"The Last of Us" series: Imagine a pandemic destroying the world

The American screenwriter Neil Druckmann is still unknown in the film business.

As the creator of the horror adventure "The Last of Us", he is one of the greats in the gaming scene.

The story of a man and a girl who, twenty years after the outbreak of a global pandemic, have to venture out of a militarily protected but also militarily ruled zone was told with sensational sensitivity.

There were layered characters that developed, time jumps and perspective changes, crisp dialogue, heartbreaking scenes that would have even the toughest gamers bursting into tears.

In 2013, that was by no means a given when it came to video games.

Druckmann even had the chutzpah to add aspects to his story with a prequel and an epic sequel that provoked some of his male fans enormously.

In this regard, too, one could only admire the man.

In the game we are right in the middle, not just there

It is only logical that a television version of "The Last of Us" is now being released, for which Druckmann wrote the screenplay together with Craig Mazin ("Chernobyl").

The series turned out fabulous.

Many scenes are similar to the game down to the camera work, while others illuminate the background of the pandemic and the stories of the numerous characters in more detail.

In the games, the main characters Joel and Ellie were played by the actors Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker as part of the "performance capturing" and "voice acting" - he with a dry voice, she with tough teenage charm.

Pedro Pascal ("Narcos") and Bella Ramsey ("A Lousy Witch") have the same impression, develop the same chemistry, the same warmth in the rough but friendly interaction with each other.

However, a shovel of sand belongs in the cheering machine: video games are an active medium in which the player becomes one with the character on the screen using the joystick.

He is right in the middle instead of just there.

When it all comes together as perfectly as The Last of Us did, even the best TV series falls short in comparison.

The fate of little Sarah at the beginning of the series leaves a viewer sad for a few minutes.

The fate of Sarah in the game means, having just controlled her, a traumatic experience that, a decade later, can only be described with a lump in one's throat.

The spatial experience is also different.

At the end of the second part of "The Last of Us" the player claimed to have surveyed the entire American continent from Boston on the east coast via Wyoming and Seattle to California - personally, mostly on foot or on horseback.

He could say with certainty that what was left of the land of freedom and happiness was little more than islets thanks to the pandemic and its aftermath.

This pandemic seemed like an unlikely nightmare when the game was released in 2013.

The scenario was more emblematic of the disintegration of American society or the spiral of violence that is turning in Neil Druckmann's native country of Israel.

And it was also clever management of emotions: black marketeer Joel and his cargo Ellie, who develop a father-daughter relationship, wander through the rubble of our present like archaeologists, but the backdrop of the disaster always has something of a dusty attic where a daughter dies Father's record collection discovered.

While dad ensures safety with the pump gun in hand.

Just right for gamers who grew up with the medium and became young parents.

Three years after the outbreak of a real pandemic with 670 million infected and more than 6.7 million dead worldwide, the story runs down your spine differently.

Of course, the idea of ​​a fungus called Ophiocordyceps unilateralis that used to attack ants but is now turning humans into guttural groaning zombies (and can't even be stopped with bombs on hotspots) remains way too wild - but an uncomfortable reminder that after the Covid pandemic is possibly before another pandemic.

Whether that appeals is another question.

The television series “The Last of Us”, which was realized with a budget of allegedly one hundred million dollars and is blown through by the guitar sounds of Gustavo Santaolalla, has what it takes to become a series hit – the audience, who has only just been twelve years old with “The Walking Dead" and was given an original pandemic series dealing with the importance of art with "Station Eleven", but you could also just be tired of the topic.

The Last of Us

starts on Monday night on Sky and on the WOW streaming service and is available on demand.