HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ Review: The Greatest Video Game Adaptation Ever Made

Nearly a decade after its launch, The Last of Us stands tall among the many greatest written video video games of all time. Not solely does the HBO adaptation protect its Sony PlayStation supply materials’s excellence and produce it to a wider viewers, it dives into its post-apocalyptic universe in ways in which’ll delight and shock even hardcore sport followers.

The present, which premieres Sunday on HBO Max, takes place in a ravaged world, after a fungal mind an infection lowered a lot of the populace to savage cannibals. Grumpy smuggler Joel should escort defiant teen Ellie throughout the US, for barely spoilery causes.

It’s an enchanting journey that’ll go away you awed and horrified in equal measure, with Game of Thrones alumni Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey infusing vulnerability and humanity into this charismatic duo at each flip. 

This story kicks off with Joel as society crumbles within the terrifying early days of the outbreak, deftly organising his emotional stakes in a gap that mirrors the sport carefully. Pascal, in a nuanced efficiency, exudes ache in an important second of loss, but additionally shows a compelling decisiveness and hints of caprice.

A bleak world

Jumping ahead 20 years, we’re launched to a world the place survivors stay in authoritarian quarantine zones run by the tough remnants of the US navy. Their rule is threatened by an unpredictable insurgent group often called the Fireflies, with marauders and contaminated roving across the nation. 

It’s fascinating to discover, although a tad overwhelming. The early episodes are punctuated with flashbacks revealing the outbreak’s origins, a component that wasn’t within the sport. Co-writers Craig Mazin (creator of HBO’s Chernobyl) and Neil Druckmann (the video games sequence’ artistic director) added this to present newcomers a agency grounding, however it’ll undoubtedly have interaction gamers as properly. 

Pascal provides layers of world-weariness to his efficiency as we return to a hardened Joel, who’s performed no matter it took to outlive over time. He begrudgingly takes on the mission with Ellie, with Pascal and Ramsey’s chemistry rising progressively because the present patiently builds a bond between them.

Ramsey’s efficiency unfolds extra progressively, displaying extra dramatic coloration as we be taught extra about Ellie and her sense of surprise turns into obvious. It’s electrical to observe because the impressionable teen learns from Joel and the opposite survivors they meet alongside their journey, particularly as the main target shifts towards Ellie within the later episodes. 

The contaminated are used sparingly however stick carefully to their sport appearances and ooze hazard in every encounter. Some of the visible and sound results weren’t completed within the episodes HBO despatched to press forward of launch, however these scenes have been magnificently shot and are prone to be extraordinarily efficient.

Joy in darkness

Vitally, the grim post-apocalypse odyssey is punctuated by moments of levity and hope — largely offered by the curious and defiant Ellie. These are sometimes adopted by reminders that they are trapped in a hellish world, however you may undoubtedly be a part of within the first time they giggle collectively.

Most of the season’s 9 episodes deal with this core dynamic, however it additionally takes just a few stunning detours to inform extra self-contained tales. These tales reveal how characters discover room for tenderness and happiness amidst the horror.

One of those dives into the lifetime of gruff survivor Bill, with Parks and Recreation actor Nick Offerman anchoring an installment that proves to be the season’s most uplifting and haunting. It massively expands a storyline that is solely hinted at within the sport and is an ideal piece of episodic storytelling. You may must lie down for a bit after watching this one.

The second of those shall be acquainted to sport followers, revealing a formative second in Ellie’s previous. It’s immensely enjoyable to observe Ramsey’s dynamic with a personality performed by Storm Reid (seen in HBO’s Euphoria), even when there’s an ominous cloud hanging over each second.

Original sport composer Gustavo Santaolalla‘s rating provides a craving disappointment to the narrative, whereas just a few pop and rock tracks trace on the world that got here earlier than.

Beyond the sport

Fans shall be glad to see that the difference largely stays true to the occasions of the primary sport, however there are just a few intelligent additions to Ellie and Joel’s core quest. Yellowjackets‘ Melanie Lynskey offers new villain Kathleen a quiet menace, together with her presence including a brand new ingredient to a well-known sport subplot.

The present additionally takes the time to disclose beforehand unseen moments that’ll make sport followers’ jaws drop, together with numerous refined visible Easter eggs and a sprinkling of intelligent cameos.

By distinction, Scott Shepherd (from Breaking Bad sequel film El Camino) seems within the later episodes as a villain avid gamers will definitely bear in mind. His charismatic efficiency anchors a narrative that sticks extraordinarily carefully to one of many sport’s late chapters.  

HBO’s The Last of Us is an absolute triumph, providing one in all gaming’s most intense and fascinating narratives to TV viewers and revealing thrilling new elements of the universe to those that’ve performed the video games. It’s superbly written and the casting is flawless, with Pascal, Ramsey and their co-stars including layers of emotional depth and unsettling ethical grayness to each second.

Video sport diversifications have a brand new gold customary. Roll on Part 2.