DOUBLE CROSSES

I am not a gamer, so the fact that “Uncharted” is based on a series of successful PlayStation videogames means nothing to me. And for that matter, I think my unfamiliarity with the source material works in my favor.

Just as I try not to read books I know are going to be made into films, watching a story on the big screen without preconceived ideas about characters and places is why I go to the movies. I want to be surprised and, even better, entertained

And I can say without hesitation that “Uncharted” is entertaining. Okay, so it tries too hard to be Indiana Jones for a new generation, but that’s a tall order, even with the star power of Spider-man of the moment Tom Holland. Instead, you might call it Indy Lite.

The story begins with Holland’s character, Nate, flailing in mid-air, with his foot caught in the webbing of cargo falling from a plane, the containers strung together like oversized beads in a giant necklace. And he’s dodging bullets without a way to shoot back. So right off the bat, I’m in.

But then it’s time for a back story and we’re thrust into the past, when Nate and his brother Sam are caught trying to steal a map from a museum detailing the voyage of Magellan because, well, Magellan had been hoarding gold and died trying to get the bounty home. And Sam thinks finding the missing treasure is a way for the two brothers to get rich.

But they’re caught in the act and the subsequent arrest is a third strike for Sam at the orphanage where he and Nate had been living. However, before he can be booted, he escapes, leaving his little brother to wonder where and when they might meet up again. That was fifteen years ago, and all Nate has to go on since then are postcards Sam sends him from exotic places like Machu Picchu.

Nate works as a bartender in an upscale club where he charms a female customer with his bartender shtick and then, in the middle of their schmooze, he lifts her very expensive diamond bracelet. Hey, tips go only so far.

A stranger approaches Nate with a wild story about Magellan’s gold. As it happens, Sully, played by Mark Wahlberg, is impressed by Nate’s easy way as a pickpocket and needs help stealing a gold cross from an upcoming auction, a key that can unlock secrets that might lead to Magellan’s treasure.

But it’s part of a pair.

And double crosses have a lot to do with the way the story plays out, launching an adventure that has the duo globe-trotting from New York to Barcelona to the Philippines.

Of course, they’re not alone in their quest. Where would the fun be in that?

And in a nice twist, the villain here is a silver-haired vixen with knife skills even Bobby Flay would envy.

By the way, don’t leave before the end credits. There’s more to this tale than a mere gold rush.