The Last of Us

One of the best takes on zombies, and pretty impressive considering the source material is a game, which usually doesn't produce good adaptations, think of Max Payne and others. But the creators managed to hit the atmosphere perfectly, develop the characters brilliantly, use flashbacks and current events to cleverly build the story, and the casting deserves an A+ with the central duo. For fans of the game, there are supposedly a plethora of references, and for the uninitiated, it's a terrific piece of filmmaking that has the vast majority of the attributes that make for a full-blown spectacle. The first season was rather intimate, a warm-up, I expect the second season to be suitably epic. (08/02/2023)

Humans are dying in large numbers, but humanity is holding on for now. I liked it a lot, this series is so brilliantly written, shot and acted that I was almost sorry that the second half was suddenly so rushed because it deserved a few longer episodes or an extra one or two, also that they gave up on flashbacks and tidbits like the third episode, that we didn't see more things that weren't in the game, because they were just as impressive as the familiar ones (giraffes!). That's about all I can fault The Last of Us for, and why I originally didn't want to give it a full rating. But the last episode, paradoxically the shortest of them all, easily made me give it a fifth star. I'm glad the series is so good that it easily appeals to others besides gamers, and I enjoyed the journey with Joel and Ellie, even though I sometimes had trouble seeing my feet through the tears. I will surely watch it again. (03/13/2023)

Overhyped. I haven't played “The Last of Us”, but I've seen the gameplay, so I'm not that enamored with the premise, but the result is embarrassing for me anyway. Craig Mazin, the creator of the brilliant Chernobyl, had a very good chance, unfortunately he chose the less attractive option for me. Instead of horror, he delivers us a post-apocalyptic drawn-out drama, where nothing much interesting happens most of the time, until you think that you definitely wouldn't want to play such a game. Fortunately, he had a lucky hand in the casting. Pedro Pascal is a great choice, but we don't see him much in action, so he's not used to his full potential. Bella Ramsey is not likeable, but she's a great actress, so I was less bothered by her in the end than I would have expected. Visually, the series is good, but that's to be expected, so I won't give plus points for that. Story-wise, it's not bad, but I can't say for myself that you will get any significant twists or emotions here, unfortunately. The best episodes are 1, 2 and 5, which were also the only episodes to feature the Runners and Clickers – the look is great, but the creators skimp on them. On the other hand, episodes 3 and 7, purely flashbacks that don't move the plot anywhere, seemed completely unnecessary to me (the fact that they are about gays and lesbians is another thing I won't comment on). The finale could have kicked it up a notch, but it's barely 40 minutes long and again we don't get anything worth paying attention to. There is zero gore, minimal action and zombies, little atmosphere, the pacing is slow – in short it’s lacking all my favorite attributes. That the relationship between the two protagonists develops brilliantly? Fine, that didn't have to take place in the post-apocalyptic world, but in the present day without zombies and ideally in some idyllic LA neighborhood. The creators have made it clear that they are fans of drama, so anyone hoping for something to change in the second season is naive. We'll get shit again. For me, the biggest disappointment of the year so far. The best video game adaptation is still Warcraft. Hopefully Apple will fix my taste with their Silo. 6/10. (03/15/2023)

Season 1 – 90% – Geographically expansive, thematically rich, visually stunning – and breathtaking in every way. Whether you're exploring relationships, leaning into action, or simply watching Pedro Pascal dramatically gaze into the distance, everything fits together, finally proving what has been known for some time: that a good video game adaptation requires enough space, preferably in the form of a high-budget series. Moving away from the in-game shooting to "cutscenes" feels like a gift from heaven, because I am much more interested in exploring the world of infection and the treachery of human nature than in ways to deal with screaming enemies, whose various methods of eradication have already been thoroughly explored by genre-related predecessors like The Walking Dead. This grim world, even despite a hundred and one obstacles, conceals an inexplicably strong life wake-up call, and we can never have too many of those. (04/10/2023)