The Corner Penthouse

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment recently released Uncharted (2022) on Blu-ray. Read on to find out more about it...

[ SYNOPSIS ]

Street-smart thief Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) is recruited by seasoned treasure hunter Victor "Sully" Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) to recover a fortune lost by Ferdinand Magellan 500 years ago. What starts as a heist job for the duo becomes a globe-trotting, white-knuckle race to reach the prize before the ruthless Moncada (Antonio Banderas), who believes he and his family are the rightful heirs. If Nate and Sully can decipher the clues and solve one of the world's oldest mysteries, they stand to find $5 billion in treasure and perhaps even Nate's long-lost brother...but only if they can learn to work together.

[ SPECIFICATIONS ]

The movie is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 1:55:50. The movie has been rated PG-13 for violence/action and language. Audio languages include English, French, and Spanish. Subtitle languages include English, English SDH, French, and Spanish.

[ SPECIAL FEATURES ]

All of the content listed below can be found on the Blu-ray disc. The included DVD disc only has the "Buddy System" featurette and the Previews.

• Audio Commentary - with director Ruben Fleischer.
• Deleted & Extended Scenes (10:23) - Included are these eight scenes: "Museum Deleted Scene", "Original Sully Intro", "Private Plane Extended Cut", "Alternate Barcelona Arrival", "Extended Safe House & Balcony", "Braddock Finds Sully Outside The Antechamber", "Inside The Car Trunk", and "Nate Finds Magellan's Note".
• Never a Dull Moment: Stunts & Action (5:54) - A look at the film's intense action scenes and infusing it with a personality.
• Becoming Nathan Drake (3:59) - Translating the character from the game to the film, Holland's performance and love for the game franchise, collaborations with Sony and Naughty Dog, and more.
• Villains, Backstabbers, & Accomplices (4:20) - A closer look at several of the film's supporting characters.
• Charting the Course: On Set with Ruben Fleischer (4:28) - Exploring the director's creative vision for and work on the film.
• The Buddy System (3:49) - Holland and Wahlberg's chemistry on set and on screen.
• Big Action Breakdown: C-17 Globemaster (5:03) - An in-depth look at making one of the film's most spectacular action sequences.
• Music Video (2:38) - For the song "No Mind" by Milkblood.
• Theatrical Marketing (4:12) - Nontraditional advertisements for the film, which includes "Just a Little Charted", "Bromantic", "Harry & Tom", and "Stunts".
• Previews - Additional Sony titles, including Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) (2:36), Ghostbusters Afterlife (2021) Trailer #2 (2:32), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) (2:54), and Morbius (2022) (2:39).

[ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ]

The Blu-ray and DVD discs come in a standard two-disc blue Blu-ray case with a digital copy code voucher inside. The first print run includes a slipcover.

[ NOTES ]

The original Uncharted game debuted on PlayStation 3 systems on November 19, 2007. Fans have been clamoring for a theatrical film, pushing for Nathan Fillion to take the lead, as he showed quite capable of in a 2018 fan film. That it took 15 years for a theatrical film to materialize is not a good sign. Instead of Fillion playing the middle-aged Nathan Drake seen in the games, the filmmakers decided to cast Spider-Man himself, Tom Holland, to play a 25-year-old Nathan Drake who looks like he just graduated high school. Mark Wahlberg is Victor "Sully" Sullivan, Nathan's father figure who is supposed to be 30 years his senior. When I first saw photos from the film, I thought he was playing Nathan. Honestly, the miscasting of the leads is the film's biggest problem and is a real insult to everyone who has enjoyed the video game series. There was no need for this movie to be an "origin story". Nobody asked for one. If Sony makes a sequel, I hope they realize their error and have it set in the future where Nathan Fillion can come in and play an older version of the character, with an even older actor taking over the role of Sully. Perhaps Liam Neeson will be available.

Very little from the games even appears here. Aside from Nathan and Sully, the only other familiar characters on tap are Chloe Frazer (played by Sophia Ali) and Sam Drake (played by Rudy Pankow); the latter only appearing in the opening scene as a teenager. All of the other characters were created for the movie, which means that they are NOT Uncharted characters. Antonio Banderas appears briefly as millionaire Santiago Moncada, and the lovely Tati Gabrielle (Half-a-Witch Willow from The Owl House) steals the movie as Braddock. There are some Easter Eggs for fans of the game, such as the appearance of a Naughty Dog logo sticker in suitcase at 16:33, paying homage to the developer of the game series.


The voice of the Nathan Drake in the games, Nolan North, appears as a "Hotel Guest" on the beach at 1:18:45.


There are two mid-credits scenes, the latter of which tries to actually pay homage to the games, though by that point, it's a little too late. (After the second mid-credits scene plays, a menu automatically appears in the lower right corner of the screen with options for main menu and extras.  I hate this, treating a physical movie like its a disposable streaming film on Netflix. The extras play automatically after the film concludes, whether you want to view them right away or not.)

Long story short (too late), if you pretend that it's not titled Uncharted and not based on the games, it's an enjoyable, though formulaic, action film with crazy stunts and beautiful locations. If you have any familiarity with the games, you won't like it. Ideal for fans of Tom Holland and treasure hunts only.

Uncharted (2022), the movie, is available on 4K UHD/Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack, and Individual DVD. If you have a PlayStation 3, 4, or 5, I highly suggest that you play any of the original video games.

• PLAYSTATION 3: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (2007), Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009) (Dual Pack with both games), and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (2011).

• PLAYSTATION 4: The three PS3 games are collected in the Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection (PS Hits Version). The fourth and fifth games are not on the PS3. They are Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (2016) (PS Hits Version, Special Edition, Libertalia Collector's Edition) and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (2017) (PS Hits Version).

• PLAYSTATION 5: While the original PS3 trilogy isn't available (as far as I can see), the fourth and fifth games have been collected in the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection.

• PLAYSTATION VITA: This portable system has one exclusive game, which is Uncharted: Golden Abyss (2011).

PHEW! I think that's all of the games. I never played anything more than the original trilogy, as I don't have a system newer than a PS3, but I highly recommend them.



This item has been provided by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment for review on this site.