Even in Its Movie Form, 'Uncharted' Remains a Globe-Trotting Treasure-Hunting Adventure

Just like in the original video games, the Uncharted movie takes Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) on an international treasure hunt. The film adaptation of the popular PlayStation franchise features plenty of memorable moments and classic staples from the games — not least of which is the fact that Nathan hops from country to country in search of a treasure. But when it came to behind-the-scenes action, the cast and crew kept it relatively simple with filming locations.

In the Uncharted movie, young history buff Nathan Drake is recruited by Victor "Sully" Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) to uncover the fabled treasure left behind by the Ferdinand Magellan expedition. Joined by the enigmatic Chloe Frazer (Sophia Ali), the unlikely trio seek out the treasure before the antagonistic Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas) can get his hands on it.

Any good treasure hunt, especially one with the Uncharted name on it, will take its hunters everywhere on their quest.

Throughout the film, Nathan and his ragtag crew follow clues to the treasure throughout several locations, including places like Barcelona, Spain as well as the Philippines. Filming locations don't exactly line up with the countries that the characters visit in the story, but principal photography took place in several different locations throughout Spain and other parts of Europe.

In March 2020, initial shooting for the film began in Berlin, Germany's Babelsberg Studios. After multiple delays due to COVID-19, filming began in earnest in July 2020. Certain scenes were shot throughout Spain, including in the cities of Alicante and Valencia. Though filming wrapped in October 2020, PlanetSmarts reported that in July 2021, Tom Holland was spotted in Madrid doing reshoots for the film.

Appropriately, the Uncharted movie also had its world premiere in Barcelona, perhaps one of the only filming locations that accurately lines up with the film's narrative.

Contrary to the original games, the Uncharted movie features a limited list of filming locations that don't necessarily reflect the international treasure hunt depicted in the movie. But that makes a lot of sense, considering the film was shot throughout 2020, one of the worst years for travel as a result of the ongoing pandemic.

Either way, the Uncharted film seems to be going the way of many film adaptations of video games, with a lackluster critical response. Ahead of its release, the film stands at a 40 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

The critics consensus reads: "Promisingly cast but misleadingly titled, Uncharted mines its best-selling source material to produce a disappointing echo of superior adventure films."

Interestingly enough, the film features a number of post-credits scenes to hint at more for the Uncharted movie franchise in the future. With some sequel hooks and at least four more games to draw inspiration from, the franchise could continue in a sequel if Uncharted does well at the box office.

Uncharted premieres in theaters on Feb. 18.