberg. Kate Unzicker, a Pennridge student, also recently viewed the movie and describes it as “exciting”. “Yes I enjoyed the movie. I thought it was entertaining and you were always waiting to see what happened next. It also casted good actors and actresses,” Kate expresses.

Personally, I would rate this movie two and a half stars. It was your typical generic action movie, it was predictable but enjoyable to watch. The action scenes weren’t wildly exciting but they did keep you engaged. The movie would be stronger if they went into further character depth. Sophia Birnbaum and Odi Dibor are journalists who saw the movie alongside me. Sophia rates the film one and a half stars. She emphasizes how predictable the plot-line is and declares it as an overdone treasure trope. Her other issue with the film consists of the absence of attachment to characters, describing them as “one-dimensional”. Despite these criticisms, she compliments the costuming as well as Holland’s stunts. Odi rates the film three stars out of five. Viewing the movie in a slightly more positive light, she claims there was a good balance of humor and action. To her, it felt like a typical action movie filled with greed and betrayal, but she found herself attempting to follow along the whole time. She does challenge the movie by saying they could have expanded more on the characters and each other’s dynamics. Overall she thoroughly enjoyed the city-like banter between the two main characters. While it really only meets the minimum requirements for an action-pact movie, if you are looking for a less intense, easier-to-follow, adventure film and can not seem to find anything else to watch, I would recommend watching Uncharted.