I would say The Last of Us was Video Game adaptation on easy mode, since the game structurally already resembles a prestige TV series. Having said that, they still made some great decisions regarding what they chose to consolidate, elaborate, and alter with the story. Frank's story being a stand-out.
I just weary of the popularity of the "zombie" /infected genre. I am troubled by a world view where most people are able to be killed because they are horrid mutants or dead already. It is so popular, so pervasive in culture it makes me wonder what individuals think of the society they live in. I know "zombie prepers" and the fantasy easily blurs into a fear of "others" (the working class/ people of colour). Post-disaster, the stories become "Robinsonades". The hero embodies all the norms of society (particularly masculinity). The whole thing becomes an excuse for a rather American survivalism of the kind that justifies killing someone for looking at you the wrong way. Ranr over. This was a interesting review and far subtler than anything I could be bothered doing.
I used to watch my flatmate play games. The last of us was so amazing to watch. I would be sad if he played ahead without me. I had already seen so much basically as TV show already. So as soon as i heard it was being a tv show i immediately watched!!! And i got my mum to watch too as i was like "remember that game i used to watch with my flatmate?!"
I’m dreading season 2. I really liked the game but the discussion around it was exhausting and whoever plays Abby better have skin thicker than her muscles. I think the TV show worked because they respected the source material. They didn’t think they were above the writing of a mere Videogame and made their own masterpiece such as the Halo tv show.
Yeah. Similarly I enjoyed part 2 while having my criticisms. I originally had a paragraph in this discussing part 2, but I cut it because I just thought "y'know what? I actually wanna enjoy talking about this"
@@Stubagful The pacing of Part 2 was my main criticism. I thought if they structured it more linearly it would have scanned better. I completely agree with cutting discussions of Part 2 in this video…I’m actually sorry I brought it up 😂 We should take this time to just enjoy Part 1 before the inevitable happens.
When it comes to Video game adaptions, TLoU is one of the very few that I would actually call an adaptation, (the only other ones I've watched that I'd count being Detective Pikachu, Steins;gate and Ratchet and Clank,) most video game movies these days feel more like what ifs set in the universe of a game: What if Sonic came to Earth? What if Mario left his home to the mushroom kingdom? What if Nathan Drake met Sully as a young man instead of a teenager? Or it's just new episodes of adventures that are too short to be in a game, like the Assassin's Creed movie or the Professor Layton Movie. Most video game adaptations I feel are too afraid of not sticking to source material or adapting game elements in an engaging way, so they just make a new story which may not even resemble the original at all. Not saying this choice is bad, but it's a lot safer, which makes TLoU choosing a true adaptation and being good, a whole lot more remarkable.
I mean, Mortal Kombat (1995) was a pretty good straight adaptation of the MK1 story, they just had to cut out the Scorpion/Sub-Zero stuff or the film would be like two hours longer and really unfocused. Good film in general too!
Another good adaptation staring Bella Ramsey is the Netflix show Hilda. Hilda is living proof an adaptation can be good without being 100% arcuate to the source material. If Hilda was 100% arcuate to its source material, it would have been a very short series. The show took what matter from the books and elevated it amazingly. The show also had better characterization for all of the characters. And making your best episode an Appa's Lost Days emotional gut punch is a good but very painful addition to any show.
Have you also watched any episodes of the Halo TV show? I think it's the opposite end of the 'non direct' video game turned TV adaptation and falls into the traditional view of "Video Game adaptations are shit".
I enjoyed it, but I think they got a bit carried away with the prestige format. A lot of elements of the Joel/Ellie relationship were lost and the story feels less closed-off/intimate.
3:50 I agree a lot with this point about source material. The Original Jaws novel has vastly different characters compared to the film. The book focuses a lot more on their flaws as people and while it works ok in the book it would have worked in the film. If the film had been made as a straight adaption of the book it wouldn’t be the box office juggernaut we know now and would be remembered as a cult film with a shark monster.
The success of the show wasn't a big surprise to me. The game themselves are far bigger triumphs with their characters and story then their gameplay mechanics so having a production with a real budget and writers that actually respected the source material meant a much clearer path execution wise.
This zombie show about Hilda and the Mandalorian struggling to get to Lab Discovera is amazing. My thoughts on each episode: When You’re Lost in the Darkness- Amazing premiere Infected- I love Joel, Ellie, and Tess trip through the Natural Plains. It is sad that Tess died. Long, Long Time- This is one the best romantic subplots I'd ever seen. Fun fact, the key chain on Ellie's backpack is an enemy from the Kirby games. It's sad that Ellie is living in Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Please Hold to My Hand- Not matter what the future brings, Starbucks being shit will never change. Joel and Ellie road trip was amazing, The Chekhov's gun of Lyanna I meant Ellie secret gun was fantastic and paid off well, and it's so sweet to see Joel laugh. Endure and Survive- Ellie being an older sibling towards Sam is precious. Can Joel and Ellie supporting cast stop tragically dying for one episode!? I hate myself for thinking of the music from that Better Call Saul burial scene during the tragic ending of this episode. Kin- Very good but painful portrayals of grief, regrets, and trauma. At least Joel and Ellie supporting cast stopped tragically dying. Not so fun fact, the line “I have dreams. (What dreams?) I don’t know. All I know is that when I wake up, I know I’ve lost something.” wasn't in the script, Pedro Pascal made and improvised that line. It’s funny that Game of Thrones accidentally made fatal stab wounds a believable thing to survive. Left Behind- Best episode of the show 10/10. “Funny how the best episodes of the show are also the gayest ones” Council of Geeks. It's so sweet to see Ellie & Riley have fun in Alivel Mall, it's sad they never got a chance to go to Wondaria. When We Are in Need- This episode was fucking brutal. Most of the town not knowing about the cannibalism gave off a disturbing shady Chinese restaurant serving cats vibe. The villian being that kind of Catholic priest was gross. What made the r*pe affective in this episode is that it passed the alarming low bar of actually portraying it being a horrible and disgusting thing to happen. I’m just glad Ellie brutally murder David before it got worse and Joel emotionally helped her. And if I had a nickel for every time a show staring Bella Ramsey had a guy name David get axed to death, I’ll have two nickels. I know it isn’t much but it’s strange that it happen twice. The massive difference is that you want to see David in The Last of Us get axed to death and you don’t want to see the other David get axed to death. Look for the Light- Joel actions are justified because he’s saving a child more precious than Grogu, Hilda. The reason fictional love ones over the world dilemmas are divisive because realistically most people will choose their love ones over the world but the fictional what the world needs is so massive most of the time that it makes the decision maker come across as selfish and reckless. The operation morality at least was handled much better than that Babylon 5 season 1 episode. I can wait for season 2 because I'm not ready to see Pedro Pascal head get crushed again. And I'm really not ready for Ellie to completely loose her Hilda innocence and become a more ruthless Lyanna Mormont. Although Pedro Pascal & Bella Ramsey are going to be amazing in the guitar scenes.
If there's anything positive the last four years have taught me, it is being aggressively picky about purchasing a video game that I will enjoy playing, and avoiding the rest(like quanticdreams games). And where to eat to get away from it all.
I never really liked the game because I felt it failed in questioning the morals of the situation, mostly down to the ending. As you said, Stu, it felt like you saved Ellie because you have to. Fact is, I also could have just put the controller down and just stopped playing the game at any moment, and nothin about the game would have changed. Spec Opps: The Line might be the only game that actually got me to question what the fuck I was doing. The show was fucking brutal. I still don’t really like it, but I understand the characters better. I don’t know, maybe I just prefer movies to game, I just don’t like the whole story or what. This isn’t relevant, but I live in the city from the 2 parter in the middle of the season, and I will never forgive that lady for literally destroying everyone and every part of Kansas City just for vengeance. I know she had really deep motivations as her monologue said, but I just couldn’t sympathize with her, in the same way I couldn’t sympathize with the villain or Ellie from the second game. Thanks for the analysis Stu. Your comments about adaptations are spot on.
Yeah it took playing it again after watching the show for me to put my finger on why the ending never worked, but I see the effect they were trying to achieve, even if it doesn't get there. I think Spec ops the line is the high bar that the last of us wants to reach
I'm glad I stop paying attention to the Mario movie discourse at the stupid miscasting outcry towards Chris Pratt. The Last of Us show also had a stupid miscasting outcry because why would the actors of Hilda and the Mandalorian be bad in a father child duo role? If it was bad casting there would have been better criticisms than the dumb nitpicks "they didn't play the games" & "They don't completely look like there video game characters". I haven’t seen the Mario movie, never saw a trailer and never heard Chris Pratt voice and I can say with certainty the miscasting outcry is stupid because all miscasting outcries are stupid. Falsely claiming a big name Hollywoob celebrity has more corrupted good Christian values than Butch Hartman with no solid evidence was going to make right wing grifters have a bullshit justification to go crazy. Being upset about Peach Mario Kart outfit is one of the stupidest “woke criticisms” and why most people side with the audience in the stupid audience vs critics discourse on the Mario movie.
An issue with The Last of Us part 2 I hope the show fixes is that "you know, revenge isn't the best thing" doesn't work if the characters are drenched in blood from taken revenge the whole game.
Joel’s killcount in the show was already reduced from what it was in the game, so I imagine that this will also be the case for the future seasons. In any case, most of the kills in gameplay could still be argued as having been made in self defence.
I could not get into this game series. It wasn't the story, which i actually found quite compelling for the little i played of it. I just absolutely loathed the game mechanics (don't @ me, just accept it and move on). Now that the first season is finished i'll have to give it a go.
Did it work...? I found it offensive to the source material.... it's just my own PERSONAL preferences.... I thought it slow, very slow, and I disliked much of what was done here... it didn't work for me personally, I must admit... it was however shot well and looked great... just wish it had.... SOMETHING... ya know? Something was missing to me...
