'Fallout' review: Video game adaptation is a wild nuclear western

at any early stage fall outWith multiple flashbacks to the late 21st century, actor Cooper Howard (Walton Goggins) worries about the ending of the Western he's filming. Why does his character, a law-abiding sheriff, choose to shoot an outlaw instead of just arresting him?

“This is a new kind of Western,” the director explains.

fall out, based on Bethesda's best-selling video game franchise and created by Geneva Robertson Dworet and Graham Wagner, takes these words to heart. In the show's first scene, Cooper, dressed in a cowboy suit, desperately rides away on horseback from a billowing mushroom cloud that is engulfing Los Angeles. This is called the nuclear west.

But that's just the beginning of Western influence fall out He proudly wears his blue and yellow sleeves. Appropriately, he served as executive producer throughout the series. westworld” by Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan — We meet a group of tenacious bounty hunters, witness tense conflicts, and explore a vast wasteland inhabited by all kinds of dangerous factions. It is a world of giant cockroaches, eaten by giant cockroaches. fall out The film is at its best when it explores how weird, wild, and messed up this world can be.

what? fall out about?

Ella Purnell from Fallout.
Credit: Provided by Prime Video

To set the stage for a “new kind of western” fall out We need a “new” America. You will receive 2 pieces. First, he spends some time in flashbacks in America in 2077. It's a retro-futuristic vision to behold, with 50s aesthetics, advanced robotics, and Cold War paranoia all in one. But don't get too used to it! Soon, this United States, and the entire world, will face a global nuclear war.

Human civilization persists 219 years later in the form of isolated underground survival shelters known as Vaults, whose inhabitants hope to one day resettle on the world's surface. Among these his Vault dwellers are Hank MacLean (Kyle MacLachlan), the Overseer of Vault 33, and his daughter Lucy (yellow jacketElla Purnell)a young woman with a cheerier, more American disposition than the idyllic Nebraska cornfields projected on the walls of Vault 33.

But after the attack on Vault 33, Lucy's relentless pep talks took a nosedive. Despite warnings from her fellow Vault Dwellers, she takes it upon herself to come to the surface and try to rectify her situation. But the world she discovers on earth is completely different from anything she has ever been prepared for. It's filled with cannibals, mutant creatures, and people who have no understanding of Lucy's beloved Golden Rule: Treat others as you would like to be treated.

Here she meets Maximus (Aaron Moten), a member of the menacing Brotherhood of Steel, and Ghoul (Goggins), a bounty hunter who has lived for centuries with radioactive scars. Become.

fall out Great… in the end.

Aaron Moten in Fallout.
Credit: JoJo Whilden / Prime Video

It will take some time fall out You can actually click each piece of the series as it moves into place. The main entry points into the show's world are Vault 33 and the Brotherhood of Steel, and the tonal whiplash between these factions can be intense. Breaking down everything from Cousin the Vault's incest jokes and Jell-O-His Cake barrage to the Brotherhood of Steel's giant power armor and religious techno-fascism leaves you feeling like: fall out struggles to find its footing (especially when it comes to humor).

For the first time, Lucy and Maximus are truly away from home. fall out Throwing everything at us from a giant mutated axolotl to conspiracy-related decapitated heads and beloved canine companions. fall out game. The further Lucy and Maximus get away from their original companions, the funnier and freer the show becomes. This is definitely consistent with the next development. fall outWestern tendencies.

Many Westerns are about the evolution of an individual when faced with a completely new and rugged landscape. How can we change, run wild and succumb to our basic instincts to survive when faced with new frontiers? In Lucy's case, she struggles to hold fast to her principles, even when she realizes that she is heading into a dark place. (Fans of Parnell's role as Jackie) yellow jacket If you're Maximus, you might find yourself using a mission in the wilderness as an opportunity to completely rewrite yourself and take on an entirely new identity. yourself.

Walton Goggins plays the role of Ghoul. fall outwas noticeable.

Walton Goggins in Fallout.
Credit: Provided by Prime Video

The ghoul serves as the perfect foil for Lucy and Maximus, and Goggins brings a megaton of jaded charisma to his performance. fall outThe resident lone wolf, the prototype of Black Hat. While Lucy and Maximus are new to the wasteland, the ghouls have experienced it from the moment the bomb fell. He is a ghost of the past dragged into the dusty and wild present. A flashback to Ghoul's previous life as Cooper Howard reveals that he may have had more of a role in creation than previously thought.

In true Nolan and Joy style, fall out it's not just A nuclear western. It's also a bit of a mystery box. While the ghouls have their own troubled pasts, Vault 33 also has some fun intrigue. Lucy's bratty younger brother, Norm (Moises Arias), is investigating a security breach that led to his father's kidnapping. By bragging about his game, Loyal reveals things that can shock and awe and even blind his fans. fall out The mystery proves satisfying without overstaying its welcome.

These mysteries and fall outIts full embrace of the western genre speaks to a solid approach to adapting such a vast and beloved video game series. fall out. Rather than translating the story of a particular game, the show uses game settings, character archetypes, and a variety of genres (including westerns, of course) to create something original and completely original. I am. fall out. Sure, there may be a few bumps in the road on this televised journey through the wilderness, but it's still a fun journey.

all episodes of fall out It will premiere on Prime Video on April 10th at 9pm ET.

Updated: April 11, 2024, 1:31 PM EDT A previous version of this article stated that Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy created “Fallout.” This article has been updated to reflect that the actual producers are Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner, with Nolan and Joy serving as executive producers.