Last weekend, “Uncharted” was released. This has been an anticipated movie to those who have played the video game considering that it’s been popularly played since 2007. In the live movie adaptation of the game we get to see young Nathan Drake played by Tom Holland and Victor “Sully” Sullivan played by Mark Wahlberg look for 500-year-old lost treasure. This happens by Victor aka “Sully” recruiting clever Nathan for the recovery of five billion dollars in treasure. Although they have obstacles trying to avoid the wealthy Santiago Moncada, who’s also hunting for the treasure. Doing whatever it takes to get his hands on it. Finding the treasure soon turns into a race of who will get it first. Will Nathan and Sully find the treasure? Or will their inability to work together sabotage them? For the “Uncharted” review I will be rating the cinematography, storyline, and the choreography from 1 to 5. 

To start the review off strong, I decided to review the cinematography because of the visuals shown in the film that were very impressive. One visually aesthetic scene that stood out to me was when Nathan arrives on the beach and the audience gets an incredible view of the island. Even though the islands were beautiful the audience got to see the detailed architecture of Berlin, Germany in many of the scenes. One notable scene that shows amazing cinematography is where Nathan is chasing another supporting character, Chloe, after he’s found out she’s stolen something. The audience gets to see them jump from rooftops and run from the buildings. The fast pace of the scene and camera direction really brought the scene to life. Later in the movie, Nathan finds himself in a difficult situation free-falling from the sky. The point of view for this scene was allowing the audience to feel that they are barreling through the sky flipping and turning along with the characters. This makes the movie more of an experience because it feels like you’re right there and you’re involved with the scene. One last scene that I would like to mention is when Nathan is underground exploring a crypt and their surroundings. This stood out to me because it showed the art of visual storytelling. Overall, I would give the cinematography a 4.5 out of 5. I thought that it was a cool experience for the audience to feel like you’re on the adventure with them. 

Continuing the review, the next topic that I would like to discuss is the “Uncharted” storyline. Tom Holland himself actually inspired Sony with his pitch of a young James Bond movie that featured his origin story as 007. Instead, this came to be more of inspiration for an “Uncharted” movie that featured young Nathan Drake. I thought the storyline for this movie was good as it is a treasure hunt and the initial goal is to find the treasure. One critique I would give is to try to stay away from the idea that an object is a macguffin and is the only thing that affects the plot of the story. I would have liked just a bit more character development from some of the characters and that it drove the plot more than the treasure did. The pace of the movie was something that I had mixed feelings about. This is because some scenes were a bit slow paced and it felt like you might have been waiting for something to happen. I really enjoyed the climax of the plot. I thought it was a very intense and action-packed scene that the audience was waiting for. It was also believable because of the idea that the characters would have selfish traits and make decisions that only benefit them in the story. The idea for this storyline was unique and allowed more light to shed on the backstory of a beloved character that people have seen for years. I would give the storyline for “Uncharted” a 3.5 out of 5. 

For the last category, I will be rating the fight choreography. Choreography is what really makes the scenes entertaining to watch. I was honestly very impressed with the choreography in “Uncharted,” it looked natural and it flowed easily. While filming “Uncharted,” Tom Holland thought it would be a good idea to learn a few bar tending tricks to get into the role of his character Nathan by actually going undercover at bars. A personal favorite scene of mine that featured amazing choreography was of Nathan Drake in a club bar fight. Throughout this club scene Nathan showcases some bottle flips giving Santiago Moncada’s workers some hits to the head with bottles. Eventually, Nathan creates a quick escape by using liquor and a lit candle to blow fire into the face of his opponent. The only thing I would add to that scene would be more hand-to-hand combat. The scene with the best choreography, the climax of the movie, is a fight scene that takes place on two pirate ships being airlifted by helicopters. As crazy as this sounds, the choreography was actually thoroughly entertaining because of the way they incorporated the ships and helicopters into the fighting. It’s important that the set was used to enhance the choreography for reasons like making the fight more grounded. The reason I think this is the best fight scene is because it’s humorous and detailed while forcing the characters to develop. I would give the “Uncharted” choreography 5/5. 

As a result, I thought “Uncharted” had an overall decent performance. The film did top the domestic box office earning $51 million dollars over opening weekend with a $120 million dollar budget. Bits and pieces of the movie were a bit underwhelming at times, but if they made a sequel I would willingly pay to watch it. If you’re looking for an action-packed treasure hunt movie with some humor then I would recommend this movie to you if you’re above the age of 13. Overall, I would give “Uncharted” a 3.5 out of 5. Hopefully we’ll see a sequel in the future.