Wahlberg & Russell to waste year of lives, millions of dollars, on "Uncharted" movie

To the surprise of few and the joy of... someone, I'm assuming... Mark Wahlberg will rejoin his "Fighter" director, David O. Russell, in the incredibly unnecessary feature film adaptation of the "Uncharted" video games. For the uninitiated, "Uncharted" is a studiously "cinematic" (hence the "incredibly unnecessary" part) "Indiana Jones" knockoff. Wahlberg will take the lead role of Nathan Drake, the least-likable video game hero outside of Leisure-Suit Larry.

For those keeping track, this will mark Wahlberg's 3rd attempt at getting into the action-franchise rackett; following "Shooter" and "Max Payne."


I've already said my piece about the relative pointlessness of filmming "Uncharted," and I stand by my deep and bitter resentment at Nathan FUCKING Drake getting a proper movie before the nigh-endless line of more-deserving gaming icons, but at least it's interesting casting. Drake's monumental douchebaggery as a character comes from a "cool" obnoxiousness that's almost the total opposite of Wahlberg's usual near-comical earnestness - so maybe this is the first step toward making the character less hateful on the big screen.

Still not necessary, mind you, but less hateful. That's at least a start.