The Last Of Us (HBO)
Jan. 21st, 2023 09:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rogueslayer452As a fan of The Last Of Us video game franchise, the television adaptation was something I was very much curious about, and got even more excited the more things came out from it, and now that I have finally watched the first episode I want to share my thoughts.
To put it simply, I loved it.
I think what impressed me the most was the nice balance between capturing moments from the game itself and having additional scenes to expand the world and the characters further. For starters, the game and the show begin quite similarly, that feeling of impending doom, just in different ways. The subtly of that slow building of tension, leading to the rapid panic and chaos that ensues. Those first thirty minutes did a fantastic job with setting the stage, pretty much matching the momentum of the beginning of the game itself.
And that's kind of how I felt for the rest of the first episode, really. I spent the entire time being enraptured by everything, from pointing at certain scenes going, "they did the thing! they said the thing!" and noticing all the little details to just being awed by pretty much everything that was put together, what they decided to keep in, what things to change, what things to add to the story. Adaptations can be good or bad depending on how they're made, there just needs to be a clear plan and idea of how to translate the story from one medium to another and make it make sense to another audience while also maintaining the story itself, and with video games that can be extra difficult because there needs to be that balance of how to fill in those gaps from the story versus the gameplay elements and make that work. The Last Of Us is already an immersive gaming experience, so it's a matter of how to translate that for a television format. And so far, with just the first episode, they really managed to do just that, capturing the essence of the story and the characters, molding and weaving it together to feel both familiar and fresh. Nothing felt forced or gimmicky, but instead organic and handled with care, and that's all I'm asking for, really.
Furthermore, I love the actors chosen to portray the characters. I mentioned previously that my excitement level rose once we got the casting announcements, and so far I haven't been disappointed. I knew that Pedro Pascal was going to be an amazing Joel, and he is. He is Joel, same as how Bella Ramsey is Ellie, how Anna Torv is Tess, and, although seen briefly, Gabriel Luna is Tommy, and Nico Parker was a wonderful Sarah. Marlene is the only exception to this because the actress, Merle Dandridge, is reprising the role from portraying her in the video games, and is the only one of the voice acting cast to do so. But everyone else also embodies their roles perfectly, and it makes me anticipate the other characters we'll be running into throughout.
If I were to pick a favorite scene of this episode, it would be the prologue (an excellent addition, setting the tone while also making it relevant) combined with the whole first thirty minutes (the tension, the chaos, the emotions), and the alternative character introductions. I really enjoyed that angle, that we didn't get introduced to them as we did in the game but by adding more context and depth to their roles in the story and even their dynamics with other characters, too. Bonus is the title sequence (an updated version of the game opening sequence) and Gustavo Santaolalla returning to do the music for the show. I always get chills every single time I hear anything from the game, and hearing it in the show is just so surreal.
So yeah, overall I really, really enjoyed it, and it makes me even more excited to see how the rest of the season unfolds. Even though I already know what happens, if the first episode is a good indicator of how the rest is going to play out I'm ready to go on that ride yet again.
TL;DR: Just from one episode, The Last Of Us manages to really capture the feeling and essence of the game, bringing in the familiarity of certain scenes and dialogue without it feeling forced or gimmicky, while having additional moments that expand upon the characters and elements of the story. As a fan of the game, it didn't disappoint, even though I knew what was coming it kept me engaged and emotionally invested, and I'm even more excited to see how the rest of the season unfolds.
I also want to say that it was very smart of them to release episodes weekly instead of dumping all of it at once. Aside from the fact that more shows on streaming services should do this more often, The Last Of Us is not the kind of story one binges. It's an emotionally harrowing journey that you'll need time to digest what happened after each episode. So yeah, definitely a wise decision.
With saying that, I'm not planning to write individual reviews for each episode as they come out, something I used to do before the days of streaming, mostly because I feel like it'll be pretty much the same kind of thing as I wrote here. Instead, I'll be waiting to give a full review once the season is finished.
--
In addition to that, we got a trailer for the third season of The Mandalorian pretty much shortly after The Last Of Us premiered. It's just Pedro Pascal hours lately, and I'm not complaining. ;)
To put it simply, I loved it.
I think what impressed me the most was the nice balance between capturing moments from the game itself and having additional scenes to expand the world and the characters further. For starters, the game and the show begin quite similarly, that feeling of impending doom, just in different ways. The subtly of that slow building of tension, leading to the rapid panic and chaos that ensues. Those first thirty minutes did a fantastic job with setting the stage, pretty much matching the momentum of the beginning of the game itself.
And that's kind of how I felt for the rest of the first episode, really. I spent the entire time being enraptured by everything, from pointing at certain scenes going, "they did the thing! they said the thing!" and noticing all the little details to just being awed by pretty much everything that was put together, what they decided to keep in, what things to change, what things to add to the story. Adaptations can be good or bad depending on how they're made, there just needs to be a clear plan and idea of how to translate the story from one medium to another and make it make sense to another audience while also maintaining the story itself, and with video games that can be extra difficult because there needs to be that balance of how to fill in those gaps from the story versus the gameplay elements and make that work. The Last Of Us is already an immersive gaming experience, so it's a matter of how to translate that for a television format. And so far, with just the first episode, they really managed to do just that, capturing the essence of the story and the characters, molding and weaving it together to feel both familiar and fresh. Nothing felt forced or gimmicky, but instead organic and handled with care, and that's all I'm asking for, really.
Furthermore, I love the actors chosen to portray the characters. I mentioned previously that my excitement level rose once we got the casting announcements, and so far I haven't been disappointed. I knew that Pedro Pascal was going to be an amazing Joel, and he is. He is Joel, same as how Bella Ramsey is Ellie, how Anna Torv is Tess, and, although seen briefly, Gabriel Luna is Tommy, and Nico Parker was a wonderful Sarah. Marlene is the only exception to this because the actress, Merle Dandridge, is reprising the role from portraying her in the video games, and is the only one of the voice acting cast to do so. But everyone else also embodies their roles perfectly, and it makes me anticipate the other characters we'll be running into throughout.
If I were to pick a favorite scene of this episode, it would be the prologue (an excellent addition, setting the tone while also making it relevant) combined with the whole first thirty minutes (the tension, the chaos, the emotions), and the alternative character introductions. I really enjoyed that angle, that we didn't get introduced to them as we did in the game but by adding more context and depth to their roles in the story and even their dynamics with other characters, too. Bonus is the title sequence (an updated version of the game opening sequence) and Gustavo Santaolalla returning to do the music for the show. I always get chills every single time I hear anything from the game, and hearing it in the show is just so surreal.
So yeah, overall I really, really enjoyed it, and it makes me even more excited to see how the rest of the season unfolds. Even though I already know what happens, if the first episode is a good indicator of how the rest is going to play out I'm ready to go on that ride yet again.
TL;DR: Just from one episode, The Last Of Us manages to really capture the feeling and essence of the game, bringing in the familiarity of certain scenes and dialogue without it feeling forced or gimmicky, while having additional moments that expand upon the characters and elements of the story. As a fan of the game, it didn't disappoint, even though I knew what was coming it kept me engaged and emotionally invested, and I'm even more excited to see how the rest of the season unfolds.
I also want to say that it was very smart of them to release episodes weekly instead of dumping all of it at once. Aside from the fact that more shows on streaming services should do this more often, The Last Of Us is not the kind of story one binges. It's an emotionally harrowing journey that you'll need time to digest what happened after each episode. So yeah, definitely a wise decision.
With saying that, I'm not planning to write individual reviews for each episode as they come out, something I used to do before the days of streaming, mostly because I feel like it'll be pretty much the same kind of thing as I wrote here. Instead, I'll be waiting to give a full review once the season is finished.
--
In addition to that, we got a trailer for the third season of The Mandalorian pretty much shortly after The Last Of Us premiered. It's just Pedro Pascal hours lately, and I'm not complaining. ;)
no subject
Date: 2023-01-24 05:01 am (UTC)