Uncharted film review: This is how you don’t adapt a video game

Enlarge / Tom Holland stars as Indi—er, as Nathan Drake in Columbia Pictures' Uncharted. (credit: Columbia Pictures)

Imagine a video game sequel where pretty much everything fans liked about the original was gone. Less action; simpler puzzles; boring environments; plot holes big enough to drive the "Hog Wild" seaplane through; and perhaps worst of all, main characters with dull dialogue.

This imaginary game, I should add, opens with an interminable 80-minute cut scene, only to be followed by an energetic action sequence that recalls the original series' best, most swashbuckling bits.

That's what the first-ever Uncharted film feels like. It's based on the popular PlayStation-exclusive game series of the same name, and it stars the same main characters. But, while reminiscent of Indiana Jones, the movie doesn't have the same breezy, comical, action-packed stuff of that franchise—or of the Uncharted games. How wild that a video game delivers better movie-like thrills than its live-action version.

Read 10 remaining paragraphs | Comments