disney trying to get back the genZ boys

[Scalemaster34]

I don't think it's just Gen Z Boys.... a lot of recent stuff just hasn't appealed to people in general, even if they sold tickets well enough.

 

[HokieRaven5]

now since I did not play the game and you did... what was bad, the story? the actors? I thought it essentially follows what happens in the game

Majority of the controversy surrounding the game/show comes from fragile male egos.

The story is a bit messier than the first part though, and there are some choices made character and story wise that rubbed the wrong way with fans.

 

[HokieRaven5]

I don't think it's just Gen Z Boys.... a lot of recent stuff just hasn't appealed to people in general, even if they sold tickets well enough.

Reality is probably much like cable/linear, theatrical market is also dying in terms of amount of patrons. It may have found a plateau as this year will be about the same as last year in total box office and ticket prices on average are about the same.

Since 2002 ticket sales have been dropping domestically, it’s just the cost of tickets have risen enough to compensate for the reduction of attendees.

 

[Smugpugmug]

now since I did not play the game and you did... what was bad, the story? the actors? I thought it essentially follows what happens in the game

There was a lot of hate aimed towards Bella Ramsey in the second season which I do not agree with as that's coming from terminally online losers that live in their mom's basement.

My main issue with the season was Ellie's character. Game Ellie and Season 2 Ellie are not even the same person. I'm not looking for a shot for shot remake but at least have the characters have the same core traits? In the game she is a bloodthirsty MONSTER who ruthlessly kills anyone without any regard. I feel like the showrunners were afraid people would hate her if they went down that route so she was toned down to where all of her kills are by accident. I feel like that undermines the message of the second game and Ellie's character development as a whole. She was raised by Joel who was at his core a violent man and in turn she becomes a violent woman but in the show she's constantly joking around and not taking the mission seriously. I didn't care for the writing for her and the season as a whole.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I don't think it's just Gen Z Boys.... a lot of recent stuff just hasn't appealed to people in general, even if they sold tickets well enough.

Definitely the case for me. Star Wars and Marvel are irrelevant to me but so is everything else in Disney's current line up. The next movie I plan on seeing is Good Boy in October.

 

[bryaalre]

Just to add my take on Last of Us as someone who has played the games (just replayed both 1 & 2) and watched the seasons. Season 1's focus was on the characters and the story as a whole, action was secondary. The change to lessen action and violence was not a big deal as the first game's theme focus was the characters and their relationship. Action heavy chapters like Bill's town or the tunnels in the game were not needed as these chapters don't really have an effect on the story or characters. The show could adapt their own episode revolving around Bill's town to focus on bringing more depth to the characters and enhancing the story. The main purpose of Bill's chapter in the game was to introduce some game mechanics (nail bomb, trip wire), the bloater and get a car to drive west. The game mechanics don't translate to live action and the bloater was introduced later in the show. This is an example where the show runners made a major change in the show that made the show better while not deviating from the theme of the game.

The second game's theme is the circle of violence and Revenge, i.e. Joel kills Abby's dad, Abby Kills Joel, Ellie Kills Abby's friends, etc. The first few episodes were good for the most part. The show lost some emotion from the story due to placing certain flashbacks in these early episodes and changing some timeline history. However, without the next seasons finishing their vision, I could live with those changes for now. The major problem I have with season 2 is Ellie's time and actions in Seattle. As smugpugmug stated, in the game she is a bloodthirsty monster. We see her decent into darkness happen over the course of the three days. The show condenses way to much into too few episodes and in return we are left with a product that does not dive into the characters or show Seattle as the battle zone between feuding groups like in the game. The season should have been 2-3 more episodes with each day in Seattle being an extra 20-30 mins to flesh out Ellie's violent nature and foreshadow more about the WLF taking down Fedra and their war with the Seraphites. Also, make Ellie competent. Why is she losing a 1v1 to a stalker in episode 1.

I am the only one in my group who watched the show that also played the game. Everyone else gave it a positive review and is very excited for season 3. I am much more neutral on it and I'll rewatch season 2 again. I would recommend to either play the second game or watch the cutscenes on Youtube over watching season 2.