This page includes Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune spoilers!
The first post-credits sequence linked to Sony’s Uncharted wastes one of the video game series’ biggest disclosures. The film version of Naughty Dog’s successful gaming franchise stars Tom Holland as the beloved protagonist Nathan Drake, and Mark Wahlberg as his partner Victor “Sully” Sullivan. Uncharted’s primary cast is completed by Sophia Ali and Rudy Pankow, who plays Chloe Frazer and Sam Drake, respectively.
Uncharted is reported to be set before the events of the first game in the genre, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, and follows a unique tale rather than directly copying one of the games. While Sony insists that the film is canon to the game series, the film violates that claim many times by retconning key plot aspects from its award-winning source material. The film deviates from the games several times, but possibly the most important retcon is Sam Drake’s arc.
Sam is introduced in a flashback sequence early in the film, and he is thought dead by Nate and Sully for the rest of the film. The first post-credits sequence, however, indicates that Sam is still alive, albeit imprisoned, and is still attempting to reach Nate. This destroys one of the franchise’s biggest surprises, as Sam’s survival was revealed only in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. The film makes the error of revealing this information too soon, without providing enough time for it to have any genuine emotional impact.
Even while the Uncharted games are known for their over-the-top action set-pieces, they depict a deeply intimate tale at their heart. One of the most heartbreaking situations in the game series occurs when Nathan Drake discovers that his brother is still alive after believing him to be dead for decades. The players, on the other hand, were taken aback because they had no idea Nathan had a sibling in the first place.
Naughty Dog handled Sam’s reveal in Uncharted 4 expertly, but it seemed hurried in the film. Uncharted by Playstation Productions presents Sam, leads the spectator to assume he is dead, and then shows that he is alive all in one film. As a result, the announcement lacked emotional weight, and it would have been better accomplished if the film’s creative team had kept it for a sequel or trilogy finale.
Ruining Sam’s disclosure was maybe one of the elements that contributed to the film’s overall bad response. Despite its efforts to stand out, Uncharted made the same faults that video game adaptations have become known for. Uncharted couldn’t determine whether to tell an original tale or rely on the source material, thus it squandered a plot aspect that may have been more meaningful later on.
