For almost thirty years, video game fans were convinced that attempts to film any virtual adventure were doomed to failure. Many even said that movies based on games were cursed. However, there’s been a reversal in the last couple of years.
Of course, every risk aficionado can settle for casino games, play Aviator game and use various bonuses to diversify the gameplay. But for thrill-seekers and TV show lovers, a new attraction has come out – The Last of Us. The new HBO series bids to be an all-time masterpiece from its first episode. There’s more than just chance in this, and it’s a massive credit to the creators who have approached the source material intelligently.
What is the original game about?
The Last of Us is about a world in the not-too-distant future that has barely survived a pandemic. Instead, most of humanity has been infected with cordyceps cerebralis infection. The dangerous fungus penetrated the human central nervous system and took control of their brains, turning people into walking zombies. The fungus, by the way, is natural – it has no problem making the living dead out of various insects. The documentary about ants controlled by fungus inspired Naughty Dog studio to create the first game in The Last of Us series.
The plot of the game and the series revolves around two characters: a 14-year-old girl named Ellie and a grown-up, bearded, sullen man named Joel. He is a survivor of a lot of trouble as a smuggler. He usually delivers guns, medicine, and food to those in need, but one day he is asked to take the girl through several towns. Why? Ellie is immune to the virus. Whereas ordinary people must wear a gas mask to get through cordyceps spores, Ellie can walk among the infected plants while humming songs. This little girl may be the only one with such a gift in the world. The surviving scientists ask to bring the girl to the lab, hoping to use her to create a vaccine against the deadly menace.
How is the TV adaptation?
Competently transferring what already looks like a movie to the screen is more challenging than it seems. The creators of The Last of Us cleverly approached this question: the game became the foundation on which the show was built. The peculiarity of video games is that they should be dynamic. Otherwise, the player will get bored, put away the controller, and run to put one on the rating aggregator sites. Screenwriters and directors in film can afford to take the time to get to know the characters and the world they live in. That’s exactly what The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazzin, creator of everyone’s favorite “Chernobyl,” did. He removed the restrictions that the video game imposed, gave the scenes a chance to “breathe,” and allowed the audience to enjoy the moment and think about what was happening.
The first episode begins with the same thing as the game – a little snippet from Joel’s past before the pandemic. But in the series, we get to know the character better and his relationship with his daughter and brother. Of course, it was also clear to the gamers why the future smuggler would be angry and sullen ten years after these events. But this moment hits a little more complicated in the series. Virtually every episode from the game in the adaptation is deepened, made more interesting, dramatic, and heartfelt. The viewer is introduced to Tess, Joel’s smuggling friend, and it shows that the characters have been through a lot together, with witty dialogue and great acting by everyone involved. Anna Torv, Gabriel Luna, Merle Dandridge, and, of course, the main characters of the series, Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal, all fit their roles perfectly, proving that if a character is interesting in itself, the visual similarity between the actor and his playful embodiment is not so significant.
One of the problems of film adaptations has often been cited as the fact that filmmakers prefer to cast stars in lead roles, which can provide good box office and increased attention.
The series cast and creators
Bella Ramsay (who perfectly played Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones) and Pedro Pascal (Dean Jarin in Mandalore and Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones) were also the targets of criticism. Gamers called several names: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Hugh Jackman, Caitlin Dever, and many others were in the “Perfect Cast of The Last of Us” series’ picks. But the creators opted for Pascal and Ramsay. And the actors prove that it’s not the characters’ resemblance that matters but the depth of the essence. Pascal’s gaze easily conveys the gravity of years gone by, and Ramsay effortlessly shows youthful enthusiasm and maximalism of Ellie. Yes, they don’t look much like the game’s ” model ” characters, but you quickly forget that. And those who have never controlled Joel with a PlayStation controller won’t think about it.
A tribute to gamers, of course, wasn’t without its tribute to gamers either. In addition to Maisin, who wrote the script and was the showrunner for The Last of Us, Neil Druckmann, the game’s development manager and its author, played a big part in the making of the series. What’s more, Druckmann even directed one of the episodes, trying his hand at directing. Because of this, many scenes in the series have been carried over from the game one to one. It again proves how cinematic The Last of Us was already in 2013.
Did it work or not?
HBO’s The Last of Us is the perfect adaptation. The series rarely stray far from the game, but even when it does, the events shown can easily be represented by the level the creators cut from the final version. The creators deepen the world of The Last of Us but remember that the show will be watched by attentive gamers, for whom many references are prepared. Why the show turned out so fantastic is yet to be parsed by experts in the comments on major gaming sites. But it is impossible not to note the luck (the game itself is very cinematic), as well as the involvement of the authors of the game in the creation of the series. The script helped write the game’s screenwriter, and the music was recorded by Gustavo Santaolaglia, who gave gamers one of the best title themes in video game history, and so on.
