Uncharted

When Steven Spielberg released "Raiders of the Lost Ark" back in 1981, his intent was to bring back the 'matinee idol' of the 30's and 40's so the audiences could once again escape into another world. Obviously that succeeded, so many other filmmakers jumped on the swashbuckling bandwagon. Others were made subsequent to 'Raiders', including "Allan Quartermain and the Lost City of Gold" '86, "The Mummy" '99, "Sahara" '05, "The Mummy" '17 and others. Now we have "Uncharted" to add to that growing list.

Street-smart thief Nathan 'Nate' Drake (Tom Holland) is recruited by seasoned, but unscrupulous treasure hunter Victor 'Sully' Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) to recover a fortune lost by Ferdinand Magellan 500 years ago. What starts as a heist job for the duo becomes a globe-trotting, white-knuckle race to reach the prize before the ruthless Moncada (Antonio Banderas), who believes his family are the rightful heirs. If Nate and Sully can decipher the clues and solve one of the world's oldest mysteries, they stand to find $5 billion in treasure and perhaps even Nate's long-lost brother...but only if they can learn to work together. It all comes down to bad guys one-upping other bad guys. 

Others to round out the cast are Sophia Ali as Chloe Frazer, Tati Gabrielle as Jo Braddock, Rudy Pankow as young Sam, Steven Waddington as the Scotsman, Tiernan Jones as young Nate, Manuel de Blas as Armando Moncada and Georgia Goodman as Sister Bernadette.

This was creatively directed by veteran Ruben Fleischer ("Zombieland" '09, "30 Minutes or Less" '11, "Gangster Squad" '13, "The List" (TV movie) '13, "Spaced Out" (TV movie) '17, "Venom" '18, "Zombieland: Double Tap" '19) plus TV, shorts and a video documentary. Certainly by Fleischer's experience, this film was definitely within the confines of his comfort zone. His ability to place his actors in situations where they are forced to emphasize their characters even more simply made this pure escape yarn so much fun to watch. It was well thought out by writers Rafe Lee Judkins, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, based on a screen story by Judkins, Jon Hanley Rosenberg and Mark D. Walker, which is based the Playstation video game. Although both Marcum and Holloway have the lion's share of the experience over Judkins, the film is based on Judkins' screen story. Also while both Marcum and Holloway are a writing team of many films, certainly Judkins, being his story, was pivotal in what he brought to the table. This swashbuckling, matinee idol type of film is a rollicking homage to Indiana Jones replete with narrow escapes, close to death escapades in a global chase to find the treasure. I love these types of films, especially in a day when all hell is breaking lose and it is so important to see something that will take us to different lands while the good and bad guys are 'duking it out'. And really, other than a couple of inconsistencies in storyline, this script was quite the roller coaster.

If you like films appreciate "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "The Mummy", "Sahara" and the like, you will revel with this one. Sure, being based on a video game doesn't give us any sort of a deep premise, but com'on, it's a great ride that will have you on the edge of your seat. It's the quintessential escape film that will have you reaching for the popcorn constantly! And if you want to see this up, close and personal, it's presented in an IMAX format as well.

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                                 Rated: PG-13                                               116mins.