The Last of Us (HBO Max)

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Judging from the trailer the show seems to be faithful to the game's story. The big question is the ending and how will that change because that is honestly a big debate even within a fandom. Its also a point of contention in the remake, all because of the morality of the ending. I do wonder how people will respond to the ending now that the story will get a wider audience.

Hell, Ive heard some fans state Joel is the true villain because of his decision in the ending.
 
Judging from the trailer the show seems to be faithful to the game's story. The big question is the ending and how will that change because that is honestly a big debate even within a fandom. Its also a point of contention in the remake, all because of the morality of the ending. I do wonder how people will respond to the ending now that the story will get a wider audience.

Hell, Ive heard some fans state Joel is the true villain because of his decision in the ending.
I hope they don't touch the ending, it's what makes this story so interesting. It challenges the audience and throws things into a new perspective, especially in the second game. I know it split the fanbase in half, but I ultimately love what they did with it.
 
I hope they don't touch the ending, it's what makes this story so interesting. It challenges the audience and throws things into a new perspective, especially in the second game. I know it split the fanbase in half, but I ultimately love what they did with it.
That might be the second season. I didn't play the second game, but indeed heard about the fanbase split.
 
First episode was pretty great, vibing with it so far. It feels refreshing to see it really was made with the fans in mind; it respects the source material and the characters but isn't afraid to add some new things or change some small details. I was hesitant about some of the casting going into this but after this episode there wasn't a single one that didn't feel true to the spirit of their in-game counterpart. Settings as well - the quarantine zone in particular. It was fun to catch the moments and lines of dialogue that were ripped right from the game. The whole sequence with Joel, Tommy, and Sarah in the truck especially so, sometimes even shot-for-shot.

My only complaint so far, and I expected this from seeing the trailers, is I'm not loving the cinematography. It lacks a certain "cinematic" quality to it that the game itself has. The lighting and vibrancy of the color palette in many sequences gives off a slightly cheap, lower-budget TV show look, especially in the quarantine zone. Idk how to describe it, but it's almost too crisp and sparkly? This is such a gritty world, and even the game had a level of grime and grain to the picture that is lacking here. I really hate to go this far, but it almost reminds me of the look of The Hobbit trilogy.
 
So, I’ve actually not played either Last of Us game, but I am a big fan of Naughty Dog’s other major franchise Uncharted, and I at one point must have watched most of the cinematics from the first Last of Us, like five or six years ago at this point. So far, this show’s got me hooked. Pedro Pascal is endlessly watchable to me for some reason, and even not having played the game there’s a part of me that’s thrilled that his entire look/outfit has been lifted straight from the game. Naughty Dog’s games have a lot of care and craft put into all of their “props” and “costumes” so it’s really nice to see that care translated to live-action. So far, this show is setting the gold standard for video game adaptations, and that’s without even saying “that’s not saying much”. Maybe this next part will sound like perpetual sour grapes, but it breaks my heart a little watching this and seeing the care and attention put into it and remembering how terrible the Uncharted movie was.

Edit: I also loved the 60s talk show opening with the epidemiologists. I honestly got chills when Jonathan from the Mummy talked about “things getting hotter” to pave the way for a mutated cordyceps fungus that could survive in a human host.
 
So, I’ve actually not played either Last of Us game, but I am a big fan of Naughty Dog’s other major franchise Uncharted, and I at one point must have watched most of the cinematics from the first Last of Us, like five or six years ago at this point. So far, this show’s got me hooked. Pedro Pascal is endlessly watchable to me for some reason, and even not having played the game there’s a part of me that’s thrilled that his entire look/outfit has been lifted straight from the game. Naughty Dog’s games have a lot of care and craft put into all of their “props” and “costumes” so it’s really nice to see that care translated to live-action. So far, this show is setting the gold standard for video game adaptations, and that’s without even saying “that’s not saying much”. Maybe this next part will sound like perpetual sour grapes, but it breaks my heart a little watching this and seeing the care and attention put into it and remembering how terrible the Uncharted movie was.

Edit: I also loved the 60s talk show opening with the epidemiologists. I honestly got chills when Jonathan from the Mummy talked about “things getting hotter” to pave the way for a mutated cordyceps fungus that could survive in a human host.
Naughty Dog is my favorite game studio and I'll pretty much follow them to the ends of the earth. I bought a PS3 just for Uncharted 2 and bought a PS4 for Uncharted 4 (my favorite game of all time). And I'll be buying a PS5 when they release their new The Last of Us multiplayer game. I love both Uncharted and The Last of Us franchises, but I definitely prefer Uncharted for its charm and more fun, action-packed, and lighthearted gameplay. I have to be in a very specific mood and headspace to play The Last of Us. Either way, ND is the gold standard for narrative driven games and ever since I discovered Uncharted, I couldn't help but compare every game I've played to how ND does it. Having now seen the level of love and care that went into this TLOU adaptation, I can't express how bummed I am that the Uncharted movie was such a dud. I didn't hate it, but it wasn't great and I left the theater thinking about the wasted potential. They couldn't even use Nate's theme?? I'm sure it will get a sequel, and I hope Sony Pictures takes some notes on HBO's TLOU and does it better next time. Bring in somebody who truly loves the game franchise to drive the ship. That's what is working here — Craig Mazin has made it abundantly clear the magnitude of how much he loves TLOU and he brings that passion to the page. And of course, pairing him up with the creator of the game itself makes for the perfect recipe.
 
Naughty Dog is my favorite game studio and I'll pretty much follow them to the ends of the earth. I bought a PS3 just for Uncharted 2 and bought a PS4 for Uncharted 4 (my favorite game of all time). And I'll be buying a PS5 when they release their new The Last of Us multiplayer game. I love both Uncharted and The Last of Us franchises, but I definitely prefer Uncharted for its charm and more fun, action-packed, and lighthearted gameplay. I have to be in a very specific mood and headspace to play The Last of Us. Either way, ND is the gold standard for narrative driven games and ever since I discovered Uncharted, I couldn't help but compare every game I've played to how ND does it. Having now seen the level of love and care that went into this TLOU adaptation, I can't express how bummed I am that the Uncharted movie was such a dud. I didn't hate it, but it wasn't great and I left the theater thinking about the wasted potential. They couldn't even use Nate's theme?? I'm sure it will get a sequel, and I hope Sony Pictures takes some notes on HBO's TLOU and does it better next time. Bring in somebody who truly loves the game franchise to drive the ship. That's what is working here — Craig Mazin has made it abundantly clear the magnitude of how much he loves TLOU and he brings that passion to the page. And of course, pairing him up with the creator of the game itself makes for the perfect recipe.
I could write a doctoral thesis on everything wrong with the Uncharted movie. But yeah, I’m much the same. A Thief’s End is seriously so great, I wish they’d release a “remake/remaster” of the first three games with the visual fidelity and gameplay improvements from that game. I’ve been thinking recently that, as “blockbuster-y” as the Uncharted games are, that they might also work better as a series. If you haven’t seen it, Amazon’s Jack Ryan series I think is a great example of the budget/scale/execution of what I would I have in mind for an Uncharted series.
 
I could write a doctoral thesis on everything wrong with the Uncharted movie. But yeah, I’m much the same. A Thief’s End is seriously so great, I wish they’d release a “remake/remaster” of the first three games with the visual fidelity and gameplay improvements from that game. I’ve been thinking recently that, as “blockbuster-y” as the Uncharted games are, that they might also work better as a series. If you haven’t seen it, Amazon’s Jack Ryan series I think is a great example of the budget/scale/execution of what I would I have in mind for an Uncharted series.
I've replayed Thief's End every spring since it came out in 2016, and boy does it still hold up. The game is a masterpiece. This past year I replayed 1-3 as well and they show their age but they're still great. I'd absolutely love a remake on the PS5 for the whole franchise; Imagine playing Uncharted 2 with the engine and fidelity of 4 :love: I hope they make more eventually, I'd love another adventure with Chloe or one with Sam & Sully. But they may be moving on, with their focuses currently on TLOU multiplayer title, TLOU Part 3, and the rumored new IP. Perhaps Uncharted is (doomed?) to live on in the form of a movie franchise. I concur, it would probably make for a better big-budget action series rather than trying to fit everything into a film. Each game is like a 15 hour movie, and that's likely challenging to boil down into 2-3 hours, even when cutting out all the action set pieces and traversal/exploration sections. Perhaps that's the very reason why Druckmann had such a difficult time writing TLOU movie — the story is just too long.

I haven't seen the Jack Ryan series yet but now I'm really intrigued.
 
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I've replayed Thief's End every spring since it came out in 2016, and boy does it still hold up. The game is a masterpiece. This past year I replayed 1-4 and they show their age but they're still great. I'd absolutely love a remake on the PS5 for the whole franchise; Imagine playing Uncharted 2 with the engine and fidelity of 4 :love: I hope they make more eventually, I'd love another adventure with Chloe or one with Sam & Sully. But they may be moving on, with their focuses currently on TLOU multiplayer title, TLOU Part 3, and the rumored new IP. Perhaps Uncharted is (doomed?) to live on in the form of a movie franchise. I concur, it would probably make for a better big-budget action series rather than trying to fit everything into a film. Each game is like a 15 hour movie, and that's likely challenging to boil down into 2-3 hours, even when cutting out all the action set pieces and traversal/exploration sections. Perhaps that's the very reason why Druckmann had such a difficult time writing TLOU movie — the story is just too long.

I haven't seen the Jack Ryan series yet but now I'm really intrigued.
I don’t mean to keep derailing any TLOU discussion but I really enjoyed Jack Ryan. The first episode or two of the first season are a little slow but after that things ramp up, and each season has been better than the last. I brought it up in reference to Uncharted because there’s a lot of globe-trotting, Bond-esque villains, and fate of the world-type stuff. It’s obviously a lot more serious than Uncharted, but, I don’t know. I feel like there’s some good character dynamics and banter reminiscent of the games. The show feels big-budget, too, not like a cheap TV show at all.
 
I enjoyed the game (first) very much. It's a game so well put together with story and cut scenes that friends coming over would get sucked in to watch and follow as observers while I played; I'd never had that happen before.

Saw the first episode last night... I am happy so far. I am also glad it's early and can't binge it, I think I need some more time to absorb the episode.
 
Just finished it. It's a big BLEH. Acting is horrible and it's just a rehash of every other scifi theme. At first I thought it was a remake of WAR OF THE WORLDS. Amazing what gets greenlit these days.
 
I thought it was really well done, certainly the best game adaption to date, looking forward to seeing how they portray the stealth scenes with the clickers. To an extent, however well done it is, adapting the game seems a little redundant. The game is already incredibly cinematic and allows you to interract, which a TV show never can. I hope they manage to generate a distinctive voice for the show that those haven't played the game are able to differentiate it sufficiently from The Walking Dead, which has many of the same themes but lacks the emotional heft of TLOU.
 
As a huge fan of the games, I'm cautiously optimistic after the first episode. I was not sold on the cast as it was being announced, but after the pilot, Ellie is the only one I still have reservations about.

I do appreciate some of the details to distinguish the zombies from every other zombie flick, clickers aside - the thin fungi coming out of the mouths of even the "regular" zombies was a nice touch.

I do worry that they may be moving a bit quickly. Without a playable experience and picking up notes to ascertain some of the history along the way, a lot of folks I've spoken with were confused over some basic plot points - how did Joel get from TX to Boston, what's the scoop with FEDRA, etc. Yet we're already past Marlene and headed out of the QZ with Ellie in hand less than 90 minutes later. I'm hoping they slow things down a bit in that regard.
 
Can anyone in this thread identify Pascal's jacket in the show? There's a bunch of articles out about it, but half of them claim it's the "forest" color and the other half say it's "field tan".
 
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