Uncharted

By Joanna Langfield

Drawn from a popular action-adventure game series, it’s kind of surprising how old school this adaptation is. Settling into the well worn traditions of the Raiders, Mummys, and National Treasures, this one is only truly fun thanks to its very game cast.

The lithe and charming Tom Holland stars as Drake, a nimble thief who is wooed into a treasure hunt of historic proportions, by veteran Mark Wahlberg. He’s Sully, btw. And Sully may just know more than he’s telling, as the two hop off to Barcelona to try and recover a fortune in gold, lost by Magellan some 500 years ago. Sophia Ali makes a very pretty and capable ally, or bad guy, or who knows what. And Antonio Banderas shows up as the rich thug who makes things difficult for our bounty hunters. While everyone here is of age and mention is made of past romances, the PG-13 rating is earned for its occasional violence and, hold onto your seats, language. Yes, there are a few “bad words”, but that’s about as passionate all these great looking people get.

Directed by Ruben Fleischer, who gave us popular hits such as Venom, doesn’t waste time on a lot of fine points here. He’s aiming for something mass appeal and, while this one feels far shallower than the movies it tries to emulate, it’s not painful to watch, either. Perhaps your mileage will vary, depending upon your expectations. Keep ‘em low and you’ll be okay.