Holland, Wahlberg help make ‘Uncharted’ a lot of fun

“Uncharted” is a story about a young man chasing ghosts of lost family members. It’s a tale of treasure and the lengths to which men and women will go in the pursuit of magnificent wealth. It’s part buddy comedy, part “Indiana Jones”-style adventure and part heist flick.

Thanks in large part to some great casting, “Uncharted” is also a lot of fun.

“Uncharted” focuses on Nathan Drake (Tom Holland), a would-be adventurer who’s out of place serving drinks as a bartender. Drake is recruited by treasure hunter Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) to assist in recovering billions of dollars worth of gold collected during Magellan’s circumnavigation of the globe.

Drake and Sully aren’t the only parties chasing this particular fortune. Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas) has hired ruthless Jo Braddock (Tati Gabrielle) to find the gold. There’s also the duplicitous Chloe Frazer (Sophia Ali) who forms an uneasy alliance with Drake and Sully. All these parties embark on a globe-trotting chase to get to the gold first.

Nothing this movie does is particularly original. You can predict the double-crosses before they happen. One can easily see this flick’s cinematic influences without much effort. The dialogue isn’t much to write home about and the movie lacks a distinct visual style.

But none of that matters.

“Uncharted” is not deep or thoughtful, but, man, is it ever fun. It starts with the cast. Holland is one of the most charming young actors working today. Drake is wry and insouciant, with a humorous streak that Holland knocks out of the park. One of the things the film does best is capture the idea that as capable as Drake is, he always finds himself in just a bit over his head. That’s a balancing act that helps sell your character to your audience and Holland absolutely nails it.

Wahlberg is just as great as Holland and he’s not doing much more than playing himself. Wahlberg’s ability to deliver even the lamest dialogue with verve and wit elevates so many of these scenes. Banderas makes for a great, slimy villain, Gabrielle is effectively icy and Ali has some great interplay with Holland. The whole cast is rock-solid.

“Uncharted” also delivers the action. In particular, the scene involving an airplane cargo drop is just so much fun. Between the speed of Drake plummeting toward the earth, the chaos of dodging massive falling objects and the drama of battling evil henchmen, this is one of the better action setpieces to come along in quite some time.

Director Ruben Fleischer proved with “Zombieland” that he can juggle humor, fun and action and he does a solid job of that here. “Uncharted” is well-paced, never feeling boring while still finding time for enough key character moments to help the audience connect with Drake. Fleischer may not have a singular visual style but he knows not to waste an audience’s time.

I only played the “Uncharted” video game a little bit, so I don’t know how it fares as an adaptation of the source material. But as far as a movie experience, I can say that while “Uncharted” wasn’t deep or meaningful, it sure was a lot of fun.

3 ½ Indy Fedoras out of 5

MPAA Rating: PG-13