After watching HBO’s The Last Of Us, I can say that it is the FIRST successful series adaptation of a video game. Forget that weird Super Mario Bros movie from the 90s or that lackluster Uncharted movie that came out last year. The Last Of Us thrives in its own element completely tackling any stereotypes video game adaptations have established. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsay absolutely crush the portrayal of Joel and Ellie with their astonishing performances and the amount of on-screen chemistry they display. Even though this review is just based on the first 5 episodes, I can already tell they are going to do an amazing job finishing up season one and giving us the ending we are all anticipating. 

Although Pascal and Ramsay are the stars of the show, other actors and actresses do an incredible job portraying their video game counterparts such as Nick Offerman, who was the star of episode three titled ¨Long Long Time,” he and Murray Bartlet knock it out of the park by making the episode one of the strongest in the series. Not only do they do a great job adapting the game to the big screen, but they also make an effort to build and expand on the source material and give us content we never got to dive deep into in the game. Unlike in the first game, the town they live in, Jackson, makes an appearance in the first season and helps give people a better understanding of what happens between the two games and sets up season 2 perfectly.

Although there are a lot of pros to the show it has its cons. If you are seeking a line by line scene by scene reenactment of the video game, this is NOT what you’re looking for, HBO is not afraid to bend some lines and moments here and there and truly make the story their own in their unique way. As much as I’d like to fawn over the show all day there is some controversy following it. Bellay Ramsay (the actor portraying Ellie) is, unfortunately, getting a lot of backlash for not looking like her game counterpart, some people think that this does not matter since this isn’t an exact copy of the game but others disagree and have gone as far as petitioning to recast Ellie in season 2.

Overall, if you’re mourning the end of The Walking Dead and craving a new zombie drama or you’re just looking for a new TV show to watch, The Last of Us is perfect for you and will definitely fulfill all your zombie gore needs. I rate this show an outstanding 9/10 with little to complain about and an amazing story that will pull on your heartstrings and hook you with the wholesome father-daughter relationship that develops between the characters of Joel and Ellie.