What A Hardcore Uncharted Fan Thinks Of The Uncharted Movie

8. Wahlberg's Sully Is One Of The Worst Game-To-Movie Character Adaptations EVER

Uncharted movie Mark Wahlberg as Victor
Sony Pictures Releasing

Again, all those pre-release fears were bang on the money: Wahlberg's Sully doesn't feel like the video game version in any way, shape, or form.

Unlike Holland, he isn't even in the same ballpark as game Sully. Hell, he isn't even in the same universe. Wahlberg's Sully is dry, not very endearing, and looks nothing like the character he's supposed to be playing. There isn't a single piece of video game Sully in his performance, and as far as being a translation from the original franchise, this iteration of the character is a complete and utter failure.

Sure, filmmakers can and should take artistic liberties with the source material, but at the same time, it's still possible to strike a good balance between old and new. Look at other character adaptations that significantly altered the original - like Tilda Swinton's Ancient One - and they still feel like the characters they're based on.

Basically, why bother adapting a character if you're going to change them to the point that they're unrecognisable?

Uncharted movie Mark Wahlberg as Victor
Sony Pictures Releasing

With all this said, I must stress that Holland and Wahlberg give solid performances in the movie - if you remove the games from the equation. It's only when you bring up the comparison that their shortcomings become glaringly apparent.

And also, credit where credit is due: there is actually a point where Holland, Wahlberg, and the movie as a whole come surprisingly close to capturing that Uncharted feel, but we have to wait a hell of a long time to get there...

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Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!