Graeme Robertson on whether The Last of Us needs a film adaptation…
Video game adaptations are nothing new; with Hollywood in its infinite wisdom thinking that whatever works on the games console, must surely work on the big screen, churning out video game movie after video game movie.
We’ve had film versions of Resident Evil, Mortal Kombat, Double Dragon, Street Fighter, Tekken, Need for Speed, and Super Mario Bros. The common thread of all these films listed is that most of them, if not all of them are utter rubbish, with it still to be seen if the upcoming big budget version of Assassin’s Creed can break this long-standing tradition of game to film butchery.
Now before you write your angry comments I should stress that I actually enjoy the Resident Evil films and the first Mortal Kombat which I find to be incredibly dumb, but nonetheless incredibly entertaining. Hell, even the 1994 Street Fighter film has some enjoyable qualities, specifically the late Raul Julia devouring the scenery whole in his final performance as the villainous M Bison.
However, we’re not here to debate the merits of translating video games to the big screen. Instead, we’re going to look at one video game in particular and examine whether or not it truly deserves or even needs to be brought to life on the big screen.
That video game is the critically acclaimed 2013 post-apocalyptic adventure The Last of Us, whose long-mooted film adaptation from producer Sam Raimi, has recently entered the dreaded abyss of “development hell”, which inspired me to ask whether we really need a film version of this beloved story in the first place.
For those who haven’t played it, here’s a basic rundown of the game’s story. In the near future, a deadly plague has caused devastation to the planet, killing large swathes of the population or turning them into vicious zombie-like creatures, with the remnants of civilisation barely managing to survive. The game casts the player as Joel, an ageing embittered scavenger who lost his daughter in the chaos of the virus outbreak twenty years previously, as he is tasked with escorting Ellie, a teenage girl who might just hold the key to curing the virus and saving what’s left of humanity.
While seeming like a fairly standard post-apocalyptic video game, The Last of Us is a much deeper experience than one would expect. The game is much more akin to a drama, tackling themes such as the human condition and the effects of loss and grief to name but a few.
At the game’s heart is the relationship between Joel and Ellie, a partnership that initially is forced upon the two and accordingly the two don’t get along, but as the game progresses the two eventually grow closer, as Ellie gradually helps Joel overcome the grief he has carried since he lost his daughter, with Joel also providing Ellie with paternal guidance, becoming something of a surrogate father to her.
I can attest to you dear readers that The Last of Us is a fantastic game; in fact, I, and many others consider it to be one of the finest games ever made, and I would gladly name it as one of my favourite games of all time.
Now, does that mean that it needs to have a film made of it?
Well, that depends on how it’s approached really, so to help me answer this question I asked my colleagues here at Flickering Myth, as well as some of my own friends who had played the game, for their thoughts on the idea of translating Joel and Ellie’s story to the big screen.
The reaction was somewhat mixed with most of those commenting feeling that it would be difficult to capture the same emotional impact of the game in the medium of film.
One commenter when I posed the question as to whether TLOU should be made into a film replied
“No, it doesn’t. It’s hands down my favourite game of the past 10 years and it’s flawless in its storytelling as it already is, it doesn’t need a film or even another game for that matter.”
While another when asked the same question argued for a possible alternative way of adapting the story, stating that;
“I think the whole scenario has potential as a film but not necessarily with the same characters as many of the film’s audience would know how it ends but to develop new characters set during the decline of civilisation would be interesting.”
Even those who hadn’t managed to play the game to completion were keen to offer an opinion on the potential of TLOU being adapted into a film, offering the sentiment that
“Well I only had the chance to play an hour or so, but within the first few minutes, I was amazed by how cinematic it felt, and how much I cared for the characters in comparison to what most games manage by the end. I don’t think it needs to be made into a film, but there’s a lot of potential there.”
The core argument against making a film being that the interactivity of a video game enabled for a closer bond to form between the players and the characters.
While some were open to the idea of making the film, many argued that the best approach would be to ignore the story of the game entirely, instead opting to create an original story with new characters.
Perhaps the comment that best summarises what can be argued to be a general reluctance to have a film made the game comes from a friend who said;
“I think a movie would be controversial because it was so well done already and it’s like Concord in the gaming world. I don’t know if it would capture the same essence.”
This last comment is not too dissimilar to my own views on the possibility of adapting this game into a film.
I don’t think it should be made into a film at all. I briefly thought that a TV miniseries would be better suited, thus allowing the whole story to be told, with episodes covering the game’s stages, and the excellent DLC Left Behind being an episode in the middle of the series.
But after playing the game to completion again (for probably the 100th time), I now feel that The Last of Us should not be adapted to any other medium at all and should be left as a game.
To understand why I feel this way about the game, allow me to discuss the game and its various aspects, and argue why I feel that simply cannot be translated to the big screen.
From the opening moments of this game which shows us the initial chaos of the virus outbreak and the death of Joel’s daughter Sarah, the game had me hooked, I loved the writing of Joel and his daughter, and the dialogue between them, while brief, is funny and warm, ensuring that I cared about them from the start.
So when the opening ends with Sarah being killed in the chaos of the apocalypse, I felt a sense of loss and grief much like Joel does in that moment, because I had become quickly attached to the characters. This feeling comes back when Ellie is introduced into the story; I felt that same connection again, I, like Joel, knew the feeling of losing someone who we came to care for, so we become determined for it not to happen again.
When it becomes clear in the end, that the ultimate fate of Ellie to be sacrificed to save humanity, I still felt sympathy for Joel, even when he essentially becomes the game’s villain and embarks on a violent rampage to save her in the final mission.
Joel’s mission to save Ellie at the end is a selfish aim, no question about it, but it’s a selfish aim that I could relate to, having become developed a deep bond to the characters over the course of the games runtime. I simply didn’t want the two characters to be broken up, even if it meant potentially sacrificing the future of humanity.
The character of Ellie herself is just so endearing that we come to genuinely care for her, with our affection motivating us to do everything possible to protect her, especially in the Winter stage of the game is when the player takes control of her, where I found that I strove even harder to keep her safe. She is quite simply one of the greatest video game characters ever created.
The reason the characters are so likable brings me to my next point, the performances (done via motion capture) of actors Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, who portrayed Joel and Ellie respectively, because if a film was made it’s very likely that they wouldn’t be playing the characters, with Johnson being perhaps too old to play the 14-year-old Ellie, and Baker perhaps not being old enough and frankly too handsome, to play the ageing embittered Joel.
Without these two, in my view, there would be no real point in making the film. It’s the fantastic performances of the actors are what make the characters so lovable; it’s the qualities they bring and the chemistry between them that is something that I feel simply can’t and probably won’t be replicated on screen, no matter how talented the actors chosen to play the characters might be.
Also, the two are not big stars and while that might be not a problem for many people, it’s certainly not for me, it would be a problem for studio bosses and make them reluctant to give backing to what would be a large film led by two relatively little-known actors.
Regardless of whatever happens, whether they perhaps appear in the film but as different characters or not, I can’t imagine anyone but Baker and Johnson in the lead roles; quite simply they are Joel and Ellie.
I should say that I don’t really consider myself a serious gamer, I play this and that but I generally don’t take it as seriously as others. But with The Last of Us, it’s different, I feel that it manages to be something much more than a simple video game. This game manages to transcend its medium and engage me on a more emotional level, perhaps even deeper than most films manage, with the performances of the actors, its innovative take on the well-worn post-apocalyptic story and its examination of heavy themes like loss and the human condition among many, all combining for truly powerful experience .
I just don’t think that this same impact can be done justice on the big screen or even the small screen. It’s the interactive quality of the game, the act of physically playing the game that really what gives it that extra edge and the minute you take it out of a players control that edge is lost. You can care about the characters in a film certainly, but that bond between them and the players simply won’t be there and if it is, it certainly will be a much shallower one.
Quite simply The Last of Us is one of the greatest games I have ever played, and perhaps one of the greatest games of all time, and in my view, that is exactly how it should remain.
Besides who needs a film when you can have something even better, like a sequel.
What do you think though dear readers?
Am I being too possessive about the game? Have I been burned by too many bad game-to-film adaptations, and do you think I should be more optimistic and open to the notion of a Last of Us film? Also, what are your thoughts on the recently announced The Last of Us Part II?
Let me know in the comments. Thanks.
Graeme Robertson
