This might be the most eagerly anticipated video game adaptation of all time, and almost certainly the most ambitious one: HBO’s «The Last of Us». Welcome to my review of Episode 1.
First off: my review contains no spoilers. Any information stated here is featured in trailers that have already been released.
Right from its launch, Sony’s groundbreaking 2013 game «The Last of Us» didn't make things easy for us. Mind you, not because of its difficulty level. I mean it didn’t make things easy emotionally – a zombie game in the most intoxicating, sad and intimate form.
And now, the game has been adapted into a series. And, after just one episode, it cries out for the «Best Video Game Adaptation Ever» award.
What’s «The Last of Us» all about?
It’s the year 2003. George W. Bush is President of the United States. Nokia cell phones are here, there and everywhere. Joel (Pedro Pascal), a single, overworked father, seems to be down on his luck. And things only seem to get worse when a fungus has people mutating into zombies, wreaking havoc in the whole of Texas. Joel’s world collapses.
A great start
The latter is clearly noticeable right from the get-go; «The Last of Us» perfectly captures the mood and atmosphere of the game. This is in part thanks to the music penned by Gustavo Santaolalla and David Fleming. I couldn’t help but shed a tear during the intro.
I write about technology as if it were cinema, and about films as if they were real life. Between bits and blockbusters, I’m after stories that move people, not just generate clicks. And yes – sometimes I listen to film scores louder than I probably should.
Review
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Even so, the game certainly didn’t lack violence. So, what was different about it? Its portrayal. It was unlike anything we’d seen before. Joel’s hand (Joel being the main character) was always trembling on the trigger. Enemies and zombies were rarely mere obstacles; much more often, they proved human tragedies. All this was packed into a genre where gameplay and storytelling typically don’t go hand in hand. In a typical game, you slaughter your way through enemies, with cutscenes offering the only glimpse into the tragedy behind the events. In «The Last of Us», however, taking lives always feels wrong. This is what made the game such a hit. To date, over 17 million copies have been sold.
Fast-forward twenty years, and the fungus has long since conquered the entire planet. The few survivors have holed up in small towns protected by tall walls. FEDRA, a remnant of the American government, is attempting to enforce law and order in a dictatorial way. The Fireflies, meanwhile, are relying on guerilla warfare to fight it, going so far as to accept collateral damage. And Joel? He’s stuck in the middle. Until, one day, he’s – involuntarily – put in charge of a mysterious girl, Ellie, who could change the fate of humanity.
It would have been so easy to fail. Especially given my enormous expectations. Enormous because, for one, the lead Joel is played by none other than Pedro Pascal, my favourite actor. In addition, HBO, a studio known for quality productions, brought on board Craig Mazin, an experienced showrunner, director and co-writer. He was already behind the 2019 series «Chernobyl», which is currently one of the most successful shows on the American private channel. Add to that Neil Druckmann, the writer and director of the game, who’s there to make sure the adaptation stays true to his creation.
What’s interesting is that the series treats its audience as if they’ve never played the game before. You might be thinking, «Isn’t that the obvious choice to make?» Well, yes, you would think so. And yet, many adaptations assume too much prior knowledge. Take the «Harry Potter» movies: in the finale of the third movie, past Harry witnesses future Harry summoning a stag Patronus. In the hospital wing, he later claims to have seen his long-dead father. This would be confusing to anyone who hadn’t read the books. The fact that Harry mistook his future self for his father was due to his father’s Patronus also being a stag – but this is never explained in the film.
«The Last of Us» never does that. Almost half the episode is told from the point of view of Joel’s daughter Sarah (Nico Parker). How she goes to school, visits her neighbours and gets Joel’s birthday present. Sirens, helicopters and police cars racing through the streets can be heard from time to time in the background. On the radio, news services report on strange riots. First, in faraway Jakarta. Then locally. Something’s off. But no one yet suspects this is the last day of the world as it was.
This is exactly what makes the episode a more-than-successful adaptation; Mazin and Druckmann don’t simply film the game scene by scene. They take the source material and expand on it, add to it. And, quite subliminally, reference the early days of the pandemic in January 2020. For example, there’s a 1960s talk show where a panel of experts discusses the dangers of flu viruses – that they could grow into a pandemic in a flash, but would ultimately always be defeated by humanity. Everyone laughs. But then another person takes the floor and warns of a much more dangerous enemy: mushrooms. We humans have been using them as a mind-altering drug since time immemorial. But what if they were to evolve? That’s a battle humanity would lose.
Episode 1 gave me everything I’d hoped for: a decent introduction, a touch of CGI, fungus-infested zombies, detailed post-apocalyptic sets and intense camera work. One thing is certain: the artistry of this episode is beyond reproach. Pedro Pascal deserves another shout out here. His job is possibly the most difficult. In the game, cutscenes serve as one method of insight into his character. But as you play him, you also project a bit of yourself into him. This makes forming an emotional connection easier.
Of course, this can’t work in a series, yet that spark has to be there regardless. And Pedro Pascal sure manages to create it. I feel Joel’s sorrow and loss, but also recognise the emotional wall he’s built around himself to keep said pain away. Somehow, Pascal has the charisma to convince me he’s survived this broken world for 20 years, yet still has a certain humanity about him, too. It makes him just likeable enough to overlook his cynicism, which he uses as a psychological coping mechanism.
Sarah (Nico Parker) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) on the run in «The Last of Us». Source: HBO / Sky Show
What about Ellie? There’s not much to say yet. However, Bella Ramsey plays a much tougher Ellie than we know from the game. That’s not to say that game-Ellie is a princess. She’s simply more childlike, naive. At the start, she’s still blind to the brutality of the world in which she was born and raised. It’s only in the course of the game that she develops the toughness she needs to survive. TV-show-Ellie, on the other hand, is disillusioned, angry and argumentative. Maybe even a little unsympathetic. What exactly Mazin and Druckmann are aiming at with this striking change – and whether or not their plan will work out – is still up in the air. Bella Ramsey’s screen time in the first episode was simply too short to make any judgements. Besides, the chemistry between her and Pedro Pascal is more important anyway. It’s the foundation the entire series stands on or tumbles down, as anyone familiar with the game will know.
«The Last of Us» has been running on Sky Show with Entertainment Pass since 16 January. The first season includes nine episodes, which are released on a weekly basis. My coworkers and I will be talking about it in detail in the Digitec Podcast, which comes out on Thursday. Please note it’s only available in Swiss German.
