A Darkly Funny and Hyperviolent Post-Apocalyptic Tale
Summary
I believe fans of the Fallout games are pleased with this show for the most part; as I’m not familiar with the games then I just enjoyed the show for what it was as it felt unique with plenty of dark humour, moments of graphic violence and genuinely compelling characters. Walton Goggins is at his absolute best here as one of the most interesting anti-heroes I’ve seen for some time.
Plot: 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.
Review: I have to give my usual disclaimer here and say I’ve never played any of the Fallout games and know nothing of the lore behind them, so this review is based purely on the new TV series on Prime.
Set in a post-apocalyptic future (is there any other kind?), Fallout asks various moral questions like does war ever change? As well as exploring ethics (or lack thereof) with big corporations. At least that’s what I got from it, but there’s a lot going on.
I wouldn’t necessarily call this an action show as there are several episodes that have little to no action scenes, but what we do get is usually hyperviolent and tinged with lots of dark humour.
The Knights look totally badass and we get a few cool set-pieces with them, especially a battle in a small town which was a highlight. We get a few crazy looking mutant creatures which is always fun and I find the earlier episodes had more action with the final few being more about the characters and story.
Walton Goggins is one of my favourite actors working today and he of course steals the entire show as The Ghoul bounty hunter who was formally a cowboy in the movies. He dances on the edge of being an all-out villain but also a likeable rogue, so we can’t help but like him no matter what he does. The make-up is fantastic and disturbing, making him difficult to look at which is obviously the point.
Ella Purnell plays one of the most appealing protagonists I’ve seen in a TV series for some time as Lucy. She brings a naivete to the character who has been a “vault dweller” her whole life but she is forced to go above ground when her father (Kyle McLachlan) is kidnapped by raiders. She crosses paths with Maximus (Aaron Moten) and they make their way over the Wastelands trying to deliver an item which could save or destroy what’s left of mankind.
I’ll say nothing else regarding the story as I don’t want to spoil anything, but I did have a good time with this series and every character has their own story to tell. Few people are truly good or bad and they are all basically just trying to survive in what’s left of the world. It’s certainly never boring, but it might be a bit too out there for some tastes as a few moments had me saying “WTF?”
It’s certainly open for a season 2 which I believe is now in development and I’ll be there as I have to see what’s going to happen next with these characters as I’ve grown quite fond of them.
One thing I do know is that all the 50’s music was a part of the games as I have at least seen some of the commercials, but I did find it a little repetitive after a while. I know that’s probably blasphemy for fans of the games but there you go.
Overall, Fallout is unlike anything I’ve really seen before with a lot of very weird moments but an incredible turn from Walton Goggins who is the true star of the show. The rest of the cast are all excellent as well with Lucy and Maximus making for an appealing duo. The last few episodes don’t have too much in the way of big set-pieces but there is enough to keep things moving and the story is engaging enough that I’ll be there for season 2 when it comes.