'Fallout' Is An Explosive Video Game-Live Action Adaptation
Video Game adaptations have come a long way, and Fallout is no exception. Approaching the show, I wasn't sure what I'd be getting myself into. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that Fallout is a game series that is faithfully adapted and rich in story and character. It features multiple folks from different factions, all trying to survive in a nuclear post-apocalypse. The show's handling of its cast is impressive, staying true to the game's essence. The main plot follows Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell), whose father, Hank MacLean (Kyle MacLachlan), is captured by a group of Raiders. On a mission to retrieve her father, Lucy leaves the underground vault that keeps her safe from the surface. On the surface, she seeks Muldaver (Sarita Choudhury), the woman who captured her father, who also happens to be an extremely dangerous individual.
If you've ever played Fallout 3 or Fallout 4, then you can see where the plot to rescue the father is going. What you might not see coming is how well everything from the game works on TV. There are a ton of easter eggs that reference the game, which never feels like forced fan service. The references to the original material don't stop the plot from winking at the camera. Instead, they exist to push the narrative forward.
There's a scene with the Ghoul (Walton Goggins) where he's shooting up a small town. The scene sees things from the bullet's point of view before they hit their targets, much like how it is in the game when you use slow motion to pinpoint specific areas of the body to damage. The scene isn't just there to look cool but also to establish the Ghoul's sense of danger. He's a crack shot that hardly ever misses his target. He's almost a Mary Sue, where he seems untouchable. As the show progresses, we learn that's not the case.
The world-building in Fallout is impressive. And they haven't even gotten to the Institute yet. What the show does focus on from the games are the different groups of people. It follows the plot of three characters. Lucy is the brave, optimistic vault dweller. Maximus (Aaron Moten) is the good soldier who finds himself in a bad situation, and the Ghoul is a man who once had a good heart until the nuclear fallout turned it all to stone. There's also a plot later in the show with Lucy's brother in the vault, uncovering a massive conspiracy. The plots intertwine gracefully as none of the characters are unengaging. One plot that specifically stands out is the one of the Ghoul.
At one time, the Ghoul's name was Cooper Howard. Cooper was an actor in the ad industry. Coop's specialty was playing a cowboy. Most of his work was for Vault-Tech. Posing for what may be an immoral company, Cooper does his job to make a good paycheck. He's a lot like the Marlboro Man. The very thing Cooper is advertising is a morally corrupt corporation that cares more about money than human safety.
If the show could have used less of something, it would be the amount of time spent in the vault. The entire point of Fallout games is that it's a story about exploring the world outside of your comfort zone. It's the tale of the hero's journey where our characters must explore a bigger place than their little pond. At one point in the show, Lucy returns to one of the vaults. It takes away from the tension of the show that should mostly rest in the bigger world it inhabits instead of the vaults. When entering such a large world, why pull Lucy back so quickly to her comfort zone? It's an odd narrative choice that almost broke me away from the show, but not quite.
Another thing that slightly took me out of the show was some of its visual effects. For a show being produced by Amazon, which is one of the richest companies in the world, you'd expect all of the VFX to be believable. But it's not. There's one particular scene where a soldier in power armor is fighting a gigantic bear that looks like something ripped out of Ang Lee's Hulk. I understand this show is on a TV budget, but can't they do something more impressive than this? Disney does it with The Mandalorian. Alhtough not so much for the Marvel shows. Also, some of the makeup is spotty. If you look just at the Ghoul's eyes, you can see where the prosthetic ends on the face.
For its eight episodes, Fallout is a very entertaining time spent on television. Fallout is tense, exciting, loaded with great humor, and doesn't come across as shallow. Video Game adaptations have come a long way. At one time, we had the Super Mario Bros movie from 1993 that resembled nothing from the video game. There was also Uwe Boll, who made not only some of the worst video game-to-movie adaptations but also some of the worst films I have ever seen. It's Ed Wood levels bad, except the films aren't even unintentionally funny.
Decades later we get properties like The Last of Us and now Fallout. I find myself liking Fallout more than The Last of Us. That may be because Fallout isn't close to a word-for-word adaptation of the material. It's unique and diverse, introducing a fresh set of stories. The show goes from funny to shocking at the drop of a hat. Yet it never feels narratively contrived or like it is two shows going on at once.
Thematically, Fallout is very faithful to the way the game is. It's a dark comedy that has a bit of a laugh at the end of the world. Yet, it's serious at the same time. Fallout is science fiction at its finest. It has scientific impossibilities that come across as believable, although we know there's no way robots existed with tube televisions. Yet the show makes it all believable. It’s the beauty of the mise en scène. Fallout is distinctly a show that stands apart from the competition. It's a love letter to the fans of the game and something nongamers can enjoy equally. Until the next nuclear apocalypse, 🎵 we'll meet again. Don't know where, don't know when.🎵
