What A Hardcore Uncharted Fan Thinks Of The Uncharted Movie

The phrase "development hell" is thrown around a lot, but the Uncharted movie is a project that's absolutely earned it. It's been in the works for well over ten years, cycling through dozens of filmmakers and release dates along the way.

As such, it's almost hard to believe that a finished version is currently in cinemas, but the only thing that matters now is the quality - so did Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, and director Ruben Fleischer deliver? Is it any good?

Well... sort of. It's fine, it's entertaining. At the very least, you won't regret buying a ticket, and those who haven't played the games will probably get a massive kick out of it, especially since we haven't had a blockbuster treasure hunt movie in a while.

But what about those who have played the games?

As a hardcore Uncharted fan since day one, someone who's spent way too much money on merch, has got every single trophy from PS3 to PS5 (Legacy Of Thieves Collection pending), and has pumped thousands of hours into the multiplayer, I had an odd experience with the Uncharted movie, with some things I loved, some things I detested, and even some things that rivalled my favourite video game franchise.

"Holland and Wahlberg don't feel like Nate and Sully". It's something that people have been saying for a while now, but we couldn't know for sure until we actually saw the movie.

Well, now we have seen the movie - and everyone was right.

Though Holland fares better than Wahlberg with his impressive athleticism and semi-decent quips - and the fact that he does somewhat resemble the young Nate seen in Uncharted 3 - he nonetheless feels like a poor imitation of video game Nate. It's like he was stuck between honouring the source material and doing something new, and you never get the sense that he has a firm grasp of the character.

Maybe he was miscast, or maybe the writing didn't serve him well, but either way, there's something about his Nate that just doesn't feel right.

Here's a specific example: Holland actually comes across as a bit of a dick when he's stealing that girl's jewellery early on, whereas the game version remains charming even when he's committing all sorts of heinous acts - like, say, slaughtering thousands of soldiers who probably have wives and kids.

Plus, is robbing an innocent's valuables really something Nate would do? He isn't that cruel. He pickpockets and steals in the games, sure, but only when it's relevant to a particular treasure hunt. Even the script doesn't get this character.

On the whole then, Holland's Nate isn't great, but he isn't a total wash either. As mentioned, the quips and athleticism were on point, and hey, he gets much closer than Wahlberg to feeling like the version from the source material...