Thoughts on a Fallout movie?

I think a lot of the treatment's pretty questionable. It makes the same kind of mistakes Bethesda does by focusing on and, glorifying the whole Pre-War aspect of the series, also who the fuck thought it was a good idea to have Vault-Tec be the ones to drop the bombs? What a stupid scenario.
 
The problem with films will always be simplifying things for the audience. Hence why so many video game movies are terrible.

Luckily for Bethesda, their version of Fallout is so simplified that they need not worry about what ever movie they eventually cook up being dumbed down.
 
I've always thought that Fallout should trend into other media forms.
I like the idea of a movie but I reckon a TV show would be more beneficial in the long term.
With the popularity of the post-apoc at the moment and the weight of the Fallout name, I could see a TV show be a success. Maybe even get its own Netlfix series which I wouldn't mind.

However, I would rather it take concepts and ideas from the game rather than be an adaptation themselves.
I think with an idea like Fallout, the possibilities of story telling are wide, especially outside being a game.
While I know most people would hate me for saying this, but a TV show centred around the life of the people in a place like Diamond City, exploring the politics and the struggle with defending themselves against all sorts of different threats could work.

In fact, I don't see how Fallout hasn't had a comic or series of novels published yet. As I've said before, Fallout is a vast universe, some of the events that Bethesda doesn't want to tell could easily be told in a different media format.

But, I do remember reading a few years ago that Todd doesn't want a TV series because he feels it doesn't fit his "Vision" of the series. If you ask me, this is a pretty lame reason not to miss an opportunity to explore more aspects of the World. I don't know if Bethesda are delusional or just plain stupid to be honest.
 
Earth said:
The problem with films will always be simplifying things for the audience. Hence why so many video game movies are terrible.

Luckily for Bethesda, their version of Fallout is so simplified that they need not worry about what ever movie they eventually cook up being dumbed down.
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Ah, I don't know, movies can have quite complex and deep storylines as well. I guess the issue is that most games have shitty storytelling to begin with, and if you move from a different medium to movies, like from books, you do already loose some quality. Honestly? Most games today don't impress me, not the same way as books or movies do, but the story in combination with the gameplay is what's doing the trick. Particularly AAA games are even more filled with cliches than movies.
I mean there are countless of books and movies out there that really challange you on some level. Most games these days, don't even try to create some kind of meta or tackling really difficult topics, like racism, slavery, violence/wars and such. If they try it, it's very often hammfisted approach, like in Dragon Age or well most Bethesda games, the few situations where they try to create a moral dillema.
 
Oh I agree that most video games are terrible when it comes to storytelling. I just think Fallout managed to be a really fun game with a memorable story that's kept weirdos like us on this site for years. There's just something, cinematic, about Fallout that I love, something that makes me think it would work great as a conventional film.

Movies can have deep storytelling but it's incredibly difficult convincing a producer to invest in any kind of science fiction venture, because it's almost always expensive. You'd need to be someone like Kubrick to get producers to trust you with their money. Then again, Fallout may be a well-known enough franchise to get money for a movie.
 
Most videogames do not translate well to movies. Making videogames that try to be like movies is where videogames go wrong in the first place.
 
As much as I'd love to see a show/movie, I wouldn't want Fallout to have "Bad Video Game Movie Syndrome"
 
I don't think a movie based on the game would be successful. The problem with games is that they are supposed to be interactive - as opposed to movie being narrative. "A movie based on a game" sounds as sensible as "dance based on a football match". OTOH a movie or TV series based on Fallout lore and with an original scenario could be really good. Some ideas:
  • The foundation of the Brotherhood of Steel. The whole way - from loyal soldiers guarding evil experimenters to the revolt and all events that followed. The motive revolves around the question - when morals start outweighing the loyalty and oath?
  • Life in one of those vaults that was just a cage with live test subjects for some experiment. With a final scenes including the escape of the protagonist (saving someone else in the process, like a family/family member) from the vault into the wasteland. As grim movie as, let's say, The Shawshank Redemption. Could have ended with either protagonist dying in the Wasteland (free) or him/her barely missing Enclave troopers opening the Vault and killing everyone inside.
  • The rise and fall of Caesar - his way from a curious youngster, raised by pacifists - to the most feared and bloodiest tyrant of the Wasteland. No black vs white simplicity, all colours of grey, etc, etc. In a spirit of the Hannibal Rising - how a bright, talented young man can become a monster (while still causing some sympathy).
 
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The more I think about it, the more I agree that a TV show would be better. It would give them more opportunity to explore and setup the background to how the world ended up the way it did. But, then again, a part of me hopes this never happens, given the track records of these kinds of movies.
 
Do you guys know, that there was a play of Deus Ex 1 ? At key points in the play, the audience was asked to make a choice on how the play should continue.
 
Video game movies are shit and totally unnecessary anyway. I don't see what the experience gains by becoming a film. Nuka Break wasn't bad until the second season.
 
AlphaPromethean said:
Video game movies are shit and totally unnecessary anyway. I don't see what the experience gains by becoming a film. Nuka Break wasn't bad until the second season.
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Video game movies are shit for the same reason comic book movies are shit for the same reason novel movies are shit.

A Fallout movie would need to be separate from the video games. Have an original story, and cut ties with everything related to the super mutants, the Brotherhood of Steel, NCR, Caesar's Legion, basically everything that we know and just stick to the basics of a post-apocalyptic, 50's aesthetic society.

Preferrably set somewhere we haven't visited yet, giving the audience something fresh that they can't judge on the basis of "IT'S NOT LIKE IN THE GAMES".

One way or another, I don't think Fallout would particularly translate well into the big screen, unless the movie doesn't take itself too serious.

And it would totally need to start with a closeup of the first area of Fallout 1, until we zoom out far enough to see some Vault Dwellers are playing the game, as hinted in the Survival Guide.
 
A slasher movie based around a caravan coming upon some death claws would be fun. Prolly add some other creatures in there for fun
 
IDK. I think they could easily cock it up and totally misinterpret what Fallout's about. Its not some michael bay blow it up farce, but it isn't an action romcom. I don't think it could be defined within a genre bracket like that. Usually game movies, excepting wow, wows different, tend to get low budgets and shitty CGI. I can imagine that happening. I think it should be on the west coast, because they could get more story outta that.
To be honest I think short movies are a better idea than long ones. Fallout Lanius is a good example
 
If there ever would be a Fallout movie, Randall Clark's story is the one I'd like to see filmed. I found myself much more invested in his terminal entries than the actual plot of Honest Hearts and I am sure I was not the only one to feel that way.
 
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