5 Ways to make the Uncharted Movie not Completely Suck

Earlier this week, Sony sneakily announced that it was still developing the Uncharted movie, and even gave us a release date. The reaction was muted to say the least, not because the prospect of an awesome Uncharted movie is a bad thing, but because we’ve had so few good video game films that it’s safe to assume Nathan Drake’s big screen adventure will be equally crummy. That doesn’t have to be inevitable though. Here are five ways Sony could adapt Uncharted to make it not totally suck.

Make it CGI

Whenever a publisher announces that they’ve sold the film rights to their biggest IP, there’s always one collective suggestion from the fans: make it CGI. Forget about attaching Hugh Jackman for no reason, just use the original cast and animate the story around their voices. It might seem like an easy way out to some wannabe lead developer who fancies himself the next Uwe Boll (only talented), but the easy way out is also the only way you’re not going to have your entire fanbase turn on you.

I don’t want to see John Goodman play Joel from The Last of Us*, or Michael Cera as Sora from Kingdom Hearts – there’s no way your casting suggestions are going to live up to our expectations, no matter how good the actor you choose. We’ve already seen it performed to perfection, and there’s a good chance we wouldn’t recognise the person doing who entertained us so if we bumped into them in a recording booth. Remember that when Woody Harrelson turns up to audition for the role of Sully.

*I totally do.

Don’t Dumb it Down

The truth is, a less than pure adaptation is almost inevitable. It’s a problem that has plagued literature for over a hundred years now. Some film makers take a source material, rip it to shreds, throw the pieces up in the air and then put the first ten bits they can grab in random order, then call it “the most accurate book adaptation of all time.” It’s annoying to the fans, but understandable. You can’t take a 13 hour experience and then force it into a two hour action flick. If Uncharted is going to have a bunch of cool stunts in it, the actual acting will probably only take up an hour or so of screen time – that’s a lot of missing character development.

So here’s the deal: we won’t complain about Uncharted not being a straight adaptation of the first game and the film creators can agree to make sure that Nate isn’t some infallible super hero and that Sully still has a thing for women of ill repute.

Don’t Turn it into Indiana Jones

We’ve come full circle. Uncharted was obviously influenced by Indiana Jones but got away with it because it was a video game. The comparison was useless, because the interactivity and extra time with the characters made it so much more than just a rip-off of a popular IP.

Now that there’s an Uncharted film in the works, the producers are hopefully squirrelling away, working out a premise that puts it as far away from Indy as possible. We love thick jungles and ancient tombs, but the risk is, if you base it all there, you’re going to be unfavourably compared to one of the most fondly remembered franchises of all time.

You don’t want to Nuke the Fridge before you’ve even released your first teaser trailer.

Remember the Fans

Sometimes, when adapting a piece of work, film makers will try to bridge the gap between the original fans and cinema junkies by making things more obvious, or removing complicated sections or characters altogether. Sometimes this makes sense: if you wanted to see Tom Bombadil in The Fellowship of the Ring, you’re an asshole. Most of the time though, it seems like an unnecessary cut at the expense of what made the original so special in the first place.

Remember the fans, listen to what they’re saying – Hollywood has proven time and time again that nothing is a definite hit, and risking the goodwill of the people hungry to support you anyway seems like a bet that’s not worth risking.

Don’t Change the Games

When the Resident Evil film came out at the beginning of the century, it was hated by fans of the original games. Frankly though, the fans had given up on their favourite franchise and sales had fallen from over seven million to only a little above one. What saved it? The people that had flocked to see that film. It was a huge success and spawned several sequels, but it also meant that the game series was never the same again. 

We don’t want the same to happen to Uncharted. Maybe either put the series to rest after A Thief’s End or just make sure to keep the two different media completely separate.