Uncharted is More Enjoyable Than Lackluster Reviews Indicate

comingsoon.net:

I have seen , and despite a few criticisms, I can say with a straight face that I enjoyed this big-screen iteration of the popular Naughty Dog video game. No, it’s not perfect. Yes, it makes the same mistakes as other video game adaptations, but as a mid-February distraction, the Ruben Fleischer pic delivers and sets up a universe worth revisiting later on down the road.

Critics mostly disagree. As of this writing, holds a meager 39% and 5.2/10 average score on Rotten Tomatoes with the consensus reading, “Promisingly cast but misleadingly titled, mines its bestselling source material to produce a disappointing echo of superior adventure films.”

I didn’t have much expectation going into  because, at this point, I know what to expect whenever Hollywood tries to adapt a video game. I’ve seen enough films like ,, and  to last a lifetime. My brain is numb from disappointment. While  certainly doesn’t break new ground, compared to other video game adaptations it’s practically a home run, if not a nice chip to center field.

Sure, does that thing where we spend the entire movie waiting for the hero to finally turn into the hero we came to see, but when the moment arrives and those involved in the production finally let loose in an exciting third act, the results are as enjoyable as one would expect.

I agree that up until that point the pic had mostly lumbered along the exposition highway. Much of the action and intrigue in the first two acts, namely a long sequence in which our explorers discover a secret chamber that has somehow stayed hidden from the world despite its location roughly ten feet under a Papa Johns, is quite lackluster; and aided considerably by Holland’s natural charisma and Wahlberg’s do-or-die approach to the