Geek Kingdom
Uncharted
Liam Lavoie
Embedded Files
My name is Liam Lavoie, and I’m here to bring you another issue of…
GEEK KINGDOM!
In this issue, we’ll be doing our very first movie review! The movie we’ll be talking about is the excellent action-adventure film Uncharted. But, before we talk about the movie, we have to talk about the history of the franchise.
The Uncharted Games
Uncharted was originally a video game series back in the late 2000’s, with the first game being released, to critical acclaim, in 2007 for the Playstation 3. It was one of the few quality titles for the platform at the time. The game was so popular that the creators (Naughty Dog) made 3 sequels and several side-games and spinoffs, with the final entry being released in 2016. Now that we know about the background of the movie, we can begin our analysis.
The Story
To summarize without spoilers, bartender/pickpocket multiclass Nathan Drake goes on a quest, with the help of his dead brother’s friend and postcards his brother left him, to find the gold lost by an expedition ship. However; the descendant of the ship’s captain is also attempting to gain the gold for himself, and so begins a race for billions of dollars in gold. The story is fairly simple to get behind, and because it’s an action movie, filled with annoying plot holes. I got upset at a few, but most went completely over my head. It’s a work of fiction. Don’t take it too seriously! If you do, it ruins the fun of the film. Overall, the story is a little rocky, yet serviceable enough to keep the film going.
The Acting
With such stars as Tom Holland, Mark Whalberg and Antonio Banderas, how could anything go wrong? Don’t worry, nothing does! Each actor plays his part very well, and you can tell they put effort into playing their characters through every second of the movie. This all-star cast was a very good selection.
The Special Effects
It’s fairly obvious that a lot of time went into creating the special effects. Several scenes are practically carried by special effects, which would normally be a bad thing, but it’s still balanced by a good story and good character development. Of course, since it’s an action movie, there needs to be an over the top final battle scene, which involves two pirate ships being carried by helicopters. And this ridiculous, over the top scene is made believable by our modern-day animation technology and high-quality green-screen tech. Overall, despite how over-the-top it is, it still manages to feel very realistic.
The Reviews
This is quite a confusing case. According to Rotten Tomatoes (a popular film and television review site), people really liked Uncharted, and thought it was a great movie. At the same time, the reviewers hated this movie, giving the review score a 40%, and the audience score a 90%. So, what the heck happened? After researching, I think I found the problem. Movie critics these days are too tense. This movie is supposed to be a lighthearted, action-adventure romp, not a masterfully written drama that keeps the audience guessing. Either that or people just really like Tom Holland. He is in a lot of movies these days (the Spider Man series, Onward, Avengers, etc.), which probably ticks reviewers off for some strange reason. It’s a mystery that will most likely never be solved…
The Verdict
Overall, I think the movie was pretty good. That is, if you’re willing to turn off your brain and overlook impossible stunts and a shaky plot. I think it’s a good movie, but maybe wait until it comes to streaming services first.
FINAL SCORE: 7.5/10
I hope you enjoyed this issue of Geek Kingdom, and I hope to see you next time!
Page layout by Tina Xia
Page updated
Report abuse