With a franchise stretching back to the Nineties and a dedicated fan base, the post-apocalyptic Fallout games seem like an obvious choice for a live action adaptation in some respects. But as anyone who has played through some of them can attest, there are a lot of complex moving parts that needed to be wrestled with in order to make a successful adaptation.
The show, developed by Westworld co-creators Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan (brother of Christopher), tells an original story within the same retro-futuristic world as the video game series; a land blown to smithereens by nuclear war, leaving behind a wasteland filled with survivors, a rather ominous military, and all sorts of radioactive beasts.
The show focuses on three very different lives that have been born out of the apocalypse, and their ambitions, which inevitably get in each other’s way. Lucy (Ella Purnell) is a ‘vault dweller’: that is, somebody who lives in a vast underground bunker known as a Vault, well away from any dangerous radiation or monsters. However, she is forced by dramatic circumstances to leave safety and venture outside.
Above ground, there’s Maximus (Aaron Moten), a lowly soldier in the ‘Brotherhood of Steel’ – the aforementioned self-appointed armed forces. Then there’s Cooper Howard (Walton Goggins), a former Hollywood actor who now roams the wasteland, transformed by radiation into a sinister Ghoul.
Each of these characters has more to them than meets the eye. Purnell nails her portrayal of the chipper yet naïve Lucy (whose lofty ideas are in for a rude awakening), while Aaron Moten’s Maximus is a surprisingly dark character, always torn between his ego and his ambition. And Goggin’s Ghoul has arguably the most tragic arc of the lot: condemned to an eternity of hell, his past is revealed to us via extended old-timey flashbacks.
The show also manages to capture the chaotic energy of the games, mining Fallout’s massive lore for inspiration. Action sequences with its cast of kooky monsters (the salamander-like Gulpers are a highlight) are a thrill to watch, and in certain moments, such as when Goggin’s pistol-wielding Ghoul meets Maximus (in his giant metal armour) for the first time, the show feels like a Hollywood blockbuster.
Fans of the game series will love it. This is about as close to a completely faithful adaptation that you could expect, showcasing everything from the various radioactive creatures to the familiar locations like vaults and desert towns. And the show reaffirms what the games already showed – that fictional violence can be very funny. Whether it’s the tribulations of learning how to operate wildly oversized metal armour, or a doll’s limb being used as a lethal projectile, there’s plenty of laughs to be had at misfortune in the wasteland.
However, this faithfulness to the games inevitably creates flaws. In this instance, the stress of keeping up with so many moving parts gives the whole show a distinctly frantic pace, that will likely leave newcomers feeling either confused or just exhausted.
But Fallout hits the landing well, and stands amongst some of the best video game adaptations out there. For fans, it’ll be catnip: who would have thought the apocalypse could be so enjoyable?
