It’s been a long time since news first broke in 2008 that Sony Pictures was developing a feature film based on their hit video game franchise “Uncharted.” The series seemed perfect for a film adaptation with its focus on dynamic set pieces and action but many assumed that like many other film adaptations of videogames, the development troubles caused the film to be scrapped. Over a decade later, “Uncharted” has finally premiered starring Tom Holland as the treasure hunter Nathan Drake. While fans of the game may find issues with the loose connection and representation of the source material, “Uncharted” is a perfectly serviceable action-adventure flick.  

The film follows Nathan Drake, a man with a knack for swindling and thievery who uses his job as a New York bartender to pickpocket his customers with ease before meeting Sully (Mark Wahlberg) another thief who may have a connection to Nate’s lost brother. Sully eventually convinces Nate to join him in a mission to find the lost treasure of a Magellan expedition and the film follows their journey across the world to find the missing pirate treasure before their adversaries do.  

Tom Holland’s casting sparked immediate contention among fans as he is far from the first choice that many would have picked to play Nathan Drake. Nathan is typically depicted as being in his mid-to-late 30s within the games and his age is reflected in his personality but Tom Holland has a much more youthful demeanor and appearance with him still being able to pull off a convincing act of being a high schooler in films like “Spider-Man.” The film decides to depict the story of a young, relatively inexperienced Nathan Drake in his 20s to compensate for this and while the depiction of the character isn’t exactly true to the original series, Holland still gives an entertaining performance in the role. The same can’t be entirely said for his co-star Mark Wahlberg as his depiction of Sully has gone from an endearing mentor and friend to a selfish, disgruntled man who largely only thinks of himself for the majority of the film. The two’s chemistry in the original games is much more endearing of a connection and the film fails to capture that by making Sully more of an unlikeable, self-centered character.  

“Uncharted” pulls from a handful of set pieces and locations from the game series such as a New York City auction house and many of the original segments such as the main cast’s escapades in the underground of a Barcelona church feel like they could have been lifted directly from the games with how well they captured the spirit of a puzzle-solving adventure. The action in the film is fun with scenes such as the gunfight in an airplane with an open cargo hold capturing the energy of the source material as well. The music is also a highlight as well with it lifting several tunes from the original games in its score.  

While “Uncharted” may not be a perfect representation of its source material, it still proves to be an enjoyable film and there have been many, far worse attempts of adapting a video game to a motion picture in the past.