Review of Uncharted (2022) by Gryffe — 20 Feb 2022

Let's get the elephant out of the room first : this movie isn't going to challenge your morality, push the boundaries of philosophy or offer deep characters entangled in complex political plots. Uncharted has no pretention of being anything but a two hours Escape Game fun romp spiked with witty banters, action scenes and the barest of characterization needed to keep the stakes high and events involving. And I think that's perfectly fine. Not every movie needs to redefine the medium and being fun for the sake of being fun is a valid approach to movie making.

So, with that said, how does Uncharted fare when judged for what it wants to be and not what you wished it was ?

It's... genuinely great ?

Its biggest strength has to be the pacing : nothing feels superfluous. Scenes fluidly transition from one setpiece to the next, every interaction serves a purpose and new elements are constantly introduced ; the heroes obviously succeed but every plan is met with unforeseen complications solved by quick thinking and skill, a constant back and forth keeping you on edge. Yes, this isn't breaking any new ground, but it's done flawlessly and consistently, which is almost as impressive as the action itself.

Would I recommend watching Uncharted ?

Depends on what you're looking for in a movie. Uncharted does one thing almost perfectly and offers nothing else : if you're not here for larger-than-life characters chewing the scenery you've come to the wrong movie.