Uncharted: The Movie's 10 Best Characters, Ranked | ScreenRant
The Uncharted film has finally made it to theaters after years of struggling in the development stage, bringing the iconic treasure hunter Nathan Drake and his compatriots to official live-action for the very first time. The film sees Nate (Tom Holland) and his new companion Victor Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) embark on a captivating quest to find the long-lost treasure of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan.
Uncharted features plenty of engaging characters, each with their own reasons for tracking down Magellan's gold. However, along the way, many of the film's characters reveal their true colors, either for better or for worse. As such, certain characters emerge from the film's events looking better than others.
7 Sam Drake
Despite Uncharted's major trouble in finding a director, Ruben Fleisher eventually signed on, guiding the film's story to take several notes from Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, including a plotline dealing with Nathan Drake's long-lost brother Sam. Sam's previous investigations lead his younger sibling to embark on a hunt for the treasure of the brothers' namesake, Ferdinand Magellan.
Though Sam is a lovable and well-rounded character in the fourth Uncharted game, he has little character development in the film's story, merely serving as the instigator of Nathan's quest, as well as a nice callback to the video game franchise. Nevertheless, Sam's presence is felt throughout the story, even if he isn't actually around for the majority of the film.
6 The Scotsman
Steven Waddington plays one of the villainous Santiago Moncada's henchmen in the film, known only as "The Scotsman." Despite having a relatively small role in the overall story, the Scotsman presents quite a physical threat to Tom Holland's Nathan Drake on several occasions, also offering some comedic moments dealing with his almost impossibly thick Scottish accent.
The Scotsman is less of a character in this film than he is one more hurdle that Nate and his friends must surmount in order to reach their ultimate goal. As a character, he serves a means to the screenwriters' end and is ultimately dispatched when that usefulness to the plot runs its course. At the end of the day, the Scotsman is far from the best character in the film.
5 Santiago Moncada
Antonio Banderas portrays the main villain of the film, Santiago Moncada. Moncada is also after the gold of Ferdinand Magellan, believing the treasure rightfully belongs to his family. Though Banderas's baddie doesn't quite stack up to some of the best villains of the Uncharted games, he remains a ruthless nemesis to Nathan and Sully as they continue their search.
Moncada is captivating to watch as the main antagonist of Nathan Drake's origin story, filling the shoes of other Uncharted villains quite nicely. Antonio Banderas gives everything he has to the character, making him quite memorable. Unfortunately for Moncada, his time in the film is cut short before he can truly reach the apex of his development, marking a disappointing turn for the overall story, and for viewers who hoped to see more of the villainous Moncada in the film's climax.
4 Jo Braddock
Tati Gabrielle portrays a brand new character to the Uncharted franchise in Jo Braddock, the lead henchman of Santiago Moncada, who also happens to be a former associate of Victor Sullivan. Despite her seeming subservience to Moncada, Braddock has plenty more to her character than meets the eye, becoming a true standout of the film.
Though Braddock begins the film as a henchman to the primary antagonist, she quickly steals the reigns from Santiago Moncada, becoming the true villain of Uncharted. The character's prowess both in battle and in manipulation is great fun to watch unfold on-screen, and Gabrielle's stunt work lends to Braddock's action scenes quite nicely.
3 Chloe Frazer
Sophia Ali portrays Chloe Frazer, a longtime associate of Nathan Drake from the video games, as well as one of the most intelligent characters in the series. The film showcases how Nate first encounters Frazer, setting up their long relationship that will later be seen in the games. Frazer assists Nate and Sully in tracking down the lost gold of Ferdinand Magellan before other more nefarious forces beat them to it.
Bringing such a beloved character from the video games to the screen for the first time is truly a daunting task, but Sophia Ali accomplishes this mission with style. The actress manages to make Frazer likable, even in scenes where her moral ambiguity begins to show. Ali's fun and snarky performance make Chloe a character that fans will hope to see more of in the near future, perhaps in her very own spinoff, as was the direction of the Uncharted games.
2 Victor "Sully" Sullivan
Mark Wahlberg brings Victory "Sully" Sullivan, one of the Uncharted series' most likable characters, to life for the first time ever in live-action. In the film, Sully's arc deals with him learning to overcome his greedy aspirations for fame and fortune as he forges a bond with the younger, less experienced treasure hunter, Nathan Drake.
Despite fan backlash regarding Wahlberg's casting as Sully, there is something inherently likable about his character, even if it bears little resemblance to the beloved video game version. Setting the film years before Nathan and Sully's more famous adventures gives them both, particularly the latter, time to grow into the characters that fans know and love from the games. Additionally, Sully's lesson in learning to give up material riches in favor of personal bonds makes him a character worth following in any future installments of the franchise.
1 Nathan Drake
The part of legendary treasure hunter Nathan Drake is played by Hollywood superstar and Spider-Man actor Tom Holland, who follows in the footsteps of prolific voice actor Nolan North, who voiced the character in all four of the popular Uncharted video games. In this film, Drake kicks off his treasure-hunting career by setting his sights on the lost gold of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, partnering up with new friends to help him along the way.
The film received plenty of pushback from fans of the Uncharted video games after the announcement of Holland's casting, with many arguing that the actor was too young to take on the role of the iconic protagonist. While Holland is significantly younger than his video game counterpart, he manages to make the role his own in an endearing way, bringing the same charm and likability that he does to his other popular movie roles. Should the Uncharted film franchise continue into the future, audiences will certainly enjoy watching Holland's Nathan Drake grow and mature into the version that they already know and love from the video games.