THE LAST OF US REVIEW

The Last of Us is a post-apocalyptic drama TV series created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann for HBO. It's based on the 2013 hit game developed by Naughty Dog. The series is set in 2023, twenty years after a global pandemic caused by a fungal infection that turns its hosts into zombie-like creatures that are often connected like a hivemind. The society collapsed following the events of this fungal infection. The series follows Joel, played by Pedro Pascal, a smuggler tasked with escorting a teenager, Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey, across the post-apocalyptic United States.

 

I finally watched the last episode of the first season, and where do we even begin to unpack this series? Well, let's start with the track record of video game adaptations in Hollywood. It hasn't been all positive. However, in recent years, we've seen titles such as Sonic the Hedgehog being well received and even receiving a sequel, Uncharted, which was also well received to an extent, but adaptations such as Netflix's Resident Evil TV series that left a bad taste in people's mouths last year. The show was so bad that it got cancelled by Netflix. The Witcher is currently facing it share of criticism due to obvious reasons. It's adaptations like this that really get people worried when a video game franchise is announced to be adapted into a movie or TV series by Hollywood.

 

The Last of Us is nine episodes long, and it does a great job reenacting key moments from the video game, and they reel you in really well with the first episode. Fans of the video game will be able to spot a lot of scenes from the video game throughout this show, and it's part of what gives fans joy if done well. The only issue I found with the length and pacing was with two episodes that are based on flashbacks. Although two of these episodes are just filler content, I felt they weren't all that necessary and got in the way of the main story's pacing because they are flashbacks that occurred during key moments in the main story.

 

When it comes to the visuals, the show never suffers in this aspect. It is critical for a show of this caliber to capture that post-apocalyptic atmosphere, and the show's visual department did an excellent job. Some changes were made to the infected, especially with the mode of transmission of infection, which is different from the game. This, however, has no negative impact on the show because it is a decision based on the realism that comes with movie adaptation versus video game reality. It would make no sense for characters to be wearing gas masks throughout the show; nobody wants to hear so many muffled conversations while watching a show.

 

For the casting, there has been a debate online since the show premiered on whether Bella Ramsey was a good choice for Ellie or not. In my opinion, her face does not look like Ellie, if we're being honest here, but she did her best to bring the character to life. For Joel played by Pedro Pascal, I'll say it's an okay choice; he doesn't strike a direct resemblance to the Joel from the video game, but with hair texture, some facial hair, and wardrobe choices by the team, we got a good representation of the character. Both characters' chemistry wasn't great at first, but they both will grow on you as the show progressed.

 

The world of The Last of Us is one where the line between good and evil is thin and bleak, where decisions and actions carry consequences. The show explores the theme as it was done in the video game. There is a bit of new content that explores areas of the character's story that weren't done in the video games, so there is something fresh for those who have played the video game. If there was something that felt off about the show, I'd say it was how the action and encounter with the infected were toned down in favor of storytelling. It's probably something that is going to get fixed in season two. Personally, I'm not a fan of the second game for a big reason, which is also why the game has a divided fan base. So I'm not looking forward to the second season of this show.

 

Overall, The Last of Us is a video game adaptation well-executed by HBO, and I would like to see more video game adaptations from HBO at this point. I would love to hear the opinion of someone who is not familiar with the game just to see how they feel about the finale. For someone like me who has seen the finale a couple of times, being familiar with how it ended didn't really bring a shock factor like it would have for someone who has never seen the story before. So what do you think about The Last of Us? Have you seen the show or are you planning to?