Fallout Review

Description: In a future, post-apocalyptic Los Angeles brought about by nuclear decimation, citizens must live in underground bunkers to protect themselves from radiation, mutants and bandits.

First off, aside from a few minor issues, Fallout looks amazing. Every weapon, location, and Nuka Cola bottle looks straight out of the game. The areas feel abandoned but simultaneously lived in, full of little scoundrels… and as if they have seen the passage of time for several hundred years. In general, like the Fallout games, this whole world is based on contrast – everything is dead, but everywhere is full of people – the world is cruel but at the same time ridiculously stupid. Serious and silly are almost the same word here. The acting is stellar, and surprise, the actors actually know about the project they’re working on. Which is rare these days in mainstream Hollywood. The action scenes are shot and acted very well, and the music, eh, Fallout music, will always be in my heart…

So, the key to any game adaptation is how well you… well… adapt the game. If I can sit there and make a Leonardo Dicaprio meme every 5 minutes where I snap at the screen saying, oh, this is from Fallout 3, oh, Mr. House from New Vegas, oh, T-60 armor from part 4. It’s full of it here, and doing almost everything with practical effects creates the perfect illusion of a breathing, living world. But just throwing 3 thousand things you know in your face is not enough – you need to understand them and logically put them in their places. How did that work out? Well, even if there are a few missed shots, I feel that the creators not only respected the Fallout property but probably played it themselves… Although this season feels more like preparation for what to come – which should be much more difficult in its own moral issues and plot twists to adapt. Well, fingers crossed.

Well, let’s be fair and square – if you are not a fan of the Fallout games, then the story itself and the ending may not mean anything – just some imagery. This is understandable because it is an adaptation specifically for fans. However, the world itself could have been expanded more in some places. A large part of the drama is based on the fact that you know what is happening in other parts of the world or just general Fallout lore. This hurts the most when a large amount of time is devoted to silly, smaller stories and characters. Fallout tries to convey the tone through its main characters, and the world-building can feel like it’s in the 3rd or 4th place. Also, the series does not always hit the mark – some scenes are overdone or simply too stupid, and others seem like they wouldn’t have happened if the characters hadn’t read the script themselves. And yes, the Fallout universe is ironically comically depressing… but a couple of scenes at the end felt more silly than ironic. The juxtaposition between serious and silly just breaks sometimes.