With rave reviews and a 97% rating on review aggregator “Rotten Tomatoes”, the series The Last of Us seduced the American press, but also French journalists.
Adapting a video game into a film or series has always been a difficult exercise. The Last of Us, a post-apocalyptic thriller available from this Monday on Prime Video, wants to prove tradition wrong. The series is on track to sign the first success of the year on streaming platforms, ten years after the release of the video game on Playstation.
Adapted by one of its creators, Neil Druckmann, and Craig Mazin (Chernobyl), the story is faithful to the game of the Naughty Dog studio. It follows the duo formed by Joel, a trafficker broken by tragedy, and Ellie, the teenager he must protect, the last hope of a world almost destroyed by a virus, where zombies are rampant.
The nine episodes take place in a post-apocalyptic America, locked down by a military dictatorship. Joel and Ellie are played by Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) and Bella Ramsey (Game Of Thrones).
“There is grace in The Last of Us”
With rave reviews and a 97% rating on review aggregator “Rotten Tomatoes”, the series The Last of Us seduced the American press, but also French journalists. “After two timid episodes, the series defies our expectations and carries us away thanks to two endearing characters”, notes Telerama.
The Parisian believes that the adaptation “will delight fans of the video game as much as those who do not know it”: “There is a grace in The Last of Us which, despite its dark side, sometimes warms hearts. Episode 3 is a masterclass at this level.” And to add: “It’s not every day that such a successful series arrives on our screens.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lBjBwUF2gY
In the United States, critics have received the series with equal praise. The choice of Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey was particularly praised by RollingStone. “We have only one desire: to watch them. They are immediately endearing”, writes the magazine. For the review of TimeBella Ramsey is “the greatest asset of the series”.
Memories of the game difficult to compete with
If for The echoes, the series “completely seduces” thanks to “a certain sense of aesthetics”, the daily deplores “certain choices of transposition such as not having integrated the spores into the story”. A decision that allows the actors not to wear masks covering their faces in each scene.
Welcoming also the “great beauty” of the final result, Numerama regrets that “the memories of the game [soient] very difficult to compete with when you’ve been turned upside down by Ellie and Joel’s adventure: “When you’ve played it, then, the series may seem slightly less gripping than those memories.”
Many American critics also appreciated the decorations and the atmospheres which “seem straight out of the game”, estimated the site Digital Spy. Some, however, regretted that the series relies too much on action scenes, specifying that it “shines more” in the most melancholic sequences.
