Uncharted has been wanting to jump onto the big screen s nice 2008, one year after it became the hit video game on the Playstation 3. Since then, there have been tons of re-writes and cancelations and false starts until it all landed on Zombieland director Rueben Fleischer with Mark Wahlberg and Spider-Man's Tom Holland in the lead roles. The result is a very bland action film that rarely has fun with the exception of when Holland and Wahlberg are conversing the way brothers-in-arms do. Other than that, the action sequences are uninspired, lazy, and just plain joyless. In between these adventure beats lies a story about a young guy named Nathan Drake (Holland) who is asked by his missing older brother's friend Sully (Wahlberg) to head out on a mission across the globe to locate lost pirate treasure.
Of course, they aren't the only ones who know about or who are after this treasure. Several other assassins and billionaires including a fantastic Antonio Banderas are on the trail. That being said, the film would rather pull out too many swerves on its characters that would betray one another one moment and the next, become friends again, and then be enemies once again. This element happens way too much in the film and makes zero sense every time it does other than the fact that characters utter the lines like, "this is the business, trust nobody". Uncharted the video game has a ton of lore, background, and history, so it would be difficult to put any or all of it into one film, but the studio is definitely hoping this will be a franchise movie as evident by its two end credit sequences.
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Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
Uncharted climbs its way to Blu-ray from Sony in a two-disc Blu-ray + DVD + Digital set. The discs are housed inside a hard, blue plastic case with a cardboard sleeve. The artwork features the cast of the film looking out into the distance over mountains and the ocean. There is an insert for a digital code.
Uncharted comes with a great-looking 1080p HD image that features a wide array of colors and vivid detail. Colors are bright and vibrant throughout with wonderful blue skies and oceans that go mix well with the green trees and landscapes that are featured throughout the movie. Interior locations are dipped in golden amber lighting conditions with some deep reds and earthier tones. The island color scheme though is where the palette truly shines with those bold blues, browns, greens, and yellows that pop right off-screen.
The black levels are rather deep as well, however, there is quite a bit of video noise that crops up in those lower-light conditions that can be unfavorable. Other than that, skin tones are natural and the detail is sharp as well. Closeups reveal facial hairs, pores, practical effects, and more while wider shots never seem to go soft, even in the heavier CGI moments. Other than the video noise, there aren't any other video problems to speak of.
This release comes with a lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio mix that sounds great. It's just sad that Sony is not releasing the Dolby Atmos track with its companion 1080p Blu-ray releases. That being said, this 5.1 audio track is no slouch. The sound effects are robust and big in the larger action sequences. Explosions, debris falling, fight choreography, and vehicle chases all sound fantastic. There is a nice low end of bass that delivers a great rumble on a consistent basis. There is good directionality and has a wide dynamic range.
There are no height elements here and some of the more nuanced sound effects along with its smooth transition from speaker to speaker are something less than par, which makes the Dolby Atmos track the preferred one of choice. Still, there is a lot to like about this DTS option with some great dialogue and music cues.
In addition to the audio commentary, there are about 47 minutes of bonus material included here along with a commentary track from the director. Interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, deleted scenes, and some fun anecdotes from the set are all here.
The Uncharted movie comes from a rich and astonishing set of stories and characters that have been laid out over the course of a few video games. This long-awaited film adaptation doesn't stick its landing in many ways, but what it does well, is set up a grander story arc in future films once it finds its perfect pacing and flow that leans towards the absurd and fun side of things rather than trying to keep itself so serious. This Blu-ray looks and sounds great, and the bonus features are short, yet a lot of fun. This comes Recommended!
