Are you ready for Tom Holland's big-screen debut as Nathan Drake in Uncharted? The movie adapts the bestselling PlayStation franchise of the same name, sending the brave Nathan back to his roots in an all-action origin story. Mark Wahlberg co-stars as Sully and Venom's Ruben Fleischer directs, so will the movie live up to the button-bashing thrills of the original games?
We'll find out when the movie is released this February, and you can now book your Uncharted tickets. In the meantime, we've rounded up five genuinely great video game films designed to get you primed.
1. The Angry Birds Movie (2016)
So many of us lost countless hours to the fiendishly addictive Rovio creation known as Angry Birds. It was surprising, and pleasing, to note how successfully the land of the birds and the pigs translated onto the big screen in The Angry Birds Movie. If there was no real way to vicariously replicate the enjoyment of the game, a humorous script and strong voice cast more than made up for it.
In this lively CG animated adventure, the likes of Peter Dinklage, Ed Helms and Jason Sudeikis help realise the world of the Angry Birds, and the movie was greeted with a fair degree of critical admiration and box office success. Not bad given the patchy reputation of movies adapted from video games. (OK, yes, Angry Birds is technically an app.) In fact, the film's level of success led to the release of a sequel in 2019, with many of the voice cast members returning.
2. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
There was an outcry when it was announced that the fondly remembered Robin Williams movie Jumanji would be getting a sequel. Well, we needn't have worried – this extension of the Jumanji mythology does a marvellous job of expanding the parameters of the titular game while also throwing in some unbeatably funny body-swap comedy for good measure.
In a sign of how Jumanji has moved with the times, the former board game is now a video game, and some John Hughes-style slackers are promptly sucked into it, only to be replaced with their digital avatars. This canny set-up then allows a brilliant quartet of actors to embody the awkward teens contained within the outer shell, three of whom are portrayed by Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart and Jack Black.
However, no one is funnier than Dwayne Johnson as Smoulder Bravestone, a delightful mixture of strapping and shyness in one package. With its confident pacing and onslaught of genuinely exciting CG action sequences, Welcome to the Jungle defied box office expectations to become a huge box office hit, spawning a 2019 sequel, The Next Level, in the process.
3. Rampage (2018)
Yes, it's Dwayne Johnson again, and this time he's tackling the legacy of a retro arcade game from the 1980s. In the Rampage game, the player is put in charge of an oversized gorilla and tasked with smashing all and sundry to pieces. It's a principle that the admirably single-minded movie adaptation takes to heart, as Johnson's brawny zoologist (yes, really) must save his simian pal from capture by evil scientists.
The gorilla, named George, has been boosted in size by some kind of chemical reaction, and there are several other toothy mutations for him to battle, notably in the city-levelling finale. Johnson is always a dab hand at mixing light comedy with sweaty action and he is the motor that keeps the apocalyptic narrative running. There's also a surprising amount of sweetness in the portrayal of the central inter-species friendship, but really we're here to watch a modern metropolis get obliterated in the most spectacular fashion.
4. Pokemon: Detective Pikachu (2019)
Here's another video game-to-movie adaptation that caught us off guard in terms of its entertainment value and world-building. As per the original game, the film takes place in a sprawling metropolis where humans and Pokemon co-exist side by side.
This set-up then allows for a sly mixture of Blade Runner-esque atmosphere and buddy comedy as Justice Smith's budding detective must pair with Ryan Reynolds' Pikachu to uncover a deadly Poke-conspiracy. Yes, there's more than a little Chinatown in there, too, although die-hard fans are in the mix to spot the sheer amount of characters studded, Easter Egg-style, in the background of every scene.
Thanks to Reynolds' spirited vocal performance and its clear affection towards the Pokemon universe, Detective Pikachu became a sizeable box office hit. In fact, it's the second-highest-grossing video game movie of all time – with global grosses of $431 million, it places just behind Duncan Jones' Warcraft, which took $438 million.
5. Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
Sega icon Sonic made his long-awaited big-screen debut, but not until his appearance had been completely overhauled due to fan outcry. Once that was sorted, fans could better appreciate the sheer impact of seeing Sonic on the big screen as he battles Jim Carrey's nefarious Doctor Robotnik. Sonic grossed more than $300 million worldwide and, partly owing to the theatrical interruption resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, posted among the most successful movies of 2020.
A sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, is due for release in April 2022, and sees Carrey don the classic Doctor Robotnik garb and whiskers, as teased in the first film's mid-credits scene. Plus, Idris Elba is set to voice Sonic's echidna nemesis, Knuckles.
Click here to book your tickets for Uncharted. Where do you think Uncharted will sit amongst these video game-to-movie hits when it's released on 11th February? Let us know @Cineworld.
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