Fallout, a corporate irony...

I really don't know how to feel about this review. I don't know how I feel about the show I just watched, hopefully, this can help sort it out. The fact that it's Amazon that did made this show, somehow makes it worse. Not sure if they are telling us about how they will manage the apocalypse, if they are just providing entertainment at this point, or if we are the entertainment or both... Anyway, here's an honest review of "Fallout". 

That's right, grab your two headed cow, get all your Stem packs together, and finish off that "nuka-cola", then lets ride out into the atomic sunset together- This week I will be reviewing Amazon's "Fallout" series. Buckle up vault-dwellers, strap on yer' pip-boys and enjoy the show.

There is something to be said for the story telling and mastery thereof in certain video games, especially those made by old school "Bethesda". Some of the best story telling came from those early years. Stories that are right up there with the likes of Irrational Studios (formerly 2K Boston), such as "Bio-shock"- Which was epic! And, lets not forget "Bio-shock Infinite" (arguably one of the best video games ever made, and one of the best stories ever told). 

It was the week end, I had stuff to do, then I had to watch the dogs and the house while the wife dealt with a family emergency. Okay, so what do I do in the mean time? Well, I don't really have anything I want to watch or read for now. I'd love to go outside and breathe the fresh mountain air and enjoy the sun, but I was sitting inside while the wife takes care of important things. 

So I decided to check out the new Fallout show because back in the day, I loved me some "Fallout 3", back in the day, that game was my jam. I can't say the same for the show, although, it definitely has it's moments.

...This show, well it made me uncomfortable. I will explain this as I review it. The irony that it was made by Amazon did not miss my delicate sensibilities. It's not really that great of a show, it's entertaining, and it has it's moment, but as with most video games, it just wasn't as good as the games- numbers 1, 2, and 3 at least. I didn't play past number 3.  

So, how was it?

First off, Fallout is a unique franchise for a number of reasons. The first being that it contrasts the safe, nuclear family of the 1950s, culture included, with the post apocalyptic horror that most of us are on the verge of... er recognize. Between those who live in underground vaults stuck in a perpetual loop of apple pie and ice cream, and those who life in the "real world" where they are forced to make "ass-jerky" as it's called. This review does not come from the world of those who get to eat prepackaged meals, and fool around with their cousins. It does not come from those people pushing buttons from the safety of their impenetrable Petry-dish vault domiciles below. Nope, this review comes from the wasteland, where we get to see the mutant attic babies from the nuke crater. For those who have no idea what I was just saying, let me explain, and give you a rundown of the show.

Picture this- our world in crisis, more so than it is now, what kind of crisis? The post nuke blues of course; that's right, we blew our selves to kingdom come and all got tans under the mushroom clouds.  Everything is FUBAR, of the worst kind. This show is a strange amalgamation of the 50's and the not so distant dystopian future. A world of underground vaults where people live the good-ish life, and a life of unholy terror on the surface with the leftovers of the old world. 

The show follows three individuals as they search the apocalyptic wasteland for the ultimate solution to their world's crisis. None of them actually know what that is, all they know is that it's going to change everything. 

The first character is a Vault escapee, who left the vault to find her father who was kidnapped by raiders who somehow got into the vault. The second is an immortal rotting corpse called a ghoul who must juice up with zombie steroids to keep from going full-crazy. He knows far more about the world than the other characters because he is two hundred years old. Before the "end" he was somebody, he was an actor who played cowboys in the "picture-shows". And lastly there is a "squire" who works for a "knight" from the brotherhood of steel. He promptly takes the knights armor and parades around the wasteland trying to be a doo-gooder of the new generation. Lastly, is my favorite character of the show, (he's directly from video game), it's "Dog Meat", the baddest mutt in the wasteland. He's just the bee-knees, he's gosh-darned awesome, just to go full 1950s on you. 

Anyway, over the course of eight episodes, each 45 minutes long, these characters are slowly brought together to go on a quest to find the real bad guys who caused all the problems for another four seasons- most likely. They bond, get to know each other, and eat some "ass jerky".

This is the basics. There is nothing wrong with this plot, it's very safe and middle of the road. It's arc is alright and seems to do the job. The writers must have watched "Rings of Power" (also from Amazon) and thought: "Yeah no, lets not do that." However, here's the thing, the writers of Fallout had full rights to good source material. So, I expected this middle of the road approach, it's safe. 

The writing could easily be better, it lacks the "thumbs up" the video game had. Especially when it comes to dialogue. The dialogue is both on point in places and off putting in other places. Certain episodes nail it, and certain ones do not. This might be because each episode was written by a different person, it doesn't ruin the show, but it doesn't do it any favors either. It's so middle of the road that the writers missed the pitfalls and the rewards of good writing. They did the right thing- middle of the road.

The acting is better than the writing, which is good, because it helps when the actors do a good job with bad material. There are some exceptions in the show, the knight's squire for instance has some weak performances. I think the creators knew he was going to have to pull it together by the last episode of season 1, which he does, but only just. There are a lot of guest actors in this show, and for the most part, they do an amazing job with their parts. Just google the list and you might be surprised. Also, Walter Goggins as the ghoul, best choice ever. Other than that, the acting is good, if anything, this is one of those times when the actors cover up the average writing.

Before I move on, I need to address what you all want to know about, the cannon. Does the show do justice to the games? Here's the scoop. This show does follow some of the cannon of the games. It does have the same timeline, rules, and some of the same plot points. If you look closely though, there are some annoying issues with it's use of the material. I will leave that up to you- you know who you are, you superfans, I won't give you any spoilers.

There is a lot of action in this show. I mean, every episode makes use of some kind of action. There are mutants, there are raiders, there are giant finger-mouthed-salamanders, two headed cows, mechanized combat suits, undead killers, bounty hunters, the whole works. They spared no drop of blood in this show- it's gory and most likely needed cement trucks to mix the blood used in certain scenes. Yeah, action fans will not be disappointed with this show. At the same time, it is also well balanced and doesn't spend too much time severing body parts. It tells a story too. In the downtime between gunfights and explosions, it explains the right things at the right times. The writers spend time on explaining things as the story unfolds. For instance, it's at least five episodes before the ghoul is explained. This is one thing I appreciated about the show- it doesn't care that the audience doesn't know a damn thing about the Fallout world (for the most part), it's objective is to tell a better story and fill in the blanks as it moves forward. I appreciate that.

This leads me to the special effects and cinematography. Both are very solid. The special effects are a mix of practical and CGI. Some are really well done, like the "gulper", others could use some work but don't take away the impact the action scenes have. One thing I felt could have been done better was the power suit, the T-60 from the "brotherhood of steel" something about it bothered me. I am still trying to put my finger on it. Although it was super true to the games, there was something I didn't like about it. It just felt like it was 3D printed using really cheap plastic. Not sure. The rest was good, I liked the sets and the set pieces.

One thing I really liked about this show was the imagery used in the wide shots of the torn up, scarred landscapes of the wasteland and what was left of the old world. Some of them are stunning and very imaginative. They enhanced the show in a way I felt very appropriate to the material. 

Lastly, I have to say something about the sound-track to this show. This was one part that I knew was going to be crucial to it's success. I must admit the sound guys pulled it off well. Fallout is a world that diverged from 1950's American culture. It's a world that became stuck in that time period. The music is very particular to the world. The songs in the show were all those hits from that time. The time of the nuclear family, red scares, malt shops, apple pie, the lonely cow-poke movies, and "good ol' fashion family values". The music is a huge part of the atmosphere. Both the game and the show use songs from the era. The soundtrack to this show is "bang on" and it brings the ambiance with a fury, or an argyle sweater vest, a smoking pipe and slippers, and the thickest black rim glasses it could find. Golly-g-whiz its a company man all the way! Good job, sound guys! 

Now, the unnerving thing about this show... and also a spoiler, kind of.

There is an underlying theme in this show about the dangers of capitalism and blind ideology. In the show, companies have more power than they should, enough power to do what ever they want and change the world to meet their bottom line and fulfill their "fiduciary responsibility" to the stock-holders. That theme also points towards the idea that the world doesn't need leadership, or individual autonomy, it doesn't need rules or communication, it doesn't need government or participation, that, in a word, it needs "management". The largest corporations get together and plan the worlds end so that they can manage things to benefit the corporate entities and their interests, moving forward. In other words, the end is good for their fiscal plans, and okay for the rest of the world. When the world starts thinking for itself as it inherently does from time to time, when it gets out of line- those companies can hard reset and everyone goes back to the dark ages! 

Here's a question, is this Amazon's playbook for the future? Cause the irony of Amazon making and releasing this show, doesn't miss me for a hot second. Holy crap, someone either doesn't care about the optics, is tone-deaf, or just knows it's best for us... Take your pick, it's creepy in a way that gets my hairs up.

That aside, this show was pretty okay. It fit the bill for a show made from a video game. Very rarely is that achieved. Movies made from games are usually super bad, this one was good. All in all, I'd give it 8 of nuka-colas out of the ten, that's right an 80%. So a B+. I can't wait to see if that "Borderlands" movie coming out will be any better. 

Cheers!