The first trailer for the Uncharted movie released this week, and while fan reception was mixed, there's no denying that it seems to be capturing the aesthetics of the source material well. Although the movie doesn't look like it's following the continuity of the games, it does seem to feature a lot of moments that happen across the series. However, it's important that the movie isn't just a "greatest hits collection," because these set pieces from the games - although exhilarating - aren't what make Uncharted good.
Film adaptations of video games tend to take away the wrong messages from the games that inspire them, making for less-than-favorable viewing experiences. The Uncharted movie needs to understand that there's more to the franchise than its action set pieces. They are a staple of the series, but if the movie is just going to reenact the moments from the games while pointing a metaphorical finger toward scenes to say, "Remember this?," it will have missed the point of the franchise entirely.
Set Pieces Aren't What Make Uncharted Great
There are a lot of memorable and iconic set pieces featured in the Uncharted series, but when placed in a vacuum, they aren't what sell the franchise as being of high quality. It's the set pieces mixed with their stories that make the games such major touchstones. So far, the trailer for the film has shown off adaptations of a handful of moments from the games, and while they look good, they won't be enough to make the movie great if its narrative and characters aren't as well written.
Uncharted's writing has come a long way since its first entry, to the point where a lot of its characters have grown out of who they were when the franchise started. Because players know so much about the characters, the action sequences have more context and emotional weight. That connection to the characters makes the set pieces even more memorable as a result, so if the Uncharted movie misses the mark in terms of its character writing, its set pieces won't land with the same impact as those featured in the games.
Developing the Uncharted Movie's Identity
It's certainly nice to see how well the film adaptation has captured the aesthetics of Uncharted, but it can't rely solely on that to sell itself: it needs an identity of its own to work as an adaptation, otherwise fans might as well just replay the games. Based on the trailer, it seems like it's going in its own direction in terms of narrative, but there are only so many ways to tell the story of Nathan Drake looking for lost treasure. Character writing will likely make or break the film, but it should also feature its own original set pieces to stand out.
It's all well and good to see Drake dangle out of a flying plane or infiltrate a formal party, but fans of the series have already seen those sorts of things in the games. There's nothing inherently wrong with being true to an adaptation's source material, however if the whole movie exists to simply remind fans how great the games are, it won't be adding anything interesting to the Uncharted series. If so, ultimately it will fail as an adaptation, and as an extension of the franchise. Hopefully, the film is able to make its own iconic moments that are separate from the ones featured in the games.
Uncharted releases in theaters on February 18, 2022.