Uncharted

 Harrison Ford is the only Indiana Jones on the big screen (so far), but anybody can be Nathan Drake with their Playstations in the Uncharted video games. Now, Naughty Dog's resident adventure archaeologist has a movie of his own. One that shows us how he started his adventuring career. Let's see how it is.

It begins when Victor "Sully" Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) walks into the bar where Nate (Tom Holland) works and pickpockets. Sully recruits Nate to help him find the lost treasure ships of Ferdinand Magellan. Nate's brother Sam helped Sully steal the MacGuffin diary that'll tell them where those ships are. Sam's gone missing, so Nate agrees to help steal MacGuffin keys that'll open the treasure. The guys join with fellow treasure hunter Chloe Frazer (Sophia Ali) to dissect the clues.

Billionaire Santiago Moncada's (Antonio Banderas) ancestors funded the original Magellan expedition. So, he's naturally interested in getting that long-delayed return in their investment. He sends a mercenary squad led by Jo Braddock (Tati Gabrielle) to deal with our heroes. It's going to be a long treasure hunt.

I never had the time or Playstations to play Uncharted. So, I don't know how much the screenplay lines up with the continuity. What I do know is that it's a decent action film. Nate starts the film in media res falling from a cargo plane. The lead up to that misadventure takes him from a New York auction house to underneath Barcelona. The climax has him aboard Magellan's ships as they're lifted by helicopters. These scenes are tied together by a somewhat average story. I was invested when Chloe and Nate were trapped in a flooding crypt while Sully, who can stop the flooding with his key, is fighting Braddock at a Papa John's. It's an overlong fight but it's still tense.

The cast was entertaining. Nate is a likable guy who's a bit hapless in the action scenes but proves himself a crafty dude. His chemistry with Sully is good with their best moment being at the end. Sully himself is a decent mentor with a dark past. Chloe is the standout of the cast as she spends the movie fluctuating sides. Her nice act with Nate is legitimately convincing. So, it's genuinely shocking when she double-crosses him. Nate outwits her in a surprising switcheroo. Moncada is an interesting villain while Braddock is just fine.

Uncharted is a good way to spend a slow day. There's plenty of hijinks and thrills as Nate and Sully travel the world. It's not the most original story but it was rarely, if ever, boring. It moves along rather well at 116 minutes. You need not be familiar with the game lore, other than for a few cameos at the end. While some have considered it miscast, I think this cast is fine for a prequel. I'm slightly intrigued enough to see where it'll go.