Going for an early-years story for popular videogame character Nathan Drake has resulted in a junior-skewed story that is a lightweight caper/treasure hunt which makes The Da Vinci Code seem positively complex. Opening mid-air with a strong set piece (revisited later in the film), we go back to meet young grifter/bartender Drake (Tom Holland, well cast here) as he is recruited by treasure hunter Victor Sullivan (an oddly subdued Mark Wahlberg) to hunt for long-lost gold. The first act is a blandly sentimental origin set-up (with a twee score) with Tom Holland slightly dialling down his on-screen charisma and a largely uninteresting over-extended auction-house scene, but once the action moves to Barcelona and the treasure hunting really begins the pace starts to pick up a little. Exposition is frequent and conveyed with irritating simplicity, and the action feels a little anaemic, from a rooftop parkour-style chase to a tepid near-drowning sequence, although the final galleons-in-the-air battle sequence has some creative moments. Overall, the film is adequate but anodyne, ultimately saved by the winning presence of Tom Holland, and the post-script/mid-credits sequel-baiting sequences suggest that if a sequel is made, then there is work to be done.
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