We watched the pilot episode of The Last of Us series. An adaptation worth a look?
His arrival in our country was more than uncertain, but all’s well that ends well for the French fans of The Last of Us. From this Monday, January 16they can enjoy the first episode of the series ordered by HBO, through Amazon Prime Video. Joel and Ellie are off on new adventures, this time in live-action, in a series that traces their meeting and their first adventures as survivalists.
In a post-apocalyptic world, the two characters will learn to live with each other, while surviving as best they can the infected that swarm on Earth and the human race that shows itself in its most ruthless form. After the rave reviews from American journalists, it’s time to confirm (or not) the already very good reputation of the production. What is the first episode of the series worth? The Last of Us ?
Watch The Last of Us on Prime Video
What adaptations do best
85 minutes long, the pilot imagined by Craig Mazin gives us enough material to get our teeth into, especially for an entry as expected as this one. Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey and Anna Torv introduce themselves overan episode that is both introductory and dense. Players will have no trouble understanding what it’s all about. The trailers did not lie, this is an extremely faithful adaptation to the base material, which is not displeasing to us. Naughty Dog’s game has indeed proven itself in terms of its narration, and here we find all the genius of Neil Druckmann, who collaborated with the filmmaker on the project.
Suspense, action, danger and gravity are in order and this first episode turns out to be a cocktail of emotions. On reflection, the surprise is not really there, but the series has at least the merit of honoring the survival video game by integrating many elements of the original lore. An evil for a good which allows the whole to remain coherent, by introducing some contextual novelties that even allow the universe to expand to a lesser extent.
Visually, The Last of Us gives us the slap we expected to receive, especially at the level of the characters, alive as infected. It goes without saying that the most impressive remains the work of visual effects and makeup on the antagonists. No spores in this version of the story, but the fungi are nonetheless virulent and particularly terrifying in their late stages. We still miss seeing them in action, but the result so far is stunning.
Honorable Mention for the Credits, which takes Gustavo Santaolalla’s score and overlays it with ever-changing images of mushrooms. Seen from above, they look like enlightened cities, refuges for our favorite survivalists. They embody invasive life, but also death, until finally representing our duo of heroes, whose destiny only depends on this pandemic.
A series of good decisions
So it’s a good adaptation, that’s for sure, but The Last of Us is it a good series? In addition to its endearing dimension because of its inspiration, the first episode of the production confirms us in the idea thatHBO did what was necessary to ensure success and sustainability. Thanks to its promotion around the world, the series has already attracted an entirely new audience, which is eager to satisfy its thirst for zombies as the end of The Walking Dead is imminent.
The plot has a lot to do with it, but it’s really the actors and their interpretation of the story that manages to captivate us. We rediscover The Last of Us through outstanding performance, and this applies especially to Pedro Pascal. The role of the resigned father seems to fit him like a glove when he manages to tear us away after a few minutes during a critical scene that we expected to see coming (you know what we’re talking about ).
Bella Ramsey, known to fans of Game Of Thrones, is subject to a little more criticism, although her game is just as addictive. Same thing for Nico Parker who stands out with one of the shortest appearances of this first episode. This does not, however, prevent The Last of Us to have a few flaws, however small they may be.
At first glance, we will say that she suffers froma bit of a pacing issue, especially in the beginning. This is because the series, unlike the game, makes us go from actor to pure spectators. The introduction of the characters is therefore done more slowly, as well as the installation of the decor, the context and the stakes. Not everything is revealed during the pilot, and it ends on a cliffhanger (which is not one for many), enough to allow the uninitiated to find their plot level account.
It remains to be seen whether the brilliance of the first episode will be confirmed consistently throughout the season. We are not immune to some clumsiness, hazardous additions or even a possible soft stomach. The Last of Us, like any work, is always perfectible. See you at the end of the 9 episodes planned to have our verdict on the question.
