Is “The Last Of Us” as a series also a masterpiece? That’s how good the highly anticipated video game adaptation is

The Last Of Us took the video game world (and the heart of the author of these lines) by storm in 2013. Set against the simple yet immensely atmospheric backdrop of a harsh post-apocalyptic world, author Neil Druckmann and the company behind the “Uncharted” series presented , Naughty Dog, us one of the most moving and best-written character relationships in gaming history – and at the same time one as heartbreaking as a heartfelt study of human nature’s ambivalence and destructive spiral of violence (taken even more ruthlessly to the extreme in the masterful sequel of 2020).

All the greater was the challenge to adequately transport the title, which quickly became a hit with a huge fan base, to another medium – which soon seemed almost inevitable given the enormous success. After a failed movie attempt by Sam Raimi (“Evil Dead”, “Spider-Man”), Neil Druckmann himself and “Chernobyl” creator Craig Mazin had to come together as co-showrunners to make “The Last Of Us” is not just another movie two hours, that’s it to build an epic series that lives up to the template. And as the long-awaited result now shows, they did so with flying colors – at least for the most part…

bleak future

In 2003, a mysterious fungal infection turns most of humanity into bloodthirsty mutants, claiming countless lives. Even 20 years later, the world still hasn’t recovered from it. While the zombie-like creatures and no less ruthless marauders make large parts of the US uninhabitable, many survivors have retreated to scattered quarantine zones under a strict military regime.

In one, grumpy smuggler Joel (Pedro Pascal) and his partner Tess (Anna Torv) lead a miserable existence – until one day they are given a very special assignment: for the Fireflies group, which rises against the ruling class. army, the duo must find young Get Ellie (Bella Ramsey) outside of town when she seems to hold the key to ending the devastating pandemic. The undertaking, which seemed so simple at first, soon grew into an odyssey across the country that claimed many victims…

You can hardly get closer to the original

The Last Of Us opens with a 1968 talk show prologue, new even to those familiar with the video game template, that introduces us to the biological underpinnings of the looming fungal pandemic. This looks a bit awkward due to the somewhat clumsy foreshadowing, but it already creates a fun and awkward atmosphere – and finally moves into the first big goosebumps moment for game fans: the amazing opening credits.

Beautifully animated tracking shots see mushrooms ominously overrun the land and form entire cities – all set to the beautiful sounds of the original theme by two-time Academy Award winner Gustavo Santaolalla, who, as with the games, is now also the music for the series. . In this one minute alone, the pleasant suspicion arises that the spirit of the original could have made the leap into editing without loss – and this is thankfully confirmed in the subsequent nine hours.

Because what follows probably by far the most faithful video game adaptation to date. Of course, a few things have been changed here too (mostly helpful and with a lot of thought) to account for the omission of the gameplay passages: some locations have been modified, removed or merged, but some things have also been made new (more on that later) . ).

At best, it’s a bit of a shame that a characteristic element from the games about the infected (keyword: traces) was traded for a less threatening danger (and also too reminiscent of the Upside Down from “Stranger Things”) and so we in the Series have to do without some particularly oppressive horror passages. But that in no way diminishes its remaining strengths, as the focus of the adaptation is elsewhere than pure horror anyway.

Other than this minor change, the first season of Last Of Us covers almost the entire storyline of the first game (including the “Left Behind” expansion), and even a small passage from Part 2 has already made it into the adaptation. Many dialogues, scenes and even sets were copied one-on-one. And that is actually obvious, since the game template is already so cinematic and told in such a way that no major deviations are necessary.

Is it even worth it for fans?

Of course, this raises the question of who the series was made for if the whole thing already exists in a very similar form (plus you can play it yourself). An adjustment this close over long distances is probably just what not a few fans have been wishing for. And they are always there: smaller and bigger story additions that surprise even ‘Last Of Us’ experts.

Some are superfluous (as in the case of the passages about the origin of the fungal pandemic), but in other places they are a nice enrichment. In particular, the significantly expanded backstory of fan favorite Bill (played on the series by the ever-great Nick Offerman) makes for some of Season 1’s most moving moments, even if the entire sequence centered around his town is one of its biggest changes. compared to the original.

In any case, the series can be recommended without reservation for the completely new target group of those who have nothing to do with gaming, but now also want to know what the phenomenon “The Last Of Us” is all about – and then with the series also received a smashing answer .

Great chemistry between Joel and Ellie

However, telling a good story well is (at most) half the battle, especially when the story itself isn’t reinventing the wheel these days. In the case of “The Last Of Us”, everything stands or falls with the mentioned dynamic of the two main characters, which forms the backbone and emotional core of the story. And this is exactly where the adjustment hits the mark: “Game Of Thrones” bad ass Bella Ramsey still has to get used to her role as Ellie in her first scenes, but outwardly in the increasing interaction with “The Mandalorian” star Pedro Pascal she also shines with a lot of charm and more captivating presence.

The grumpy survivor and the sassy teen complement each other perfectly, even if it takes them a while to realize it themselves. The chemistry between the two is in no way inferior to that of their virtual counterparts – and that in both the humorous and the dramatic moments, which pull the rug from under your feet with their intense power time and time again. In addition to the grand gestures, there are also the subtle little moments (like when Joel laughs at one of the many bad sayings from Ellie’s wonderfully stupid book of puns) that lightheartedly illustrate how the two can warm up to each other more and more.

As in every chapter of the game, Joel and Ellie face new dangers and challenges in each episode, leaving the people who are so different, but both in their own way, badly damaged in the midst of the beautiful (and also very attractively staged) end-time scene welded closer together. In this broken world, they become not only the indispensable thread to which you cling with sympathy and sympathy, but also a heartwarming glimmer of hope.

Conclusion

While masterpiece status is reserved for the naturally more compelling template, “The Last Of Us” also works extremely well as a series. Not just because the beautiful and creepy post-apocalypse is brought to “real” life in such a complex way, but because the adaptation scores just as well at the heart of the franchise thanks to its stellar actors as the games: the gut-wrenching (vicarious) ) father-(alternate) daughter story. The added value for those who know the story may be limited, but perhaps that is the key to such a successful video game adaptation…

›› “The Last Of Us” on WOW (formerly Sky Ticket)*

“The Last Of Us” starts in Germany parallel to the start in the US. The total of nine episodes of the first season appear weekly in the night from Sunday to Monday on the Sky streaming service WOW. The start will be in the (very) early morning hours of tomorrow, January 16, 2023.