With its impeccable cast, skillfully crafted plot and action scenes as frenetic as on console, the series is The last of us is about to become the reference in terms of video game adaptation.
• Also read: Video Games: The Last of Us, from Excellent to [presque] Perfect
Summer 2023. A pandemic has raged for two decades, with a mysterious fungal infection turning infected humans into deformed, bloodied creatures. But a glimmer of hope is on the horizon. Her name: Ellie. In fact, a 14-year-old girl may very well hold the key to eradicating this evil (for reasons we won’t reveal here, of course).
So it’s up to Joel Miller, a former mercenary who lost his daughter 20 years ago, to guide Ellie through a devastated post-apocalyptic America to a group of activists who may, we hope, develop a cure for these infections.
From the console to the screen
This storyline is already well known to anyone who owns a PlayStation console. Because the game that inspired the series achieved cult status shortly after its release 10 years ago. Is it necessary to have previously experienced this adventure, controller in hand, to appreciate the television adaptation? no No way. Just as fans of the video game saga will find their account.
Because The Last of Us, which launches Sunday night on Crave, has found the perfect balance between the expectations of these two very different audiences. With its synopsis revolving around the same narrative sources as the game from which it derives, the series takes many liberties to improve on the original scenario without ever distorting the original universe. A work of fine embroidery, the result of close collaboration between Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin.
Nor can we ignore the absolutely flawless casting presented to us today; Chilean-American actor Pedro Pascal not only embodies the job of chef, but perfectly embodies the character of Joel Miller. As for Bella Ramsey, while the physical resemblance is less striking, she knew how to capture and then recreate the essence and energy that is so characteristic of young Ellie. Cap!
►series The last of us starts Sunday night on Crave.