May 13, 2022 – I didn't want to spend much money to see this movie because of the bad reviews, but I did want to see it, so I waited until the DVD was released. It turned out to be a somewhat entertaining adventure romp that is not quite light enough in tone.

Tom Holland (AKA Spider-Man) stars along with Mark Wahlberg (“Patriot's Day”) as Nathan Drake and Victor Sullivan, a couple of crooks, con men and treasure hunters seeking a vast treasure left behind on the Magellan expedition (1519-1522). The story is based on a video game, which in turn is reportedly based on a treasure stolen by Henry Avery (known as the king of the pirates) and other pirates in 1695. This much later timeline would have worked much better with the clues the treasure hunters follow in this movie.

The plot of this movie is very similar to an Indiana Jones movie (Indiana Jones is referenced in the dialog of this film) or a National Treasure movie. The treasure hunters fly around the globe seeking clues to the location of the treasure, which includes keys used to open secret passages and reveal treasure maps. The keys are used to activate ancient mechanisms which work perfectly, but should not work at all after centuries of decay. The secret passages are also located in structures built years after the death of Magellan.

Drake and Sullivan are very uneasy partners, who do not trust each other, and shouldn't. They aren't the only treasure hunters after Magellan's treasure, but they are the most understaffed and under-financed of the lot. Drake and Sullivan are being targeted by wealthy treasure hunter Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas of “Dolittle”) and his minions, including the deadly Jo Braddock (played by actress Tati Gabrielle) and The Scotsman (Steven Waddington of “The Imitation Game”). Another competing treasure hunter with shifty allegiances is Chloe Frazer (Sophia Ali).

A considerable amount of this movie is devoted to betrayals of trust. Everyone seems to stabbing someone in the back every few minutes during this movie. This is a bit distasteful and off-putting, especially when it comes to actual blood and murder. The tone of this film is inconsistent. Parts of this movie are a playful romp, but other scenes are quite dark.

Holland and Wahlberg have good screen chemistry together and they make for a winning pair of adventurers. The many bad guys, on the other hand tend towards simple, grim and colorless. Chloe Frazer, as a kind of in-between character, is a bit more interesting.

It looks like the producers of this movie expect to make at least one sequel, based on some scenes during the movie and during the credits. Since this film was quite financially successful, I expect a sequel. I think the main reason this film made so much money was that it was released at the right time. A million dead from Covid, war, crazy politicians trying to overthrow the government and mass shootings, create an anxious climate, and this kind of escapism came at the right time. This film rates a C+.

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