It was back to the Imax at Cineworld the other day for the movie adaptation of the video game franchise Uncharted, now I have to say that I’m not big on the video game and only played one of them, but I did have an idea of the characters and the little knowledge of the franchise.
Street-smart Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) is recruited by seasoned treasure hunter Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) to recover a fortune amassed by Ferdinand Magellan and lost 500 years ago by the House of Moncada. What starts as a heist job for the duo becomes a globe-trotting, white-knuckle race to reach the prize before the ruthless Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas), who believes he and 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.
So as I mentioned earlier I went to check out Uncharted in IMAX and I will get to more about the IMAX E.A.R. later, but for now, I want to say a little about the movie itself, for starters it is one of those game to movie adaptations that you really don’t have to know the games to enjoy the movie. Uncharted is very much a movie that is a rollercoaster of an adventure movie, think of Indiana Jones mixed with National Treasure and you have the rough idea.
At first, I wasn’t too sure about Tom Holland playing the part of Nathan Drake as he did seem a little young for what I remember of the character in the game I had played, then you realise that the movie is a prequel to the original games, but he certainly plays the character well, bringing it to life on the big screen, let’s face it Holland certainly has all the moves for an action hero, he’s been doing it long enough playing Spider-Man.
Holland certainly has the screen presence for a younger Drake and it’s great to see some back story for his character in the film which adds to the way the story flows later on in the movie with his character and Sully (Wahlberg). This brings me on to Walhberg’s character in Uncharted, I have to say at first I was overly sure about Sully, but as the movie progressed I started to enjoy the character more and did like the banter between him and Drake, it works very well to add to some of the humour in the film.
As for the other characters in the film, they all work well to keep the flow of the movie rolling along, Tati Gabrielle (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) carried her character Braddock along nicely as did Sophia Ali (The Wilds), although I did feel that Antonio Banderas was a little underused, but hey the movie is about Drake after all.
Uncharted certainly builds its way up from the start, with the last part of the movie being something to wow at with some of the craziest scenes I’ve seen in a long time, but with the scenes being shot in the IMAX Extended Aspect Ration they work brilliantly to pull you closer into the action and all playing out with a superb soundtrack from Ramin Djawadi (Westworld, Game of Thrones).
Uncharted in IMAX
Now then on to the IMAX in Uncharted, the movie opens up in the Extended Aspect Ratio giving you that extra 26% of the screen as Drake (Holland) is hanging on for dear life outside of a cargo plane and trying to fight his way to get back in. It certainly makes you feel that you are out there with him. Shortly after we are taken on a flashback as the film returns to widescreen for most of the movie.
But it’s not just the picture that is enhanced for IMAX it’s the sound as well and through the movie, the sound mix is superb bringing you right into the middle of the action and adventure, but we are treated to a couple more IMAX E.A.R. scenes and in particular the one with the ships that you can see in the trailer, this complete sequence looks and sounds amazing in IMAX, the seats rumble with the power of the bass and the extra 26% of the screen works fantastically to get your heart racing for the action.
Game to movie adaptations can be a hit or miss, but for me I thoroughly enjoyed Uncharted, it’s a movie that is very much like the days of the original Indiana Jones where we can just sit back and enjoy the adventure that is happening on the big screen.
For fans of the video games lookout for a cameo from voice actor Nolan North, also stay in your seat for a post-credit scene.
Uncharted in IMAX opens up the adventure experience
Movie title: Uncharted (2022)
Movie description: Street-smart Nathan Drake is recruited by seasoned treasure hunter Victor "Sully" Sullivan to recover a fortune amassed by Ferdinand Magellan and lost 500 years ago by the House of Moncada.
Date published: February 13, 2022
Country: UK
Duration: 1h 56m
Director(s): Ruben Fleischer
Actor(s): Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, Antonio Banderas
Genre: Action, Adventure
Summary
Uncharted is probably one of the better game to movie adaptations, add in the IMAX Expanded Aspect Ratio sequences and you are taken on a wild adventure.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
