Uncharted Review: 4 Ups & 6 Downs

4. The (Mostly) Generic, Underwhelming Set-Pieces

Even with a duff script, an Uncharted movie can surely be relied upon to deliver quality action sequences, right?

Well, aside from two decent enough set-pieces in the third act, the bulk of the movie has very little to offer in this department. For the most part we're treated to unintelligent heists, brief fistfights, and fleeting chases, most of them lasting just a minute or two a-piece.

The sustained momentum of the video games - one of their defining features - is almost completely absent here, at which point you have to consider why you're not simply playing one of the games instead.

It doesn't help that director Ruben Fleischer stages most of the action with functionality rather than flair.

Up until the third act it all feels oddly small-scale and low-key, and while you can't blame them for not blowing all of the series' best set-pieces in this first movie - namely Uncharted 2's unforgettable train sequence - you'd scarcely guess this thing cost $120 million until the final half-hour or so.

All in all there's very little here that hasn't been done much better in other action-adventure films.