Uncharted (2022)

"Can't put a price on that."

"Yes you can. Four or five billion dollars."

Nathan Drake (Holland) makes ends meet by working as a bartender and pickpocket.  One day he meets Victor "Sully" Sullivan (Wahlberg), who claims to know Nathan's brother, Sam.  Sam and Nathan were raised in an orphanage until Sam ran away. Nathan has not seen or heard from his brother in years.

Sully offers Nathan a job: steal a golden cross from an auction.  The cross is a key will lead them to Magellan's treasure.  Their heist is impeded by Santiago Moncada's (Banderas) mercenaries, who also seek the treasure.  They manage to successfully steal the cross and reluctantly join forces with Chloe Frazer (Ali) who has the other cross.

They follow clues found in the journal of Juan Sebastian Elcano's, Magellan's navigator, to the location of the treasure.  Moncada's mercenaries, led by Jo Braddock (Gabrielle), are willing to do whatever it takes to get to the treasure first.  They pursue Nathan, Sully, and Chloe. Can Nathan find the treasure, evade Moncada's threats, and learn the truth about his brother?

Based on Sony's Uncharted video game franchise.  Since it's release in 2007, there have been 8 games in the franchise.

The Good:

The adventure kicks off from the opening moments: with a dramatic fall and action sequence that keeps you on the edge of your seat.  It is a solid action film with impressive stunts.  The treasure is based on history and feels like it has an actual purpose beyond just "ridiculous wealth".  It feels National Treasure, but in the Caribbean (seriously, the locations are beautiful).  Tom Holland is a charismatic lead and does well in the role.  Mark Wahlberg is also entertaining as the mentor character.  Holland and Wahlberg have decent chemistry and work well together.  Antonio Banderas is a decent villain / obstacle.  As a whole, it was a mindless action flick, but I was thoroughly entertained.

The Bad:

It drags a little in places.  The female characters are not memorable, despite their semi-prominent roles: Sophia Ali as the potential love interest and Tati Gabrielle as one of the villains.

Other Comments:

-There are 2 scenes during the credits. Both setup potential sequels.  If they made a sequel, I would definitely check it out.

- Nolan North, who portrayed Nathan in the game, has a cameo on the beach.

-I know next to nothing about the videogame, so I do not know how it holds up.

Uncharted (2022) 116 minutes

Rating: PG-13 for violence/action and language

Director: Ruben Fleischer

Starring: Tom Holland as Nathan Drake

Mark Wahlberg as Victor "Sully" Sullivan

Antonio Banderas as Santiago Moncada

Sophia Ali as Chloe Frazer

Tati Gabrielle as Jo Braddock

Rudy Pankow as Sam Drake

Manuel de Blas as Armando Moncada