Parenthood from the end of the world | “The Last of Us” review

The TV adaptation does not differ in many ways from the game produced by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation 3 console, which premiered in 2013. “Playable” character in the game is Joel, who, as a survivor of catastrophic grief over the death of his daughter, finds himself in a new post-apocalyptic reality. The role of the main character in the series is played by Pedro Pascal. The actor is joined in the lead by Bella Ramsey, who, as 14-year-old Ellie, forms an amazing duo with Pascal. Their relation as well as in the game is the main wheel not only for the intertwining of events, but also for the development of the entire world presented. At first glance, the teenage orphan should fill the gap in Joel’s heart, nevertheless their adventures are not one-and-done, on the contrary, they are so non-obvious that both those unfamiliar with the game and those who tasted this masterpiece are still surprised.

In the production of The Last of Us the use of the game was taken to the limit, and not only in the story aspect. People are stylized as game characters, their appearance, but also character traits do not differ significantly from those presented by the Naughty Dog studio. Also important is the very good reproduction of the locations and routes followed by the two main characters. There’s no denying that the greatest merit in this is due to Neil Druckman, who, as a developer responsible for the creation of games under the Naughty Dog flag, also took responsibility for the script, direction and production of the series. The cooperation of the creator together with Craig Mazin (e.g. Chernobyl) turned out to be so fruitful that we did not have to wait long for confirmation of plans for the second season, which is likely to be aired next calendar year. In the production of the series, no time and resources were spared on such issues as finances and full use of available resources to maximize the attachment to the production and gain a fan base, thus booking the plan for the premiere of season two. In addition to the aforementioned duo responsible for most of the action, the series stars; Nico Parker, Merle Dandrige, Christopher Heyerdahl, Nico Parker and John Hannah, among others. The author of the amazing soundtrack and the excellent lead track is Gustavo Santaonalli. The responsibility for cinematography was spread among four – Ksenia Sereda, Eben Bolter, Nadim Carlsen and Chrisitne A. Maier, in this regard the filmmakers did not fail in any aspect, on the contrary they did a great job. Casting both actors and selecting the right people to work with was a hit on all production fronts. Editing by Timothy A. Good and Emily Mendez helped pull better material from the creative talents.

The strength of Joel and Ellie’s relationship, its dynamics and the bonds created between them is a story of magic. For more than a decade, gamers have been falling in love all over again with this unconventional tale of the ends of the world; the material one – post-epidemic, Joel as a traumatized father, and the teenage girl who must grow up overnight. On the one hand, one can’t help but feel that such a scenario as the one created for the game couldn’t be spoiled. Nevertheless, this refreshing of the story told in The Last of Us gave it real new life. The series, despite being several hours shorter than the game itself, slowly tells the further adventures of Joel and Ellie at a pace typical of the original. After all, it wasn’t created just for gamers, but its accessible nature was primarily meant to attract newcomers interested in the world of The Last of Us. The result is captivating, and at times makes the latter sometimes superior in the game-series comparison.

We are now inviting you to all three screenings of episode one and two as part of the Multiverse section during BNP Paribas Warsaw SerialCon. Below we present for you all available screenings:

• December 06, 2024 at 8:15 PM at Kinoteka (room 2)
• December 08, 2024 at 1:30 PM at Kinoteka (room 5)
• December 08, 2024 at 7:15 PM at Kinoteka (room 2)

Marcin Telega