They say that cinema is cyclical as various genres find their way back to our screens. A current example of that would be the video game genre; no one knows more than Hollywood that the games industry is far more lucrative than film currently is.

This explains why producers keep going back to gaming in the hopes of making a hit. Or in the case of 1993’s Super Mario Bros, a cult classic.

Currently we appear to have hit a vein of surprisingly commercially successful titles, such as 2019’s Detective Pikachu, 2021’s Mortal Kombat, and the two recent live-action Sonic flicks.

Joining this list is this recent effort, Uncharted, based on the highly successful Sony franchise for its PlayStation consoles.

Having grown up with his older brother in an orphanage, Nate Drake (Tom Holland) developed a love for treasure and the art of discovering it. Now living in New York City and working as a bartender, he’s approached by fortune hunter Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg), who had worked with his brother Sam on a big job before he vanished.

Sully has a job that he thinks Nate would be interested in, but Nate has no idea how far this job will take him, and how dangerous his adventure for treasure will be.

The only real surprise about this film is that it's taken this long to make it to the screen; the first game was released in 2007 and it was essentially a modern day homage to the Indiana Jones franchise.

This then is a reasonably accurate adaptation of the themes of the game, as well as fairly good representations of the two main characters. The use of the word “fairly” relies on whether you’re a fan of the games or not; if you are, then it’s difficult to accept Holland as Nate Drake in any capacity. That’s not to say he doesn’t have a good stab at it, but he’s just far too young to play Drake.

Drake is relatively world weary in the game, experienced at what he does. And although the film focuses on Drake just starting out, it’s still difficult to see Holland fitting the bill. In fact it’s difficult to see Holland other than Spider-Man, and certainly having work in NYC doesn’t help.

If you haven’t played the games however, it’s probably a lot easier to accept Holland in the main role.

There are a number of Easter eggs for fans of the game however, the most prominent being a cameo for Nolan North who has voiced Nathan Drake for the entire franchise, so at least there is something for them there.

Of course the film will draw comparisons with the Indiana Jones franchise, unfairly for the most part, after all it was only the first film that was a classic, with each subsequent sequel becoming more and more disappointing. So it could be said for this film, the only way is up. Plus of course, there’s no doubt that the game itself heavily borrows from the Indiana Jones films itself, so there’s bound to be similarities.

It’s certainly entertaining enough in its own right however; the relationship between Nate and Sully has its charm, and the set pieces are suitably breath-taking, if a little too reliant on CGI. It’s also good to see two strong roles for females, with both Sophia Ali and Tati Gabrielle welcome additions.

It’s a shame about the blatant product placement however; with the action moving to Spain, taking in some impressive locales, somehow the characters end up in a garish Papa John’s establishment, which is disappointingly tacky.

Still, there are plenty of thrills and spills, including some impressive set pieces, and with the ending – and fairly decent box office returns – hinting at more to come, there’s still an opportunity for this to turn into a gem of a franchise.