FALLOUT -- Video Game Adaptation is Epic, Entertaining, If a Bit Overstuffed

Review by Sean Boelman

The Fallout games are some of the most popular open-world games there are, giving the new Prime Video series plenty of room to explore. There’s clearly a ton of passion from everyone involved in the Fallout adaptation — from the writers to the cast and the directors — and it shows, allowing the series to be a fun, exciting dive into this familiar world, even if it bites off a bit more than it can chew.

Adapted from the iconic game series by Bethesda, Fallout explores a post-apocalyptic version of Los Angeles where survivors have formed different throngs to protect themselves. The show gives audiences the opportunity to see the world of the Wasteland from several perspectives, but this makes it feel a little unfocused and overambitious. 

The most interesting storyline is led by Walton Goggins (The Righteous Gemstones, The Hateful Eight), who plays a gunslinger Ghoul who used to be a beloved television star. This storyline works not only because it lends the project a heavy Western influence but also because it’s where most of the social commentary comes in. Through this storyline, the show explores its themes of social stratification before and after the apocalypse.

Unfortunately, the series seems much more interested in the storyline of the Vault Dweller Lucy, played by Ella Purnell (Army of the Dead), probably because this is the category through which most players would experience the game. Her arc is far less interesting — a fish-out-of-water storyline with a rescue mission. Purnell is charming enough but doesn’t hold a candle to Goggins.

The final of the three leads is Aaron Moten, who plays a newcomer to the Brotherhood of Steel. Of the three storylines, this one underwhelms despite having the most potential. The surface society gets far less development and exploration than the society formed in the Vaults, yet the surface is a much more interesting world to explore. 

There’s potential in the Vaults — a possibility of exploring these pockets as microcosms of society — but the show doesn’t quite get there. We do see glimpses of the Vault Dwellers that Lucy left behind to explore the world, but these feel like they primarily exist to set up future seasons of the show rather than explore the themes in their own right.

If this all feels a little disjointed, that’s because it is. However, showrunners Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner, along with the directors (a staff that includes Westworld creator Jonathan Nolan), are able to imbue the series with such a narrative momentum that it is easy to overlook some of the show’s narrative inconsistencies. And the retrofuturist world of the games is brought to life at such a massive scale that it’s fully immersive. 

Fallout may not reach its full potential as a thought-provoking sci-fi epic, but if you’re just looking for an entertaining adventure, the series delivers in that regard. Thanks to a committed cast and incredible production values, this is sure to be a hit despite its scattershot narrative.

Fallout streams on Prime Video beginning April 11. All eight episodes reviewed.

​Rating: 4/5