The Last of Us, the series that is being praised on social media, has gotten thumbs up from the critics.
The series is described as comfortably the best adaptation of a video game ever made that has been able to break the curse on gaming-TV crossovers. Set in post-apocalyptic America, The ‘Last of Us’, about two people trying to survive in a post apocalyptic world ravaged by a killer fungus, may sound derivative. But the show subverts all we have seen before in disaster movies and shows.
Writer John Nugent, for Empire Magazine, gave it five stars, claiming it never feels like you’re watching a video game. Although he commented, ‘it is a sometimes surreal experience to see its most iconic moments (the collapsed skyscraper, the giraffes) handsomely rendered in live action.’
The Washington Post praised the script for sticking close to the original material, but also noted the development of some characters add to the narrative.
Gene Park wrote: “People who know the game by heart will likely be able to recite some lines right as they’re being spoken in the show.”
The Independent’s critic Nick Hilton gave it four stars, saying it’s “undoubtedly a new landmark in the seemingly impossible task of adapting video games”.
The plot follows characters Joel and Ellie who are navigating a global pandemic (unlike Covid, there are no vaccines) 20 years after it first struck.
Social distancing does feature though, largely because they’re dealing with zombies – rather than a coronavirus.
The TV adaptation of the popular post-apocalyptic video game debuts Sunday exclusively on HBO Max.
