Street-smart thief Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) is recruited by seasoned treasure hunter Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) to recover a fortune lost by Ferdinand Magellan 500 years ago. What starts as a heist job for the duo becomes a globe-trotting, white-knuckle race to reach the prize before the ruthless Moncada (Antonio Banderas), who believes he and his family are the rightful heirs. If Nate and Sully can decipher the clues and solve one of the world’s oldest mysteries, they stand to find $5 billion in treasure and perhaps even Nate’s long-lost brother…but only if they can learn to work together.
For in-depth thoughts on Uncharted, please see my colleague Dom Fisher’s review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray of Uncharted offers a minor-but-enjoyable uptick in quality over the already wonderful accompanying Blu-Ray, making it a truly stunning effort. Without a doubt, Sony continues to defend its title as one of the best major studios delivering 4K encodes. Skin tones appear a touch more natural with healthy doses of crisp detail apparent on faces such as pores and scrapes. This finely delineated detail extends to textures such as hair and even the most distinct ridges of costumes. The expanded range of the color spectrum is awe-inspiring. The HDR/Dolby Vision enriches the colors from already striking to more vibrant than you can scarcely imagine. While the red sports car might be the most apparent standout, there are some nice, deep colors within the vegetation of the environments that radiate off the screen.
One of the most pleasing aspects of this 4K effort is the balance in contrast. The highlights in the film are more defined with whites more pure and balanced with no instances of blooming to be found. Elements taking place in the cover of darkness are more vivid and finely delineated. The black levels in this presentation stay deep and inky with great detail. This disc also makes improvements when it comes to digital noise, nearly eliminating any trace that you find on the Blu-Ray. This 4K UHD presentation really delivers on all fronts including strong gains in detail, clarity and color. The Blu-Ray is great, but Sony has delivered another A+ transfer on this latest 4K release.
Audio Quality
This 4K UHD Blu-Ray provides a Dolby Atmos track that ups the ante of the terrific DTS-HD 5.1 MA track on the accompanying Blu-Ray. From the opening free-floating moments onward, the film dominates nearly all of the surround speakers consistently during both the relatively subdued moments and the numerous momentous action sequences. The low end effects from the subwoofer give moments big and small a tremendous boost with the walls shaking a bit. Atmospheric sound effects are rendered appropriately within the mix so that directionality is never an issue. Lookout for the implementation of the height channels that make the adventures much more three-dimensional and immersive. Dialogue is crisp and clear without ever getting lost amongst the music or sound effects. The film also really satisfies when it comes to the music as the track fills the room in an enveloping manner. The score from Ramin Djawadi adds a lot of personality to the project. You could not ask for better from Sony as Uncharted comes in like a force of nature.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Director Ruben Fleischer delivers a steady and informative commentary track in which he discusses bringing a video game property to life, working with Tom Holland, how they pulled off certain stunts, the structure of the story, subtle references to the game, the preparations taken for this feature and more.
- Deleted & Extended Scenes: Eight unused scenes totaling 10 minutes are provided here including the original intro for Sully, a different arrival to Barcelona, a personal moment of Nate finding an important note and more. There are some entertaining sequences here that fans might want to check out.
- Never A Dull Moment – Stunts & Action: A six-minute piece which takes a look at the intense action sequences in the film including the desire of Tom Holland to tackle a lot of his own stunts, trying to meet the level of spectacle the video game offered, making sure each sequence has a personality and purpose, executing the choreography, the locations of scenes and more.
- Becoming Nathan Drake: A four-minute look at the process of adapting the iconic video game character to the big screen including the commitment from Tom Holland, the collaboration between Sony and Naughty Dog with the filmmaking team, the care that was put into maintaining the respect of the original material and more.
- Villains, Backstabbers & Accomplices: A four-minute look at some of the key supporting characters of the film, what their place is in the overall story, and the qualities that the performers brought to the roles.
- Charting The Course – On Set With Ruben Fleischer: A nearly five-minute piece which takes a closer look at the qualities that Fleischer brought to this material, the vision that helped guide the production, his strong work with performers to shape characters, and more.
- The Buddy System: A four-minute look at the friendship between Holland and Wahlberg both on and off-screen, the importance of these two characters bouncing off one another and more.
- Big Action Breakdown – C-17 Globemaster: A five-minute breakdown of one of the most exciting action sequences in the film from initial concept to shooting and finalizing.
- Music Video: A nearly three-minute video is included for “No Mind” by Milkblood.
- Theatrical Marketing Materials: This disc provides an array of brief, amusing promotional material including Just A Little Charted (1:36), Bromantic (0:57), Harry & Tom (1:06) and Stunts (0:45).
- Previews
Final Thoughts
Uncharted moves at a break-neck pace from the very opening moments. While this keeps the audience engaged pretty thoroughly throughout, there is a desire to slow down and flesh out the characters from time to time. This movie is elevated by the charismatic lead performance from Tom Holland, who continues to prove himself a genuine movie star. While this movie is a perfectly entertaining time, there is room for improvement should the presumed sequel materialize, hopefully finding a better balance between servicing the movie-going audience and honoring the source material. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring an amazing A/V presentation and a fun assortment of special features. If you are in need of a rollicking, larger-than life adventure, this one will probably do the trick. Recommended
Uncharted is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.