The Last of Us Review (2023)
One of the most highly anticipated events is the transformation of video games into films and series. In 2023, the standout title is “The Last of Us” from HBO, which is an adaptation of the 2013 video game developed by Naughty Dog. This post-apocalyptic drama series was created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckman.
This series marks the first time HBO has adapted a video game, and it is a collaborative effort between Sony Pictures Television, PlayStation Productions, Naughty Dog, Mighty Mint, and Word Games. “The Last of Us” premiered on January 15, 2023, and concluded on March 13, 2023. In January of the same year, the series was renewed for a second season.
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Synopsis of The Last of Us
The series is set in 2023, and twenty years after a pandemic caused by a mass fungal infection of Cordyceps , which forced its hosts to transform into zombie-like creatures and hunt living humans. The infection forces the remaining humans to band together to survive
The story focuses on the character Joel (Pedro Pascal), who survives and meets a daughter Ellie (Bella Ramsey). Ellie turns out to have immunity against fungal infections, because after being bitten, she doesn’t turn into Clickers like most people.
Joel and Ellie travel across America looking for answers and find a lab so they can make a vaccine from Ellie. On their way, they encounter several groups that are very protective.
The Last of Us Review
The roles of the factions are still mysterious
Throughout several episodes, Joel often confronts the surviving group. Fireflies are the most frequent scourge for the whole journey. Spread over several areas, the Fireflies rule the area where Joel and Ellie will stop by.
The opposing government side also appears to play a minimal role. If you watch from the beginning of the episode, the outbreak of a viral infection was immediately brutally eradicated by FEDRA (Federal Disaster Response Agency), an organization that handles and studies the Cordyceps fungus virus.
But in fact these two groups don’t really appear as antagonists or alliances from Joel and friends. In episode 6 , Joel joins a new group led by Maria (Rutina Wesley) and reunites with his younger brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna). The next episode, Ellie meets Hunters or hunters led by David (Scott Shepherd).
Not only Fireflies and Hunters, Riders, who have also been mentioned several times as the opposite side of the Fireflies troops, appeared without their key figure.
Faithful to video game sources
The storyline of the video game is very neat with several cutscenes. So that gamers also feel like watching movies and series when playing to finish it. The Last of Us becomes a game with a rich story with two retainers Joel and Ellie.
These two characters are so close and succeed in bringing to life the character of a father who loses his daughter, and a slengean daughter , but their roles are so important. Not only a few roles, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann still refer to iconic scenes in the game .
Some scene comparisons, comparisons with the original video game, are quite astonishing. The similarities that sometimes make things a double-edged sword appear so brilliantly without reducing the essence of tension to survive.
Top class cinematography
Video game sources or novels with post-apocalyptic stories have often been seen and have received film or series adaptations. Resident Evil and Walking Dead , making the horror of zombies spread all over the world. The Last of Us presents a different infection.
Mushrooms, which have often been consumed, have become the main cause of human change. This terrifying creature is also called Clickers , with a more terrifying manifestation than a broken-faced zombie. The heads that bloomed like growing mushrooms were made with detail to make Joel and Ellie overwhelm them.
Clickers also have several types like in video games . Different types have different strengths, this is what will continue to be interesting in the next season. Clickers, which should be the main enemy of humans, are not the scariest things in the plot.
An apocalypse or post-apocalyptic would be incomplete without a ruined and abysmal city atmosphere. The Last of Us shows how the era of the next 20 years, how the cities in America were so destroyed, after the big explosion. The fungus which is the main cause is seen in several angles in detail.
The sight of the destroyed city and the prop array still add realism to the situation. Additional shelters or shelters for survivors. Coupled with technology like being reset, how do humans take advantage of analog technology, such as radio.
The emotion of each episode
It’s not just about fighting Clickers. Joel and Ellie go on some really fun adventures to go along with throughout the episode. Starting from their unexpected meeting, it must take the victim of Joel’s closest person, namely Tess (Anna Torv). Then Ellie is a child born when all technology has collapsed.
Their light conversation also invites laughter. With a personality that Ellie is so fun, but annoying on the other hand. The chemistry between these two people is inseparable, even though their personalities are opposite.
Final act, lots of flashbacks from Ellie. First, Ellie escapes from the FEDRA shelter with Riley (Storm Reid) where Ellie is bitten by Clickers for the first time. However, something deeper about Ellie is revealed during a meeting with Marlene (Merle Dandridge), the leader of the Fireflies.
Conclusion The Last of Us
The success of The Last of Us rests on the appropriate selection of Joel and Ellie’s characters. The chemistry between Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey’s characters is felt from the beginning to the end of the episode. The adventures of the two of them were fun even though they were hit by tension that took many lives.
Classy visuals are also depicted against the backdrop of American cities, both big cities and small towns. Some were destroyed and reconstituted alive in the remaining communities. Each piece describes how depressed the survivors are, so that Clickers (infected humans) are no longer their main opponent, but other factions and factions in exploiting the remaining resources.
