Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed in this review are solely those of Marlon Wallace and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of WBOC.
Tom Holland is 25 and he’s currently the biggest star in the world. He plays the titular role in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), which surpassed Avatar (2009) at $760 million domestic, to enter the top three films of all time at the box office. Holland is also featured in Avengers: Endgame (2019), which is number two on that list. Right now, Spider-Man: No Way Home is in the top 10 films internationally with $1.8 billion. It could be higher if it were not for the fact that it didn’t get a release in China, which was the largest, foreign market for Avengers: Endgame. Holland has done a few smaller films in the interim, outside of Spider-Man, but the majority of which were during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. This film was the first test of his movie star metal, outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and it seems that he has a hit, establishing him as the hottest thing in Hollywood right now.
Holland’s stock and fandom have been on the rise, ever since his first appearance in the MCU in Captain America: Civil War (2016). Sony Pictures, which has been distributing the titular Spider-Man films, has seen this stock and fandom rise, so giving Holland more films and possibly his own franchise is an obvious step to build up or invest in Sony-owned properties in the box office. Holland is known for his physicality, such as his dancing skills, as well as his skills in gymnastics and parkour. Finding an action adventure where he can put those skills on display would be a no-brainer, which is exactly what Sony did here.
Holland stars as Nathan Drake, a name that fans of video games might recognize, as the protagonist in the popular PlayStation console. The iteration of Nathan Drake here is a bartender and pickpocket living in New York City. His history is that he and his brother lived in an orphanage growing up. Engaging in petty theft is seemingly how the two survived. When the two get busted, Nathan’s brother abandons him and goes on the run. After 10 years of only getting postcards, Nathan gets word that his brother has gone missing and Nathan needs to find his brother.
Mark Wahlberg (Transformers: Age of Extinction and Ted) co-stars as Victor Sullivan aka “Sully,” a treasure hunter who worked with Nathan’s brother. He was working on finding Magellan’s gold. Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer who famously led the 1519 Spanish expedition to circumnavigate the world. Legend suggests Magellan discovered all kinds of gold, which he hid somewhere. Sully wants to find that treasure and take it for himself. Sully believes that Nathan’s brother found it but went missing. Sully thinks that Nathan’s brother might have told Nathan about it or given him a clue that could help, so Sully partners with Nathan to pick up the trail.
Sophia Ali (Grey’s Anatomy and Faking It) also co-stars as Chloe Frazer, another treasure hunter who has found a golden cross that she believes is a key, a figurative and literal key, to discovering where Magellan’s gold is. If you’ve watched Red Notice (2021), which was the hit on Netflix, starring Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds, then Ali’s character is akin to the character that Gal Gadot played in that 2021 rip-off of Indiana Jones, which this film also references.
If anything, this film, directed by Ruben Fleischer (Venom and Zombieland), does exactly what Red Notice does, but I would argue does it better. I think the action scenes are better, namely because it utilizes Holland’s gymnastics and parkour to a fun degree. For fans of Spider-Man, many might get a kick out of seeing him again swinging from various things. I wouldn’t say the action scenes are wholly original as the major set-piece feels like a rip-off of the ending to Black Widow (2021) or even something from The Fast and the Furious franchise. I would argue that this film does it better than Black Widow. There’s even a set-piece here that feels taken from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, which this film calls out explicitly.
However, I like the banter and the butting of heads between Holland and Wahlberg, which works as well as the chemistry between any two male leads in a film like this. Fans of Holland will certainly be satisfied. If you also want to see Holland in all of his shirtless glory, Fleischer provides quite a few beefcake shots to get hearts aflutter.
Rated PG-13 for violence, action and language.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 56 mins.
In theaters.
