I had heard that this movie was a possible inspiration for the Uncharted video game series, which I'm a huge fan of. My interest piqued, I had to check it out.
Since character is one of the most important parts of a story for me, I was very glad to find that I enjoyed the interplay between Joan and Jack. Jack, the adventurer who's seen it all, is handy with jungle survival and a gun, and knows his way around, is initially reluctant to help Joan on her quest to deliver the ransom - a treasure map - to her sister's kidnappers. And Joan is initially distrustful of Jack, even accusing him of trying to help her for his own ends at times. But Joan needs Jack's help, especially since not only are the kidnappers after her, but a private army as well. Seems everyone wants that treasure map, and Joan soon finds herself being chased and shot at, a situation Jack seems to be very familiar with.
What we get is a lot of adventure across Columbia, with Jack and Joan sometimes having to lay low and hide, sometimes having to make a run for it, or a drive for it. And there's also the question of the treasure map itself - can the heroes find the treasure themselves, before giving the map to the kidnappers?
I noticed a few things in the movie that I found to be interesting design choices. For one, Jack carries a gun, but he's no action hero. He doesn't even get to use it much, instead having to rely mostly on his wits. This is not an action movie; it's an adventure movie, and our heroes get shot at more than they actually shoot. The gunshots tend to almost never hit anyone anyway, making the sections involving gunplay largely just a plot device. Much of the heroes' adventure comes from other situations as well, such as being stuck in a car going down a waterfall for instance.
There's also a lot of cheesy humor. The villains arguing with each other (they're brothers), some slapstick moments, and some really corny dialog, such as when a fabulously wealthy man invites the heroes to his "humble shack" when we instantly learn that neither of those two words describe his home.
I wouldn't call this a great movie by any means, but it's a fun time waster if you're in the mood for it. Plus, some parallels can be drawn to the first Uncharted game, so Uncharted fans should probably check it out at least once.
Cheesy but fun adventure
I had heard that this movie was a possible inspiration for the Uncharted video game series, which I'm a huge fan of. My interest piqued, I had to check it out.
Since character is one of the most important parts of a story for me, I was very glad to find that I enjoyed the interplay between Joan and Jack. Jack, the adventurer who's seen it all, is handy with jungle survival and a gun, and knows his way around, is initially reluctant to help Joan on her quest to deliver the ransom - a treasure map - to her sister's kidnappers. And Joan is initially distrustful of Jack, even accusing him of trying to help her for his own ends at times. But Joan needs Jack's help, especially since not only are the kidnappers after her, but a private army as well. Seems everyone wants that treasure map, and Joan soon finds herself being chased and shot at, a situation Jack seems to be very familiar with.
What we get is a lot of adventure across Columbia, with Jack and Joan sometimes having to lay low and hide, sometimes having to make a run for it, or a drive for it. And there's also the question of the treasure map itself - can the heroes find the treasure themselves, before giving the map to the kidnappers?
I noticed a few things in the movie that I found to be interesting design choices. For one, Jack carries a gun, but he's no action hero. He doesn't even get to use it much, instead having to rely mostly on his wits. This is not an action movie; it's an adventure movie, and our heroes get shot at more than they actually shoot. The gunshots tend to almost never hit anyone anyway, making the sections involving gunplay largely just a plot device. Much of the heroes' adventure comes from other situations as well, such as being stuck in a car going down a waterfall for instance.
There's also a lot of cheesy humor. The villains arguing with each other (they're brothers), some slapstick moments, and some really corny dialog, such as when a fabulously wealthy man invites the heroes to his "humble shack" when we instantly learn that neither of those two words describe his home.
I wouldn't call this a great movie by any means, but it's a fun time waster if you're in the mood for it. Plus, some parallels can be drawn to the first Uncharted game, so Uncharted fans should probably check it out at least once.