The award to most anticipated first series of 2023 It corresponds, without a doubt, to ‘The Last of Us’, the post-apocalyptic drama based on the Naughty Dog video game of the same name for PlayStation lands next Sunday the 15th (early Monday morning in Spain) on HBO Max amid great expectations and I can say, without fear of being wrong, that complies with them. Ample.
An adaptation that is carried out by craig mazin, to whom we owe the excellent ‘Chernobyl’. Something that, in itself, matched perfectly with this project due to how well the screenwriter managed to capture the catastrophe. In addition, the fans of the video game breathed quite easy because Neil Druckmanits creator, was not only involved with the typical role of executive producer, but also co-wrote this season 1 (of nine episodes).
Without having played the game (it’s been on my to-do list for too long), I admit that it would be too daring of me to speak of fidelity to the same. Taking who is behind it, I assume that they do not stray too far from the original material (in fact, it confirms it) and I think, or at least the feeling that it gives me, that this is not always ideal as we go through the turns and the various settlements that Joel and Ellie roam.
A linear adaptation and to the point
Craig Mazin said, in recent statements, that he does not want to take too long with this adaptation and prevent it from becoming an everlasting series. Looking at the full season 1, you can see those intentions to be concise in his retelling of this survival journey: the last episode brings us to the end of the first game. And up to there I can read since there are still a couple of months to reach that delivery.
This basically translates in a practically episodic character, with short arcs of one or two episodes. Although the rhythm is appreciated and that they do not make a visit to such a city an entire season (ahem, ‘The Walking Dead’) I think that a little more rest would have been useful. To expand this universe and its characters to be able to influence this devastating scenario.
I’m not saying he doesn’t have his moments for it. In fact, where without a doubt ‘The Last of Us’ works best It is in his flashbacks and the moments when he talks to us about what surrounds him. (and who they meet) the Joel and Ellie of Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsay, the origin of the pandemic, what it implies and how it demolished society. They are great sequences that manage to give the necessary three-dimensionality to a series that sometimes sins of going too much to the point, without allowing us to immerse ourselves too much in the world.
Hopefully all the series, all the scripts, sin to get to the point. To tell the story they want to tell without too many twists. Beyond the buts regarding the development of the season, cI think Mazin and Druckmann’s script is superb and efficientwith an enviable rhythm and handling of tone.
A very successful distribution
I also think that the cast is the most successful. Bella Ramsay is formidable and displays great chemistry with Pedro Pascal within the “wolf and cub” dynamic/trope. They work really well and the rest (Anna Torv, Nick Offerman, Melanie Lynskey, Merle Dandridge, etc.) are not far behind.
Where unfortunately I can not enter to assess It’s about the special effects, given that except for the first two episodes (which were practically final versions), the rest of the season was unfinished, which prevented enjoying the infected fungus in all its splendor. However, that does not mean that, at the design level, they seem fantastic to me.
Speaking of design. How could it be otherwise in an HBO production (and well, Sony also has its tables in this regard), that of ‘The Last of Us’ it is exquisite. Full of details, exhaustive and immersive, which provides a quite attractive viewing.
Great, but far from a masterpiece
What I know worst about ‘The Last of Us’ is that It is a bit far from the level of that masterpiece which is ‘Chernobyl’, to compare with the previous series of its scriptwriter. Something that perhaps is more for the scale and characteristics of the project than for other quality issues. Still, it’s nothing short of outstanding.
With a spectacular first episode (of which we will talk more as soon as possible) and the rest who are not far behind (some work better than others) I think that, without a doubt, ‘The Last of Us’ is the first “serion” of 2023. A fascinating and absorbing post-apocalyptic drama that, even with its flaws, is an essential viewing for this coming year .