[Editor’s note: this review of HBO’s “The Last of Us” premiere comes to us from John Starling, reporter at large and man of leisure.]
Theatrical video game adaptations have a notoriously checkered past. Not every video game can or should be adapted into something for the big or small screen. But “The Last Of Us” always seemed like a shoe-in for a screen adaption. It was a multi-award-winning game with a strong story, good acting, and was a best-seller. The original game (sometimes now referred to as the “Last Of Us Part 1”) has been re-released and remastered multiple times, and the sequel, “The Last Of Us Part II,” has had similar success.
The first question fans usually ask for a theatrical adaptation is how faithful will it be to the original? Well, based on the premiere episode of “The Last Of Us,” most fans can rest easy regarding accuracy. With a very similar storyline to the early part of the game, some shot for shot imagery and word for word dialogue, there’s no question that this appears, so far, to be one of the more faithful video game adaptations. And sure enough, initial response online from hardcore fans seems to be very positive.
But it takes more than a hardcore fanbase from the original game to make a big-budget show a hit. Does this show have what it takes to transcend it’s built-in gamer audience? Or is this going to do for the small screen what “Uncharted” did for the big screen? (In other words, not a whole lot.)
Even with only one episode released, I think it’s safe to say that YES, this is a show that can appeal to audiences that doesn’t even know there was a “Last Of Us” game franchise in the first place.
Series writer/creators are Neil Druckman, who helped create and directed the original video game, and Craig Mazin, the writer/director of the highly acclaimed HBO mini-series “Chernobyl” (not to mention Mazin is the the former college roommate of Senator Ted Cruz. Seriously. Read his tweets about that if you haven’t already.)
Druckman developed a feature film version of the Last Of Us with Sam Raimi attached to direct, but the project fizzled out. Perhaps it’s for the best, since this longer format gives the story time to proceed at a pace similar to the game. There definitely appears to be a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach to this adaption, since the first episode plays out very similarly to the game experience. Sure, there are some small changes, but most of them (no spoilers) seem to be ways to move the story along a bit quicker, or explain things more visually than some of the longer dialogue portions in the game.
One could nitpick a few things (not without minor spoilers) but overall, it’s hard to find fault with episode one from a fan standpoint. And with some good tension beats and compelling characters, it seems like a show that could have as much mainstream appeal as any of the other more successful entries in the Zombie post-apocalyptic genre (The Walking Dead, etc.).
Casting of the two male leads in the first episode, the brothers Joel and Tommy, is excellent. Pedro Pascal as lead character Joel, in particular really nails the spirit of the character in the game (a role for which original voice actor Troy Baker earned much deserved recognition). It doesn’t hurt that both Pedro Pascal and Gabriel Luna (Tommy) are actually from Texas, just like Joel and Tommy.
Bella Ramsey is a good young actor, even if she doesn’t look a whole lot like the video game version of her character Ellie (which may have been for the best since the appearance of the original game character wasn’t without some controversy).
Ramsey was introduced to adult audiences as the character Lyanna Mormont in “Game Of Thrones,” and to a younger audience as the voice of Hilda in the Netflix animated series of the same name. The 19 year old is definitely believable as the younger Ellie, and we don’t doubt she has the acting chops the pair well with Pascal as the series continues.
Also worth noting- Baker, original Ellie actor Ashley Johnson, and original Tommy actor Jeffrey Pierce will be appearing in the series. In the first episode, we also meet Marlene, played in the show by that character’s voice actor, Merle Dandridge.
Production values on the show are on par with what is to be expected from a big budget streaming series, even if the Boston setting in the premiere looks like a backlot at times. Sadly, there were NO no burned-out Dunks in sight, and we were disappointed that there wasn’t a single character with a strong Boston accent, but maybe dropped Rs were also destroyed by the fungal virus.
The zombie genre has been visited and revisited many, many times in the last 20 years, and yes, this has familiar elements from everything from “The Walking Dead” to “Children Of Men” (as did the game), but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a compelling story here. The post-apocalyptic, dystopian zombie genre is just that, a genre. So just like there are any number of stories that can be told in the Western genre, all that should matter in the zombie genre is whether or not it’s a good story, well-told, with characters we care about.
Given that, “The Last Of Us” should be worthwhile television for its next 8 episodes.
Catch the series on HBO on Sundays.
