Fallout

For decades the track record for video game adaptations was astoundingly abysmal. We’ve been over this before, but for those who have forgotten, the movie ALONE IN THE DARK exists, which tells you everything you need to know. Then, things began to change. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG was a surprisingly enjoyable smash, SUPER MARIO BROS took the world by storm, and, perhaps most influential of all, the Emmy-winning series THE LAST OF US eradicated any doubts as to the heights to which these adaptations could soar.  

The Amazon Prime series FALLOUT is based on a popular series of games about the aftermath of a nuclear war. America is a barren wasteland, and while there are those who still live above ground doing whatever they can to survive, there are far more fortunate folks who live in vaults below the surface. They believe that it is their mission to keep civilization moving forward, and they will eventually leave their cushy confines to repopulate our nation and restore it to greatness.  

There is a certain naivety possessed by those who live in Vault 33. The inhabitants are happy to live their days farming, target shooting, and occasionally kissing their cousins. When they are attacked by marauders masquerading as inhabitants of a neighboring vault, many are killed, and their leader Hank (Kyle McLaughlin) is kidnapped and brought up to the surface. Devastated by what has transpired and determined to save her father, Lucy (Ella Purnell) decides to put her skills of persuasion and survival to the test by going outside to look for him.

During her journey, Lucy crosses paths with The Ghoul (the always delightful Walton Goggins) a former actor who was with his daughter when the nuclear blast wiped out California. While flashbacks show us that he was an affable, likable fella, the end of civilization and permanent disfigurement did little to keep his spirits raised. He is now a ruthless killer, willing to do anything to secure a bounty and obtain the medicine he needs to keep himself alive.  

She also meets Maximus (Aaron Moten), a terrible decision maker who longs to be part of the elite fighting force known as The Brotherhood of Steel. Though he is sympathetic and has obviously been ravaged by trauma, he consistently chooses a path that makes the viewer wonder if he is a hero, a villain, or a complicated fusion of the two.

FALLOUT is completely different from THE LAST OF US in tone and style, yet no less cinematic. The settings, special effects, costumes, and performances are of the highest caliber, and the playful nature of the production is a far cry from the effective dramatics of THE LAST OF US. The violence is played for laughs as body parts explode with creative consistency, and the over-the-top use of gore matches the tone that creators Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet were going for. It’s a series that never takes itself too seriously, but determined to churn out a production that is of the highest quality. There are laughs abound in each episode, mainly surrounding Lucy’s unwavering optimism and The Ghoul’s inability to care about anything or anyone.  

The most important aspect of FALLOUT, as it was with THE LAST OF US, is that you don’t have to be an avid fan of the game in order to enjoy the adaptation. In fact, you don’t have to be familiar with source material at all. You can start episode one without any prior knowledge and be entertained as if it were an original story. At the same time, it is chock full of easter eggs for those who have been entrenched in the video game series for years thereby engaging both fan bases in equal measure. Not nearly as profound as THE LAST OF US, FALLOUT was never going to have the same impact as the Max series, and that’s okay. What it is, is an engaging, humorous, entertaining adaptation that shows that genre has found its footing and is here to stay. 

FALLOUT- B

Now streaming on Amazon Prime.

Brian Miller