Review - Uncharted: The Live-action Fan Film (2018)

          Hey guys, Chuck here. Yesterday, shortly after posting my retrospective and review of the Fast & Furious franchise, I decided to play a game on my PlayStation 4 that I hadn't played in a while. That game is Uncharted. Produced by game company Naughty Dog, Uncharted follows the adventures of explorer and archaeologist Nathan Drake, who travels the world in search of lost treasure. And if this sounds like the same concept behind Indiana Jones, you're not wrong, there. Whether it's the Tomb Raider series, the National Treasure films with Nicolas Cage, or even Uncharted, it seems that treasure hunting stories, that don't center on pirates during the Golden Age of Piracy, are forever doomed to comparisons to Indiana Jones. But enough about that, what about Uncharted?

         Well, for years Sony Pictures has been working on a feature film adaptation of the game franchise, and there is one due for release in February of 2022 starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, and directed by Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer. However, the one I'm talking about today is a 2018 fan film directed by Allan Ungar and starring an actor who fans of the franchise, myself included even before I started playing the games, wanted in the role of Nathan Drake: Nathan Fillion. So, let's dive into the 2018 fan film Uncharted. 

         So, the film, which is about fifteen minutes long, starts with a 1511 quote from Afonso de Albuquerque. We then open on the Baja Peninsula in Mexico, where Nathan Drake has been captured for stealing a priceless artifact, a bracelet, from a buyer who purchased it at an auction in La Paz. The buyer's main henchman, Diego, interrogates Nathan about the item's whereabouts, but Nathan just continues to brush off the interrogation, leading to Nathan being tortured by El Tigre, all the while Nathan's mentor and partner, Victor Sullivan aka Sully, downloads the schematics for the house Nathan is being held in. Nathan breaks loose, and fights off Diego's men, and gets to the room where a set of letters are located.

        The letters in question are in relation to Albuquerque and the lost treasure of the Flor de la Mar, a Portuguese ship that sank centuries ago. After finding a letter sent between Albuquerque and Ferdinand Magellan, Nathan figures out a secret about the long-lost treasure of the Flor de la Mar. Nathan then fights his way through more of Diego's men, gets picked up by Sully, and the two drive off and meet Elena Fisher, and the three use the letters and the stolen bracelet to decipher possible clues about the true location of the treasure of the Flor de la Mar. A symbol on the letter, a trinity, gives a major clue, as when the Flor de la Mar sank, Albuquerque was rescued by another Portuguese ship called the Trendajey. And a similarly named Spanish ship, the Trinidad, would sail the world with Magellan on board. Putting two and two together, Sully realizes that Magellan captained the ship that  rescued Albuquerque, and the two han put the treasure on the Trendajey, as opposed to the far less seaworthy Flor de la Mar. The letter also had coordinates for Nathan an co.'s next stop: the Philippines. 

        Okay, so in terms of faithfulness to the video games, Uncharted has that in spades. The three actors playing game characters are all terrific. Mircea Monroe was great as Elena, Stephen Lang was terrific as Sully, and most importantly, Nathan Fillion OWNED the role of Nathan Drake. Fillion is clearly a fan of this character, and treated him with the level of respect the character deserved. The other two main actors, Geno Segers as Diego and Ernie Reyes Jr. as El Tigre, are great as well. 

        Story wise, the idea of Nathan Drake searching for the lost treasure of the Flor de la Mar actually fits in with the Uncharted games. Aside from Nathan Fillion, director Allan Ungar is also clearly a big fan of the games, and treated them with utmost respect. Overall, I love this fan film, and give it a 5/5. Check it out on YouTube if you get the chance, it's worth your time. 

       Now, I still look forward to seeing the official feature film adaptation of Uncharted starring Tom Holland as Nathan Drake, but I, along with many other fans of the games, would like to see the Nathan Fillion version continue his story with a Netflix series or something. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed my review, and I'll see you guys tomorrow for the official start of Marvel May. 

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