Uncharted Director Had To Cut Out A Lot Of The Tom Holland & Mark Wahlberg Bromance From The Movie: “We Prioritise Story Over LOLs”

The trick to adapting a video game into a live-action movie is not to tell the same story fans of the source material are well-versed in.

That was how director Ruben Fleischer (Venom, Zombieland) approached his take on Uncharted, the bestselling PlayStation game series about the exploits of Henley shirt-wearing treasure hunter Nathan Drake.

Unlike the games, the movie version’s Drake, embodied by Tom Holland, is still years away from being a full-time tomb raider, while Mark Wahlberg’s Victor ‘Sully’ Sullivan is the cynical pro he learns the ropes from.

“One of the mistakes of video game movies made in the past is that they just try to recreate the video game on screen,” Fleischer, 47, tells 8days.sg over the phone from Rome where he’s in the middle of the Uncharted publicity tour.

“It’s hard to adapt a video game because the experience of playing one is so immersive that it’s like you’re starring in your own movie,” says the director, when asked about the ‘video-game movie curse’. 

“So if you were to recreate it, it can never compare — it’ll be like watching somebody else playing a video game," he continues. "That’s why we went with a younger version of Nathan Drake, to tell a chapter of his story fans are not familiar with and avoid doing what the video games have already done.

"[Ours] is a different origin story that’s inspired by the video game but also evokes the spirit of the video game.”

Whatever Fleischer did, there was one thing he absolutely, definitely couldn’t shrink from the IP’s cinematic wow factor. Together with Chung Chung-Hoon, the Korean cinematographer renowned for his collaborations with Park Chan-Wook (Oldboy) as well as Fleischer’s own Zombieland: Double Tap, “we really worked hard to make the movie look as cinematic as possible,” says Fleischer.

Interestingly, Fleischer wasn’t the first choice to helm Uncharted. The project had been in development hell for more than a decade with David O Russell (Three Kings) — with Wahlberg attached as Nathan Drake — Shawn Levy (Real Steel), Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses) and Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) onboard as helmer at various times.

When it finally landed on his lap, Fleischer, an aspiring archaeologist growing up,  relished at the opportunity to pay homage to his all-time favourite movie, 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark. He also drew inspiration from the Sean Connery-era James Bond adventures (“they have that globetrotting feeling and incredible villains”), the Mission: Impossible flicks (“the quality of their action is just incredible), The Goonies, and a golden oldie, Treasure of Sierra Madre, John Huston’s 1948 morality fable that shares similar themes on greed and corruption with Uncharted.

Looking back, Uncharted almost didn’t happen: Fleischer & Co. were due to start filming on March 16, 2020, in Berlin, Germany, when production was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “I didn’t know if I would ever come back,” says Fleischer. “Everything at that time was so new and unknown — I’d no idea what would happen next.”

When shooting resumed four months later, everyone returned to a set governed by safety protocols — COVID testing and distancing and isolation measures. “They added a lot of stress to the experience but I am really proud of the film because when you watch it, you would never know it was shot during a pandemic.”

Fleischer is also happy that the stringent conditions didn’t dampen the rapport in the cast, especially between Holland and Wahlberg. “Tom and Mark have such a natural charisma and natural chemistry that when they are together, they don’t have to spend a lot of time cultivating it off-screen,” says Fleischer. “As a director, especially a director with a background in comedy, watching these guys going back and forth, was just so much fun for me.”

In fact, their banter and bromance were so off-the-charts that it pained Fleischer to cut some of their moments from the movie because they “weren’t advancing the story”. “We prioritise story over LOLs,” he adds. Plus, “I like a quick film.” The good news is, those excised exchanges will be available on the Blu-ray release, he says.

Has Fleisher got ideas for a follow-up? Sure, he does, but whether there’ll be a sequel rest in the fans’ hands. And the fans have spoken. 

At time of this writing, despite mixed reviews, Uncharted is off to a good start: Since it dropped last week, it’s grossed US$146 million (S$197 mil) worldwide on a reported budget of US$120 million.

“When you are working on the film in post, and as you’re sitting there in the editing room for months and months at a time, it’s not hard to let your mind wander and imagine other adventures these characters can be up to,” Fleischer muses.

Sounds like he’s already charted a new course.

Uncharted (PG) is now in cinemas.

Photos: TPG News/Click Photos