With PlayStation's Uncharted game series being the latest to receive a film adaptation, it's safe to wonder whether or not one needs to play the games to understand the events of the 2022 film. The Tom Holland-starring movie is Sony's latest attempt to launch a new action franchise after the respectable success of their Jumanji and Venom franchises, as well as an attempt to create a profitable video game film franchise, with many past attempts from other studios not going over particularly well with critics or the box office. But with a cast full of A-list actors such as Holland, Mark Wahlberg, and Antonio Banderas, the video game adaptation has a lot of strong franchise potential.
The Uncharted game series told the story of treasure hunter Nathan Drake, a believed descendant of Sir Francis Drake, who alongside his mentor Victor Sullivan, as well as an assortment of other crewmates, searched for everything from the lost city of El Dorado to the treasure of infamous pirate Henry Avery. The film is an attempt to recapture the Indiana Jones style of adventure that the games had, but also acts as an origin story for the character of Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) and his first encounter with Victor Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg). The film adaptation of Uncharted acts as more of a reboot of the game series rather than a canon prequel, as a way of hopefully bringing in not only gamers but casual moviegoers as well, although the latter may wonder whether or not they will be lost like one of Uncharted's many iconic treasures when going into the film without having played the games prior.
While playing the games before seeing this latest video game to film adaptation will most certainly enrich one's experience with the Uncharted movie, it is not necessary to have played them to follow the story at play here. The film is more of a compilation of certain set pieces and characters from the games than anything else, as it carves its own path towards a potential franchise rather than acting as an exact prequel. While the overall plotline and a few of the action sequences are new to the Uncharted brand, those who are fans will most likely get a kick out of seeing some iconic sequences from the games somewhat recreated for the big screen. But those who have not partaken in playing the four mainline Uncharted games will not miss out on any of the fun, as the film makes a strong effort to tell its own story that harkens back to adventure like the Indiana Jones film franchise.
In a world where Sony is trying to make the most of their valuable properties, their Uncharted movie is a somewhat welcome addition and sits nicely alongside similar video game adaptations such as 2018's Tomb Raider. It captures the spirit of the original games in many ways, from the over-the-top action set pieces to the various puzzles and obstacles that block Nathan Drake's path to success. Fans of the games should be mostly satisfied by the film's accuracies both visually and stylistically.
But while also pleasing fans of its source material, the Uncharted movie should prove a fun distraction for those who have yet to play the games. Bringing back a type of film rarely seen since the days of the National Treasure franchise, this film adaptation is a reminder of what makes this kind of adventure epic so irresistible. Even if it doesn't bring anything particularly new to the table, it recreates this sense of adventure that just isn't seen as often in mainstream blockbusters anymore. So whether it's a fan of the game series or a newcomer who just wants to have a good time, Uncharted should be a very easy-to-follow film and a pleasant viewing experience all around.