The Last of Us Episode 1 Review

Article Cover Illustration by Quincey McElroy

I think that it’s well-known amongst people who like to watch movies that film adaptations from video games are almost always bad. There seems to be no clear reason for why this is the case, but some  might suggest that it’s because the format doesn’t translate well. This is because video game stories are generally written to be in service of the gameplay. However, I don’t believe this is the case because if you have a strong premise, you can make a good movie . 

What makes the video game “The Last of Us” unique from other video games is it is essentially a playable movie. HBO had a simple task of recreating the same scenes from the video game into live action. You might be concerned that the scenes wouldn’t translate the same way from the video game to live action. In most cases that would be true but this case, it translates perfectly. 

The Last of Us follows Joel and Ellie as they travel across the country in a post-apocalyptic America. What draws the audience in are the characters and how they grow and change throughout the story. This is a very simplistic summary of the overall plot, but it is a pretty simple story. I’m also trying to avoid summarizing the entire story because I encourage everyone to watch the show for themselves. I remember playing the video game and wishing that I could show it to a family member that doesn’t play video games. 

The show is a weekly release, and I don’t plan to write a review for each episode, but I intend to write a review for the whole season. Given the length of the first season, I predict that they’ll tell the story from the first game but I am curious if they plan to divert from the original game at all.

Article Cover Illustration by Quincey McElroy