Now Showing: The Last of Us

The Last of Us
Genre: Action/Adventure/Horror
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Cast: Anson Mount, Mackenzie Foy, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Michelle Monaghan, Josh Holloway, Katheryn Winnick, Angus Macfayden, Ben Mendelsohn, Kevin Zegers, Callum Keith Renney

Plot: In September 2018, an outbreak of a mutant Cordyceps fungus ravages the United States, transforming its human hosts into cannibalistic monsters known as "infected." In the suburbs of Austin, Texas, Joel (Anson Mount) flees the chaos with his brother Tommy (Josh Holloway) and daughter Sarah. As they flee, Sarah is shot by a soldier and dies in Joel's arms. In the twenty years that follow, most of civilization is destroyed by the infection. Survivors live in heavily policed quarantine zones, independent settlements, and nomadic groups. Joel works as a smuggler with his partner Tess (Michelle Monaghan) in the quarantine zone in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts. They hunt down Robert (Callum Keith Renney), a black-market dealer, to recover a stolen weapons cache. Before Tess kills him, Robert reveals that he traded the weapons with the Fireflies, a rebel militia opposing the quarantine zone authorities.

The leader of the Fireflies, Marlene (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), promises to double their cache in return for smuggling a teenage girl, Ellie (Mackenzie Foy), to Fireflies hiding in the Massachusetts State House outside the quarantine zone. Joel, Tess, and Ellie sneak out in the night, but after an encounter with a patrol, they discover Ellie is infected. Full infection normally occurs in under two days, but Ellie claims she was infected three weeks ago and that her immunity may lead to a cure. The trio make their way to their destination through hordes of the infected, but find that the Fireflies there have been killed. Tess reveals she has been bitten by an infected and sacrifices herself against pursuing soldiers so Joel and Ellie can escape. Joel decides to find  his brother Tommy, a former Firefly, in the hope that he can locate the remaining Fireflies. With the help of Bill (Angus Macfayden), a smuggler who owes Joel a favor, they acquire a working vehicle. Driving into Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Joel and Ellie are ambushed by bandits and their car is wrecked and they are forced to continue on foot.

In the fall, Joel and Ellie finally find Tommy in Jackson, Wyoming, where he has assembled a fortified settlement near a hydroelectric dam with his wife Maria (Katheryn Winnick). Joel contemplates leaving Ellie with Tommy, but after she confronts him about Sarah, he decides to let her stay with him. Tommy directs them to a Fireflies enclave at the University of Eastern Colorado. They find the university abandoned, but learn that the Fireflies have moved to a hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. Afterward, Joel is severely wounded by bandits, who are killed by Ellie.

During the winter, Ellie and Joel shelter in the mountains. Joel is on the brink of death and relies on Ellie to care for him. Hunting for food, Ellie encounters David (Ben Mendelsohn) and James (Kevin Zegers), scavengers willing to trade medicine for food, but David turns hostile after revealing the university bandits were part of his group. Ellie manages to lead David's group away from Joel, but is eventually captured. David intends to recruit her into his cannibal group. Refusing the offer, she escapes after killing James, but David corners her in a burning restaurant. Meanwhile, Joel recovers from his wounds and sets out to find Ellie. He reaches Ellie as she kills David and breaks down crying. Joel comforts her before they flee.

In the spring, Joel and Ellie arrive in Salt Lake City and are captured by a Firefly patrol. In the hospital, Marlene tells Joel that Ellie is being prepared for surgery in hope of producing a vaccine for the infection, the Fireflies must remove the infected portion of Ellie's brain, which will kill her. Unwilling to let Ellie die, Joel battles his way to the operating room and carries the unconscious Ellie to the parking garage. He is confronted by Marlene, whom he shoots and kills to prevent the Fireflies from pursuing them. On the drive out of the city, Joel claims that the Fireflies had found many other immune people but were unable to create a cure, and that they have stopped trying. On the outskirts of Tommy's settlement, Ellie reveals that she was not alone when she was infected and expresses her survivor guilt. At her insistence, Joel swears his story about the Fireflies is true.