Michael's Movie Grade: B
A really fun, if familiar action-adventure flick.
This movie knows exactly what it wants to be and does that very well. Going into this movie you except an Indiana Jones style adventure movie and you get just that here. As the film starts, we jump directly into an action scene that is quite exciting and a real visual treat, sure it is quite over the top, but this is a movie after all. From here you know exactly what to except and the film keeps delivering this with all the excitement and visual delights. The movie has quite a few action-packed set pieces and each of them works perfectly. We are joined along this ride with some delightful main characters. Our protagonist is the definition of a likable thief. He has an easy-going charm and clearly enjoys what he does. At the same time for the majority of the film he is not motivated by greed, but by a sense of adventure and devotion to his brother. He also has more of a sense of ethics than some of his fellow thieves and this makes it easy to root for him. It does not hurt that he is played delightfully by Tom Holland, who is simply always likable. His partner is not as new to the treasure hunting game as our main character and as such he is jaded and finds it hard to trust anyone. Yet underneath this you really get the feeling that this character is not the terrible person he often pretends to be. He simply has been hurt too often to take a chance to be hurt again. Yet the character does not come off as simply jaded, but someone who you can easily see how he can charm people into helping him. The differences and similarities between these characters creates some great chemistry as well as some very fun banter between the two. Plus Mark Wahlberg has great chemistry with Tom Holland and it is a joy to watch these two share the screen. This movie also has a delightful sense of humor. It isn't always laugh out loud funny but the humor really does put a smile on your face and adds a lot to the fun of this film.
On the downside this movie will seem very familiar to anyone who has watched enough movies. The movie clearly borrows from National Treasure, the Fast and Furious films, the Indiana Jones series and even the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Partly because of this it is rare when you get to the point that you don't know what is going to happen next. The film also has some very weak and bland villains, that feel like pale imitations of the villains of those movies previously mentioned.
A truly delightful adventure film.
