Review: Fallout

Quite the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. first attempt

The raging dichotomy on the Internet about video games and their film/television series adaptations can be a horrible place to find yourself at two a.m. on a Friday night, but someone’s gotta do it. The thing is, you won’t have too many dissenters when it comes to the recently released Fallout show on Amazon Prime. Sure, you have some folks grumpy about potential retconning to their favorite entry, Fallout: New Vegas (Obsidian), but overall, fans seem pleased. The first two titles in the game series were developed by Black Isle Studios and Interplay Entertainment, and Bethesda Studios continued with Fallout 3 and 4 (with Obsidian on New Vegas). I never played the first two Fallout games, but I can attest to the rest of them having hefty hundred-plus-hour runtimes (if you like to explore like me). This breadth of content left showmakers with tons of potential inspiration. And boy did they use it. For better or worse.

Let’s get it out of the way: Fallout is a great adaptation of the series. Fans should be excited and generally pleased by the attention to detail paid by Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner, even if not every detail is precise to the world seen in the games. From the choice of soundtrack to costumes and dialogue, everything screams, “I’ve played these games and want to respect the source material.”

There were so many moments throughout the show that made me think, “This is Fallout.” One of my favorites sees a character decapitate another with a ripper (chainsaw sword) to the tune of the Ink Spot’s “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire.” If that isn’t quintessential Fallout, I don't know what is. There were quite a few laugh-out-loud moments that took me by surprise, some at the moment, some after a reflection. Some moments in the show felt like they were left up to the RNG (random number generator) Gods, which was one of the truest reflections of the series. Let me explain. In the games, you’ll frequently come across obstacles in which you can choose an option. Sometimes it’s dialogue, sometimes an action. There’s a percentage of a chance that some of these things will work and quite a bit of a chance that they won’t. While I won’t spoil anything, there were a few moments where I thought something was going to backfire but worked, and something that I thought should work backfired. It pulled me further into the narrative and character predicaments.

The aesthetic of the show is true to its roots, especially the Vaults and its inhabitants. From the Vault-Tec bobbleheads to the political propaganda, from the Nuka-Cola to the Red Rocket gas station, and from the Pip-Boys to the power armor, everything looks fantastic and authentic. Seeing all these things made me want to boot one of the old games back up and return to the wasteland. This applies to the sound effects too. From Codsworth’s line delivery and voiceovers to the sound a stimpak makes, you won’t find yourself wanting for authenticity. Fallout looks and feels just like the games.

Lucy MacLeane, played by Ella Purnell, is your typical do-gooder vault dweller on a mission to save a loved one. She is thrust forth from the safety of Vault 33 and into the dangerous wasteland that was once California. She wears her blue jumper with pride and encounters many obstacles with the naiveté of an ignorant rich person stepping into a slum. The rules are different and she soon learns that, to survive and complete her mission, she has to adapt. Her path repeatedly crosses with two other protagonists throughout her journey, and this is where I had some issues. While the other characters make everything more fun and engaging, their meeting on happenstance is too convenient. One character is in trouble and the other just happens to show up and find them at this particular place in a massive wasteland with no communication beforehand. This happens quite a few times.

There were some slogs in the pacing for me as well. While it seemed true to the games to have nothing going on for a little while, it doesn’t work as well for the show. However, there was a hilarious moment where being bogged down by side quests was referenced. One entire episode (of eight) goes by without showing one of the four major protagonists, which I thought was a poor choice.

One of the four protagonists, Lucy’s brother Norm (Moises Arias), is inside a vault and is trying to discover its secrets. One of the best parts of any Fallout game was discovering what lay inside a vault and what experiment said vault was testing. Watching Norm access terminals and using his intermediate hacking skills was satisfying. It’s unfortunate then that this parallel narrative is left hanging in the balance, despite being one of the most authentic and enjoyable parts of the show. I wanted a more solid conclusion, but they seem to have left it for the next season.

I’ve used the words “authenticity” and “authentic” a few times because I want to reiterate the clear love for the game that I saw throughout much of the show. People in power armor yelling and running for their lives is what I spend half my time in Fallout doing, and they caught that. That armor doesn't make you invincible (but it does help). As a gamer, I loved it.

Then I considered it as a TV viewer. Still good, but there are some awkward dialogue choices that don’t feel natural. The romance doesn't feel great, and some of the things that the characters come across seem even more farfetched than the world would seemingly allow. But then someone gets impaled from a shot to the chest, and the camera pans down to see a baby doll’s leg sticking out. That’s what I’m talking about. That's Fallout.

The dirty word that was once “adaptation” seems to be slipping away into the darkness. With The Super Mario Bros. Movie, The Last of Us, and Castlevania among others, Fallout helps solidify the argument for using video games as a source material. While this initial season leaves a bit to be desired after the climax, it did have me yearning for more. I found that, despite some dragging segments, and that no one was called “smoothskin,” I was happy to watch multiple episodes in a row. When a derivative piece of work rekindles fond memories of your original experience with its source, you’ve done a good job. Now I just have to pretend that the Fallout games don’t exist so I can focus on my backlog.

The Math

Objective Assessment: 7.5/10

Bonus: +1 for authenticity, +1 for gruesome over-the-top violence that the series is known for; +0.5 for the soundtrack.

Penalties: −1 for some pacing issues, −1 for convenient hero happenstance.

Nerd Coefficient: 8/10

Posted by: Joe DelFranco - Fiction writer and lover of most things video games. On most days you can find him writing at his favorite spot in the little state of Rhode Island.