Tom Holland puts his all into the adventure story Uncharted

(VRIKAH) In “Uncharted,” a film centered on the Spider-Man protagonist and wild aerobatic maneuvers, Tom Holland puts his great appeal to the test. It’s better seen than heard because it’s based on a PlayStation game, but the movement looks great on an Imax screen, which was the modest goal when attempting to replicate the tone of perhaps “National Treasure.” 

The movie begins with Holland’s Nathan Drake clinging to the floating cargo of an airborne jet for dear life, offering an adrenaline boost before jumping back to explain why and how he got there.

The “why” goes beyond the obvious, with treasure hunter Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) enlisting Nathan’s help in locating billions in gold rumored to have been hidden by Ferdinand Magellan 500 years ago. 

Sully believes the lad can help since he might know his long-lost brother, despite Nathan proving to be both knowledgable about the mythology and competent in a hurry. 

Rivals for the gold include wealthy aristocrat Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas), his badass chick Braddock (“You’s” Tati Gabrielle), and Sully’s resentful partner Chloe (“Grey’s Anatomy’s” Sophia Ali), who shares his everyone-for-themselves philosophy.

“Uncharted,” directed by Ruben Fleischer (“Venom,” “Zombieland”), falls to the bottom of the box office every time Holland and Wahlberg indulge in immature fighting, which happens all too often. One oddity is that the hilarious insult they exchange occurs in the trailer but not in the final film, and good speech is far too rare in this film to be eliminated. 

These flaws only serve to emphasize the video game’s origins, making minor details like adding a third aspect to the characters superfluous distractions. While the action scenes are dynamic and visceral at times, the cerebral portions of figuring out where X marks the spot are generally dull time fillers.

That leaves us with something that’s at best a B film with A-level antics, similar to Netflix’s recent robbery caper “Red Notice,” but without the same amount of superhero star quality. 

Despite this, Holland remains fundamentally charming, and following his dark, non-super explorations in “Cherry” and “The Devil All the Time,” he serves as the central pillar of an unpretentious film that seems to harbor both champagne wishes and sequel fantasies. 

Stranger things have happened, but if “Uncharted” actually wanted to chart a blockbuster course, its mapmakers should have started with a more solid strategy. 

The film “Uncharted” will be released in theatres in the United States on February 18. It has a PG-13 rating.

Indianexpress.com marks a poor movie rating of 1.5 stars in their review for Uncharted.

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