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The Fallout

2021, Drama, 1h 32m

What to know

Critics Consensus

Empathetic and well-acted, The Fallout uses the aftermath of teen trauma to grapple with the experience of grief. Read critic reviews

Audience Says

The Fallout is a sad but powerful movie that deals with some serious themes in a way that feels heartbreakingly real. Read audience reviews

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Watch The Fallout with a subscription on Max, or buy it on Prime Video, Vudu, Apple TV.

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The fallout photos.

Bolstered by new friendships forged under sudden and tragic circumstances, high schooler Vada (Jenna Ortega) begins to reinvent herself, while re-evaluating her relationships with her family, friends and her view of the world. Moving away from her comfortable family routine, she starts taking chances with a series of quicksilver decisions that test her own boundaries and push her in new directions. As she spends more time with Mia (Maddie Ziegler), they grow closer, and Vada slowly redefines herself through their shared experiences, leading her further away from that day and closer to living her life in the now. "The Fallout" is a compelling exploration of the inexplicable resiliency of life and the hope that emerges out of loss.

Rating: R (Teen Drug and Alcohol Use|Language Throughout)

Genre: Drama

Original Language: English

Director: Megan Park

Producer: Shaun Sanghani , Todd Lundbohm , David Brown , Rebecca Miller , Cara Shine , Joannie Burstein , Giulia Prenna

Writer: Megan Park

Release Date (Streaming): Jan 27, 2022

Runtime: 1h 32m

Production Co: SSS Entertainment, SSS Film Capital, Clear Horizon

Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

Cast & Crew

Jenna Ortega

Vada Cavell

Maddie Ziegler

Niles Fitch

Quinton Hasland

Nick Feinstein

Carlos Cavell

Julie Bowen

Patricia Cavell

Shailene Woodley

Lumi Pollack

Amelia Cavell

Christine Horn

Mrs. Victor

Shaun Sanghani

Todd Lundbohm

David Brown

Rebecca Miller

Joannie Burstein

Giulia Prenna

Christina Lundbohm

Executive Producer

Mark Andrews

Stephanie Denton

Colin Bates

Andrew Carlberg

Matthew Helderman

Kristen Correll

Cinematographer

Jennifer Lee

Film Editor

Original Music

Justin Dragonas

Production Design

Tasha Goldthwait

Costume Design

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‘The Fallout’ Review: The Unexpected Effects of Trauma

Jenna Ortega stars as a teenager coping with the aftermath of a school shooting in this grounded and compassionate look at adolescent grief.

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By Claire Shaffer

Jenna Ortega has a star-making turn in “The Fallout,” a high school drama that explores a teenager’s emotional turmoil following a school shooting.

The film conjured up by that sentence may sound maudlin, preachy or, frankly, unoriginal, but what this debut feature from Megan Park gets right is how painfully awkward and strange the effects of trauma can often be, especially when experienced by a group of adolescents. Ortega portrays Vada, a self-proclaimed “chill” 16-year-old who, during the shooting, finds herself hiding in the bathroom with fellow students Mia (Maddie Ziegler) and Quinton (Niles Fitch). This shared experience leads Vada to form intense and confusing relationships with both of them, even as she grows distant from her parents (Julie Bowen and John Ortiz), her younger sister, Amelia (Lumi Pollack), and her best friend, Nick (Will Ropp), who channels his trauma into activism and doesn’t understand why Vada wouldn’t do the same.

Ortega nails her role as a levelheaded teen who, nevertheless, is still a teen, reeling from an unthinkable event on top of the usual growing pains. Her impulsive, bizarre and, yes, even funny outbursts as she tries to reckon with the shooting paint a grounded and compassionate picture of adolescent grief. Her onscreen chemistry with Fitch and especially Ziegler strikes that same delicate balance, as do Vada’s conversations with her school therapist (a briefly seen but very good Shailene Woodley).

Park emphasizes the realism with her low-key yet stylish direction, ranging from small details (a Black Lives Matter sign hanging in a suburban window) to poetic shots that highlight how much the film is centered on the Gen Z experience (two teens wearing face masks and smoking blunts in a hot tub; a girl practicing a TikTok dance while her sister texts in the foreground). As one might expect from a work that revolves around coping with current events, not everything in Vada’s life has been neatly resolved by the film’s conclusion. After all, trauma never really goes away; it grows and evolves, just like the people who carry it.

The Fallout Rated R for swearing and teen alcohol and drug use. Running time: 1 hour 32 minutes. Watch on HBO Max .

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Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, mission: impossible - fallout.

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Great action movies develop a rhythm like no other genre. Think of the way the stunts in “ Mad Max: Fury Road ” become a part of the storytelling. Think of how “ Die Hard ” flows so smoothly from scene to scene, making us feel like we’re right there with John McClane. Think of the dazzling editing of “ Baby Driver ” and the way it incorporates sound design, music, and action into a seamless fabric that’s toe-tapping. It’s obviously incredible praise to say that “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” reminds me of these films. It’s got that finely-tuned, perfect blend of every technical element that it takes to make a great action film, all in service of a fantastic script and anchored by great action performances to not just work within the genre but to transcend it. This is one of the best movies of the year.

For the first time in this franchise, director Christopher McQuarrie has made what is basically a direct sequel to the previous film, “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.” Wasting absolutely no time, “Fallout” drops viewers into the narrative, getting the important details out of the way so the action can get started. So many action movies spend forever with monologuing villains and extensive set-ups. But there’s no fat on this movie, even early on, where action so often takes too long to get to the “good stuff,” and definitely not late when the movie is intense enough to leave you exhausted.

A group called the Apostles wants to create chaos. That’s really all you need to know. They have a belief that suffering leads to peace, and so it’s time to unleash the pain. They have been working with someone clearly on the inside at IMF code-named John Lark and have conspired to obtain weapons-grade plutonium to create three dirty bombs. Ethan Hunt ( Tom Cruise ) has to get the plutonium back, but there’s a ghost haunting him in the form of Solomon Lane ( Sean Harris ), the villain from the last film who Hunt left alive instead of killing. The head of the Syndicate has been passed around intelligence agencies, looking for information on the IMF Agent-killing group, but he’s also a part of this new plot to end the world.

As the movie opens, Hunt is tasked by his boss Alan Hunley ( Alec Baldwin ) to go to Paris to find John Lark before he buys the plutonium. He is handed a sidekick by Alan’s superior Erica Sloan ( Angela Bassett ) in the form of the brutish August Walker ( Henry Cavill ). Sloan isn’t sure she trusts Hunt or Hunley, and so wants one of her own men on the crucial mission, someone she knows will do whatever it takes to complete the mission. There’s a thematic undercurrent through “Fallout” as to how much one should be willing to sacrifice for the greater good—the classic spy flick question of killing someone you love to save the lives of millions you don’t (it’s the action movie equivalent of “The Trolley Problem”). The implication is that Hunt is too protective of those he loves, while Walker loves no one, and the movie vacillates in fascinating ways as to which modus operandi is better for a super-spy. Hunt is even described as the ‘scalpel’ to Walker’s ‘hammer.’

This dynamic duo heads to Paris—and are joined before long by familiar faces like Luther ( Ving Rhames ), Benji ( Simon Pegg ) and Ilsa ( Rebecca Ferguson )—and, well, things get deadly fast. “Fallout” is one of those excellent action movies that works whether you pay attention to the plot or not. It is one of the most streamlined and fast-paced films in Hollywood history, moving from one set piece to the next. Don’t worry. There’s a plot. And it’s actually an interesting one that feels both timeless and current in the way that it plays with loyalty and identity. But McQuarrie and Cruise are keenly aware that they can’t lean too heavily on the plot or people will lose interest. We don’t need speeches. And so the dramatic stakes of the set-up are pretty much enough. Nuclear bombs, a double agent or two, a homicidal mastermind—now go!

And, man, does “Fallout” go. Roughly seven of the ten best action sequences of the year will be from this film. There’s a wonderful diversity in action styles too from a skydiving nightmare to a car chase to, of course, a “Run Tom!” scene to the already-famous helicopter sequence. All of them feature an intensity of movement that we hardly see in action movies anymore. Critics have already compared the film to “Fury Road” and I think that’s why—the fluidity of motion that you see in both films. The great cinematographer Rob Hardy (“ Annihilation ”) and editor Eddie Hamilton (who did the last movie as well) have refined the action here with McQuarrie in such a perfect way. We rarely lose the geography of scenes—which is so common in bad action—and often feel like we’re falling, speeding, or running with Hunt. The audience I saw it with was gasping and nervously laughing with each heart-racing sequence. See this one with a crowd. And as big as you can (some of the footage was shot in IMAX, and it’s worth the upcharge).

“Fallout” isn’t the kind of film one often gets pumped for in regard to performance, but even those are better than average here. It’s fascinating to see how Cruise is finally allowing his age to show a little bit, especially in early scenes with Cavill, who looks like a tougher, stronger model of Ethan Hunt. Cruise's latest version of Hunt stumbles a few times and his punches don’t land with the force of Walker’s. It instills more relatability in a character who would have been less interesting as a superhuman spy. And the supporting cast is uniformly strong, especially Cavill and Rebecca Ferguson, who has the screen charisma of someone who really should be a superstar by now. Let’s make that happen.

It’s easy to get cynical at the movies. With eight sequels in the top ten last week, more and more people see the Hollywood machine as just that, something that spits out product instead of art or even entertainment. Perhaps the best thing I can say about “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” is that it destroys cynicism. It truly does what so many people have looked for in entertainment for over a century—a chance for real-world worries to take a back seat for a couple hours. You’ll be too busy worrying how Ethan Hunt is going to get out of this one to care about anything outside the theater. It's a rare action movie that can do that so well that you not only escape but walk out kind of invigorated and ready to take on the world. “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” is one of those movies.

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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Mission: Impossible - Fallout movie poster

Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

Rated PG-13

147 minutes

Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt

Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust

Vanessa Kirby as White Widow

Henry Cavill as August Walker

Michelle Monaghan as Julia Meade-Hunt

Angela Bassett as Erica Sloan

Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn

Alec Baldwin as Alan Hunley

Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell

Sean Harris as Solomon Lane

Christopher McQuarrie

Director of Photography

Eddie Hamilton
Lorne Balfe

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Screen Rant

The fallout review: jenna ortega stuns in deftly handled school shooting drama.

Enriched by a profound performance from Ortega, The Fallout is a nuanced take on tragedy that focuses on the difficult question of what comes after.

Mere weeks after surviving multiple encounters with Ghostface in Scream , Jenna Ortega stands as the survivor of another tragedy - this time, a far too real one - in Megan Park's directorial debut The Fallout . After winning accolades at last year's virtual South by Southwest festival, The Fallout arrives on HBO Max today, where it will surely find a wider audience drawn in by Ortega's rising star power and the timely subject matter. It can be easy to assume a film about a school shooting is exploitative and has nothing new to say, but in Park's capable hands, this movie is far more than an after school special. Enriched by a profound performance from Ortega, The Fallout is a nuanced take on tragedy that focuses on the difficult question of what comes after.

The film begins with 16-year-old Vada (Ortega) having a perfectly normal day. She's late for school, she sings in the car alongside her best friend Nick (Will Ropp), and she lends comfort to her younger sister Amelia (Lumi Pollack) when she unexpectedly gets her first period. However, while talking to popular classmate Mia (Maddie Ziegler) in the bathroom, Vada's life is turned upside down when an active shooter targets her school. Though she emerges physically unscathed, Vada is left a shell of herself in the wake of the tragedy, unable to move on. As she forms a deeper connection with Mia, Vada struggles to cope with her changed world.

Related: All HBO Max Original Shows & Movies Releasing In 2022

Right from the outset, Park makes a smart decision and keeps the shooting offscreen. Instead of witnessing the bloodshed, viewers are kept inside a cramped bathroom stall with Vada and Mia as gunshots and screams sound all around them. The sequence is the hardest to watch in The Fallout , yet at no point does Park do anything to sensationalize the experience, even when a third student (Niles Fitch's Quinton) who has seen the tragedy joins them. Cinematographer Kristen Correll stays tight on the characters, letting their horror seep into the outside world. If that sounds overwhelming, that's because it is, but potential audience members shouldn't be put off by it; Park focuses on the actual events of the shooting only long enough to make viewers understand Vada's actions for the rest of The Fallout .

Because while she doesn't see anything or even really knows any of the victims, Vada is irreparably changed by her experience. She spends long periods in bed, either pretending to sleep or mindlessly scrolling through her phone. Her family struggles to get through to her, especially her mother (Julie Bowen) and Amelia. Vada drifts away from Nick, who is suddenly passionate about activism, and bonds with Mia and, on a slightly lesser level, Quinton. As T he Fallout settles into Vada's new normal, it becomes almost plotless in how it merely follows its leading character's grief. At the same time, Park's refusal to rush Vada's recovery lends the story a deeper weight. Trauma is messy, and heavy, and it leaves no easy answers. The same can be said for The Fallout , which doesn't always probe deeply into Vada's actions, but also doesn't need to. As shown through a couple of therapy scenes with Park's former Secret Life of the American Teenager co-star Shailene Woodley, Vada doesn't know how to process her emotions, and she doesn't actually want to.

All of this would fall apart without an actress capable of handling every single emotion that Vada experiences. The Fallout excels in large part because of Ortega, who shoulders the heavy subject matter with grace and scrapes herself raw with this performance. One particularly affecting moment — perhaps second to only the gut -punch ending — sees Vada in therapy slowly coming to terms with what happened. Correll's camera is close on Ortega's face, allowing the actress to gradually and effectively express Vada's feelings not only through her words, but through her expressions as well. Ortega is undoubtedly the MVP of The Fallout , but Bowen and Pollack are also standouts. Pollack in particular really shows up for a later scene between Amelia and Vada that proves to be the beating heart of the film. As the ostensible secondary lead, Ziegler, known to many as one of the child stars of Dance Moms , plays the part of Mia well. However, Mia's characterization is lacking somewhat, making it one of the weaker parts of The Fallout and Park's screenplay. Nevertheless, the relationship between her and Vada is sweet in its development, and perfectly shows how difficult circumstances create an understanding outsiders can never hope to replicate.

The Fallout will be characterized by many as a school shooting movie, and while that qualifier isn't exactly off the mark, it doesn't encapsulate all that Park has managed to convey here. It revolves around a school shooting, yet it barely mentions the shooter and only takes a handful of seconds to consider his motivations. That isn't important. What is important is how the survivors are affected by it and how they move on. Grief and trauma don't provide easy answers and The Fallout doesn't either. But it does take viewers on a poignant journey right alongside its heroine. It can be heavy, but it can also hold moments of humor and joy. For those not completely worn down by the all-too-real tragedies on the news, The Fallout is worth a watch.

More: Watch The Fallout Trailer

The Fallout is now streaming on HBO Max. It is 96 minutes long and rated R for language throughout, and teen drug and alcohol use.

Key Release Dates

The fallout.

The Fallout is a surprisingly restrained drama about the aftermath of a school shooting

A strong handle on tone makes megan park’s debut a january sleeper gem.

Some achieve teen angst, and some have teen angst thrust upon them. In less-fortunate cases, a pivotal trauma can jump-start a young person’s maturation by challenging their base assumptions about a world no longer handling their innocence with kid gloves. Holden Caulfield turned bitter upon losing his brother. Lindsay Weir dabbled in atheism after her grandmother announced that she saw nothing in her final moments. And in The Fallout , Canadian actor Megan Park’s well-measured first feature as a writer and director, a school shooting triggers a model student’s rebellious phase.

Well-meaning zoomer Vada (Jenna Ortega, going places) has kept her head down and nose to the grindstone all her life, her idea of bad behavior limited to risking tardiness for some Starbucks before class. But when the notion that we could go at any moment transforms from an abstract to a horrifying reality, she’s moved to reassess her priorities. If every day might be your last, who would use it to memorize cell organelle functions?

We experience the semiautomatic rampage as she does, trapped in a bathroom stall for a few unbearable minutes near the top of the film. Through sheer chance, she shares her hiding spot with lower-tier TikTok star Mia ( Dance Moms alumna and Sia affiliate Maddie Ziegler) and the sensitive Quinton (Niles Fitch). Aside from a general disapproval of the frequency with which this nightmare plays out in reality, Park keeps the politics to a dull rumble in the distance. She’s more invested in these kids’ personal, imperfect pathways forward through a thicket of grief.

There is a human toll beyond the death count, she submits, in how survivors reassess their lives and struggle to recognize themselves during the intimate hell of the aftermath. The Fallout makes this point without histrionics, speaking through little details of character while confining the maudlin stuff to a pair of scenes near the end. “I’m a chill, low-key kind of person,” Vada tells the therapist (Shailene Woodley) her parents have requested she sees. The movie is low-key, too—a winning approach to such delicate subject matter.

With a firm handle on tone, Park skirts the pitfalls of bad taste one might expect from a film that uses mass violence as a narrative device for a coming-of-age plot. In the first sign of her restraint, she gives the carnage a wide berth by leaving it as unseen noise, without the faintest whiff of the morbid fascination that still haunts the reputation of Gus Van Sant’s Elephant . She conveys the intense pain that’s left Vada numb through gestures closer to the banality and ritual humiliation of high school. On her first day back, Vada can’t bring herself to return to the lavatory without an anxious panic, and must hastily chart an escape route after pissing herself. Getting high on ecstasy between periods moves her to gnaw on a pen until it explodes in her mouth. Park understands that agony doesn’t preclude comedy, but rather accentuates the absurdity Vada’s never noticed before.

The core of the film is Vada’s gravitation toward Mia despite their differing social strata, as they form a bond over their shared tragedy. “Popular hottie and bookworm learn to see each other as more than stereotypes” could’ve been dreadful stuff, but Park’s credible, unforced dialogue enriches the afternoons these girls share. (There’s no overstating the benefit teen films reap by accepting an R rating, allowing their characters to talk like kids actually talk today.) Unfortunately, the naturalism of Ortega and Ziegler’s performances does have the adverse effect of accentuating the phonier bits of drama, like Vada’s literal screaming into the void with Dad (John Ortiz) or her tension with the gay BFF (Will Ropp) restyling himself as a David Hogg type in the wake of tragedy. The twerpy li’l sister (Lumi Pollack) seems to have wandered in here from another, broader script.

Even so, it’s a shame that The Fallout has received a little-promoted streaming run in the dead days of January. Park’s got chops, and her work shows that off without drawing too much attention to them. She knows how to assemble and hold a wide shot, and use creative editing to condense visual information. (Eliding the funerals and instead piling up shots of In Memoriam cards in a small box is one such stroke of inspiration.) Moreover, she’s got something to say about Gen Z, a wave of adolescents staving off the nihilism they have every reason to adopt. On a dying planet, risking life and limb every time they walk into homeroom, they can find refuge only in each other.

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‘The Fallout’ Review: Megan Park Takes the Pulse of a Shell-Shocked Generation

The 'Secret Life of the American Teenager' actor returns to high school (this time as writer-director) with a powerful drama about how three classmates are bonded by tragedy.

By Peter Debruge

Peter Debruge

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Where previous generations preferred neatly resolved stories, embracing films that reassured them that everything was under control, Gen Z movies aren’t afraid to leave things messy, as if to say it’s OK to feel overwhelmed. The same goes for television offerings such as “Euphoria” and “I May Destroy You,” which recognize that the world is a complex, flawed and deeply unfair place. Rather than sitting back and letting the more proactive, goal-oriented protagonists of classical Hollywood work out their problems, they invite audiences to see themselves on-screen, or else to identify with imperfect people.

Megan Park ’s stellar feature debut, respectful how-to-deal drama “ The Fallout ,” marks yet another important step in this direction — away from story toward state of mind — a precedent for which can be found in mood-centric indies like “Garden State” and “Donnie Darko” almost two decades earlier. It’s a remarkable accomplishment: a film with the confidence to pose big questions, and the humility to leave them unanswered. If you can manage to see “The Fallout” without knowing what’s in store, that’s almost certainly the most effective way to experience it. (Spoilers will follow.)

After setting up what feels like just another high school movie, in which low-key rebel Vada ( Jenna Ortega ) and gay best friend Nick (Will Ropp) joke around en route to their morning classes, Park shocks us with a school shooting. The idea isn’t to trigger the audience but to show how a seemingly ordinary student like Vada can be destabilized by such an event.

Vada has just gotten an urgent text from her younger sister, Amelia (Lumi Pollack, whose child-actor precocity suggests Ariel Winter from ABC’s “Modern Family”), freaking out about her first period. Vada excuses herself from class and heads to the bathroom, where super-popular Mia (dancer Maddie Ziegler ) is doing her makeup, when the first shots echo through the hallway.

Without hesitating, Vada beckons Mia into a bathroom stall, and they both climb up on the toilet to hide their feet from view. Another student — Quinton (Niles Fitch), covered in blood — barges in, and as soon as the other two are certain he’s not the shooter, they reach out and invite him into their hiding place. The camera hovers above the stall as the three hold their breath in a tense huddle. This moment of shared panic offers a bonding opportunity even “The Breakfast Club” can’t match, as the diverse trio attempts to process what has happened.

Vada doesn’t want to return to school, whereas the event ignites something in her friend Nick, who’d been so jokey in the earlier scene but now finds his purpose: He steps up and starts a campaign to ensure “this never happens again.” While Nick’s initiative is admirable, Vada’s reaction feels more plausible. She remains mostly numb, relating only to Mia and Quinton, and even then, each clearly has a slightly different way of coping — or not coping, as the case may be.

As both writer and director of “The Fallout,” former “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” actor Park has drawn important lessons from that show, which dealt with serious young-adult issues head-on. She insists on casting teens who look like real teens, as opposed to late-20s poseurs. When they speak, their personalities are convincingly their own (Ortega in particular seems to have found her voice). There’s no temptation to out-Diablo Cody other teen movies. Not that there’s anything wrong with whippersnapper repartee. It’s just that such dialogue inevitably calls attention to itself, whereas Park doesn’t want to undermine her film’s disconcerting subject matter.

Adolescents ought to take school safety for granted, but when an event like this erupts, how can anything go back to normal? On one hand, Vada wrestles with survivor’s guilt, while on the other, school itself now seems borderline unbearable. In a comical scene Park wisely doesn’t take too far, Vada opts to take ecstasy on one of her first days back in class.

To some, Vada’s situation may seem like a relic of a pre-coronavirus world, and yet, the movie’s underlying mental health concerns transfer over to issues real teens face coping with the pandemic — especially Vada’s efforts to rebuild social connections outside school when nothing matters the way it did before. Withholding judgment while depicting adolescence in an honest way, “The Fallout” allows Vada to fumble and make mistakes. Lying to her parents (Julie Bowen and John Ortiz, both credibly supportive and concerned), Vada sneaks out to misbehave with Mia.

Far more than the mean-girl stereotype she might have seemed at first glance, Mia has more than 80,000 followers on Instagram but no one paying attention to her at home. (Text messaging, TikTok and other means of digital communication factor without making the film feel instantly dated.) Together, the traumatized teens act out with drugs, alcohol and sexual experimentation, determined either to feel something or to obliterate all sensation.

Whereas Mia’s folks are away when the shooting happens (and weirdly never resurface), Vada’s mom and dad are neither the source of her distress nor appropriately equipped to solve it. They want to respect their daughter’s boundaries, but ultimately decide to send her to a therapist (played by Shailene Woodley, Park’s “Secret Life” co-star, now nearly 30 and a smart choice for the role, coming across more as peer than parent). In two impactful scenes, the counselor gives Vada a chance to be vulnerable, pushing past the emotional shield her sarcasm provides.

That’s Park’s instinct as well, countering the ironic aloofness of recent indie films with sincerity. The director (who helmed Billie Eilish’s “Watch” and a handful of other hyper-stylized music videos) dials back many of the techniques that might put distance between her characters and the audience. Her goal isn’t to “fix” Vada by the end, but to set her on the course to recovery, which pays off in a triptych of terrific scenes — with her mother, father and kid sister — before the movie’s gut-punch ending. Instead of putting a bow on what’s come before, “The Fallout” validates our uncertainty, as if to say: It’s OK to be scared. You’re not alone.

Reviewed at SXSW Film Festival (online), March 13, 2021, Los Angeles. Running time: 92 MIN.

Production: A Clear Horizon, SSS Entertainment presentation, in association with SSS Film Capital, 828 Media Capital, Good Pals, Mind the Gap Prods. (World sales: ICM Partners, Los Angeles.) Producers: David Brown, Shaun Sanghani, Rebecca Miller, Cara Shine, Joannie Burstein, Todd Lundbohm, Giulia Prenna.
Crew: Director, writer: Megan Park. Camera: Kristen Correll. Music: Finneas.
With: Jenna Ortega, Maddie Ziegler, Niles Fitch, Will Ropp, Lumi Pollack, John Ortiz, Julie Bowen, Shailene Woodley.

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The fallout, common sense media reviewers.

Poignant drama shows impact, aftermath of school shooting.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Feeling grief is an emotionally draining process,

Vada and Mia develop a friendship after experienci

Vada and her father, both main characters, are pla

Sounds of a school shooting, including gunshots an

Vada and Mia have sex; no more than kissing is sho

Strong language includes "f--k," "s--t," "bitch,"

Scenes with drinking and drug use by teens.

Positive Messages

Feeling grief is an emotionally draining process, and it requires empathy and compassion to get through. Communicating your feelings can help you make sense of tough emotions.

Positive Role Models

Vada and Mia develop a friendship after experiencing a traumatic experience together. Since they both understand what the other has gone through, they're able to show each other compassion and empathy and communicate their emotions to each other. Vada also realizes that she needs to figure out how to better communicate to her family and friends.

Diverse Representations

Vada and her father, both main characters, are played by actors of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent. There's also LGBTQ+ representation among the teen characters and their families (same-sex romantic relationships, a two-dad family, etc.). And it's notable that Nick's storyline isn't about his sexuality but rather about how he uses his grief to fuel change via activism. That said, Quinton falls into a "strong Black character" cliche: He suffers the most from the tragedy of having lost his brother, but he appears to have been affected the least.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Sounds of a school shooting, including gunshots and screaming. Scenes with blood.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Vada and Mia have sex; no more than kissing is shown. Vada kisses Quinton in another scene.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Strong language includes "f--k," "s--t," "bitch," and "oh my God."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Fallout is a poignant, intense drama about a diverse group of teens experiencing grief after going through the trauma of a school shooting. Mature content includes drug use and drinking by teens, strong language ("f--k," "s--t," and more), kissing, implied sex, sounds of gunshots and screaming, and some blood. Themes include the importance of empathy, communication, and compassion. Because the film includes scenes that represent a school shooting in progress, teens may find it upsetting; be sure to talk to them about the feelings it raises. Jenna Ortega and Maddie Ziegler co-star. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

Parents say (7)
Kids say (31)

Based on 7 parent reviews

AWSOME FOR KIDS

Solid acting, diverse cast in realistic film based on a school shooting, what's the story.

In THE FALLOUT, Vada Cavell ( Jenna Ortega ) is an average high school student -- until a school shooting occurs and she finds herself latching onto fellow students Mia ( Maddie Ziegler ) and Quinton (Niles Fitch) afterward. Vada and Mia become particularly close, helping each other with their grief. But when Vada realizes that she's not handling her emotions in a healthy way, she struggles to find relief.

Is It Any Good?

Ths poignant examination of grief and survivor's guilt makes an emotional case for gun safety by giving audiences a first-hand look at what happens to teens who experience a school shooting. The Fallout does a great job of showing how messy grief can be, including the moments of stalling out, making mistakes, hurting others, and feeling lost and alone. Vada is extremely relatable in a haunting way, especially since her character shows the devastation that a needless crime can cause. The film makes the most compelling case since the documentary Us Kids for why legislation aimed at stopping school shootings is necessary.

Other characters, including Mia, Quinton, ( Will Ropp ) and Vada's sister, Amelia ( Lumi Pollack ), demonstrate the different ways that people can be affected by tragedy. And although Vada and Mia are the main characters (and their stories are convincingly realistic), you could argue that Nick and Quinton's stories are even more compelling. Nick uses his grief to become a gun-control activist, echoing the experiences of the real-life students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. And Quinton saw his brother die in front of him, making him the only main character to lose a family member in the shooting. But his story doesn't get as much play as it probably should, given that he's likely going through the most intense version of trauma and grief among the key characters -- and, in fact, he's written as the most stable and the least affected of them all. In light of how many Black people have experienced the effects of gun violence, it would have made more sense for the film to give Quinton a wider range of emotions to express. Instead, he verges on the cliche of Black characters (and, by extension, Black people in real life) being more emotionally opaque and "strong." All of that said, Fitch does a great job portraying Quinton and making him likable. Overall, The Fallout gives viewers a first-hand look at what kids across the country have, tragically, either gone through or fear going through at school. It drives home the point that no gun is worth more than a child's life.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the way The Fallout depicts the school shooting and its aftermath. How does the shooting affect Vada at first? How does she try to manage her grief? How do she and Mia help each other?

How are Quinton and Nick represented in the film? What examples of positive representation did you notice?

Why is it important for Vada to learn about communication ? How do the characters demonstrate empathy and compassion ?

Movie Details

On DVD or streaming : January 27, 2022
Cast : Jenna Ortega , Maddie Ziegler , Niles Fitch , Will Ropp , Lumi Pollack
Director : Megan Park
Inclusion Information : Female actors, Latino actors, Black actors
Studio : HBO Max
Genre : Drama
Topics : Friendship
Character Strengths : Communication , Compassion , Empathy
Run time : 92 minutes
MPAA rating : R
MPAA explanation : language throughout, and teen drug and alcohol use
Last updated : November 2, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Cinephile Corner

Movie Reviews, Rankings, Film News and More

The Fallout Movie Review: Timely Drama Meanders a Bit Too Long

The fallout stars jenna ortega and maddie ziegler and is directed by megan park.

Movie Review: The Fallout floats on by. Some may really dig the film and find it powerful. I found it circling itself without a strong kicker. There are still some timely, haunting moments that stick out.

jenna ortega maddie ziegler the fallout 2021 movie

After a brilliantly done, nightmarish first twenty minutes where three students experience an unimaginable tragedy at their school, The Fallout attempts to examine grief and trauma to murky results.

HBO Max has released the first film on their crowded 2022 release slate. Much like the month of January itself, The Fallout is about resetting – putting life back together following a life changing event (2021 wasn’t necessarily lifechanging, it was just a doozy). This is done through the eyes of Vada ( Jenna Ortega ), who is content with being a “lowkey” high schooler letting the waning days of innocence and freedom wash over her like a Starbucks coffee.

When she experiences a school shooting alongside two students, Mia ( Maddie Ziegler ) and Quinton ( Niles Fitch ), the three of them develop a bond of reliability. In order to return to some sort of normalcy, they’ll have to go through the stages together.

The Fallout is presented through the digital lens. A movie made for the social media era built on TikTok trends and emo rap music. What feels desolate and distant suddenly becomes a reality standing straight ahead.

This isn’t always portrayed effectively on screen for each character. The film focuses mostly on Vada – her life at home, her connection with her sister, her friends who want to use this tragedy to spark change, etc. When it focuses on these externalities and moves away from the core narrative, it loses energy and drive.

Reviews for Movies like The Fallout (2021)

The film has good intentions. Vada’s struggle to commit to each of her different relationships as she tries to internally move on from this event is clearly stated, but it makes for a messy movie. Quinton is billed as a main character. The tragedy most closely affects him. Unfortunately, he’s thought of as a side-character and only shows up for a couple scenes.

The same thing can be said for Shailene Woodley, who plays Vada’s therapist but only makes an appearance in two scenes. When the film commits to so many different story-arcs and plotlines, it doesn’t quite fulfill any of them.

It’s a brave and honest story, one that I can admire. It has the perfect tone and is carried by a heartbreaking Jenna Ortega showing. I didn’t hate the time spent after the credits started, but I was hoping for a bit more. Something that would blow me away. Unfortunately, I left it lukewarm.

The film smartly chooses what to show and what to hide in its most important moments, particularly the beginning scenes, but for a movie titled The Fallout , the fallout isn’t all that visceral. The movie floats on by. Some may really dig it and find it powerful. I found it circling itself without a strong kicker.

Genre: Drama

Where to watch The Fallout: Max

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The Fallout Film Cast and Credits

Jenna Ortega as Vada Cavell

Maddie Ziegler as Mia Reed

Niles Fitch as Quinton Hasland

Will Ropp as Nick Feinstein

Lumi Pollack as Amelia Cavell

Shailene Woodley as Anna

Director: Megan Park

Writer: Megan Park

Cinematography: Kristen Correll

Editor: Jennifer Lee

Composer: Finneas O’Connell

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The Fallout Parent Guide

With its non-judgmental realism, this heartrending film fosters empathy for the trauma experienced by students who survive school shootings..

HBO Max: In the aftermath of a school shooting, high school student Veda navigates the ensuing trauma and how it affects her life and relationships.

Release date January 27, 2022

Run Time: 92 minutes

Get Content Details

The guide to our grades, parent movie review by keith hawkes.

Vada (Jenna Ortega) enjoys a low-key life in high school. Having coffee with her friend Nick (Will Ropp), coaching her sister Amelia (Lumi Pollack) through her first period, and sitting through geology classes are all she has planned for the day. That is, until she finds herself cowering in a bathroom stall with Mia (Maddie Ziegler) and Quinton (Niles Fitch) as a former classmate pulls a gun and starts randomly shooting students in the halls. Although Vada and her friends survive, not everyone is so lucky.

Numb and confused, Vada struggles to reconnect with her life as it used to be, until she gets in touch with Mia and Quinton, both of whom are also trying to cope with the aftermath of the violence. As Vada gets further from the tragedy, she starts to realize that she’s not going to be able to outrun the trauma, and sooner or later, she’s going to need to confront what happened.

The Fallout is tough to watch but Jenna Ortega stands out in the lead role, bringing humor and emotion to a character ricocheting between trauma responses as her previously quiet and predictable world falls apart. Most of those reactions are inadvisable – drug use, drinking, sex – the usual poor teenage decisions, spurred on by a painful and confused mental state. Parents will be relieved to hear that those choices are portrayed negatively and have consequences. Those consequences only add to Vada’s misfortunes as she tries to navigate a new life which she neither wanted or expected. Parents are also likely to flinch at the prevalence of profanity, I would argue that, like it or not, this is a remarkably accurate depiction of modern teen dialogue. Now, by Gen Z’s standards, I’m halfway to a retirement home, but frankly, it was the same way when I was in school. I don’t imagine that people would have cussed any less had someone started shooting.

I think the same logic applies to the other content concerns: Sure, it’s not ideal behaviour. I’m not about to argue that taking ecstasy at school is a great coping mechanism, or a particularly good idea generally. But Vada’s not in ideal circumstances, and trauma makes life unimaginably messy. The Fallout is a compassionate look at the difficulties of emotional recovery, even when the protagonist hits a few bumps in the road. Hopefully, it also encourages a sustained social and political commitment to preventing further violence in schools. High school is difficult enough on its own.

About author

Keith hawkes, watch the trailer for the fallout.

The Fallout Rating & Content Info

Why is The Fallout rated R? The Fallout is rated R by the MPAA for language throughout, and teen drug and alcohol use.

Violence: A school shooting is heard and discussed but not shown. An individual is seen covered in blood. Sexual Content: Teenage characters are seen kissing passionately and, in one instance, have sex off-screen without detail or description. A teenage character is seen from the shoulders up in the bath. Profanity: There are 32 uses of sexual expletives, 17 uses of moderate profanity, and frequent uses of mild curses and terms of deity. Alcohol / Drug Use: Teen characters are seen drinking, smoking marijuana, and on one occasion, taking MDMA. Adult characters are briefly seen drinking.

Page last updated May 31, 2022

The Fallout Parents' Guide

Between 2018 and 2021, the United States saw 92 school shootings. In fact, the United States has more school shootings than most other countries combined. What factors exist in America which allow this phenomenon? What kind of legislation has been proposed to address it? How do you think this problem could be resolved? How do your government representatives vote on the issue?

Education Week: School Shootings in 2021: How Many and Where

CNN: The US has had 57 times as many school shootings as the other major industrialized nations combined

CNN health: Why the US has the most mass shootings

Vox: The school shooting generation grows up

This film also references student activism against gun violence, something that picked up a lot more media attention after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Florida in 2018. What has the reaction been to those student activists? What kind of threats have they faced in the pursuit of safety for students? What kind of solutions have they suggested?

Time: The School Shooting Generation Has Had Enough

Sandy Hook Promise: Take Action

March for Our Lives: We Want Change!

ABC News: Parkland activists heal over years while pushing gun reform

The Guardian: “We can’t let fear consume us”: why Parkland activists won’t give up

How do Vada’s parents handle the situation? Do you think they should have done anything differently? Which moments stand out to you as examples of effective and compassionate parenting?

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Featured stories, “the fallout” movie review.

“The Fallout,” released on Jan. 27, was written and directed by Megan Park and follows the story of Vada, played by Jena Ortega, after experiencing a school shooting. The film follows the main character Vada and a few of her other friends, Quinton (Niles Fitch), Mia (Maddie Ziegler) and her long-term best friend Will (Nick Feinstein). We see them all struggle to come to terms with the tragic events and all of the emotions that come after. “The Fallout” is a much-needed movie in the times we live in, as we see how different people react in the aftermath of tragedy. We witness Vada and Mia abuse substances such as drugs and alcohol to avoid processing the tragedy and as a method of coping. Throughout the movie, we also see the characters Nick, who becomes an activist after the tragic event, and Quinton, who is dealing with the loss of his brother who died during the shooting.

The acting in this movie was shockingly amazing, as I had my doubts about Maddie Ziegler playing in a movie with such a heavy tone. My main gripe with the movie is that it felt empty, and I can’t see myself watching the movie again because of this. There are many parts of this movie that just leave you wanting more. We don’t really see anything that Nick or Quinton are going through in the aftermath of the tragedy, which is really strange considering the trailer heavily implies that we were going to see a bond between them. There are many moments in the movie that shine as they showcase how tragedy can affect a person moving forward. Vada pushes her family and long-time best friend away, and we also see her struggle with PTSD causing her to be afraid of entering the school bathroom where she hid during the events that took place. Overall, I must applaud the movie for its handling of the heavy subject of school shootings and the subsequent effects that they might have on a person.

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Fallout: A Wasteland Survival Guide to the New TV Series

Ign cover story: the executive producers and stars ella purnell, walton goggins and aaron moten provide a vault of information on prime video's adaptation of the game franchise..

On October 23, 2077, the world is plunged into thermonuclear war. Atomic blasts strike most of the major cities in the United States, and the civilians not killed outright either flee to underground shelters or are left to fend for themselves in irradiated wastelands.

Based on that description, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Fallout is another story about grizzled survivors doing whatever it takes to see another sunrise. Think Joel from The Last of Us. Think Max Rockatansky from Mad Max.

Think anyone – literally anyone – but Lucy MacLean.

“They actually described her as Leslie Knope meets Ned Flanders,” says Ella Purnell, who plays Fallout’s idealistic hero. According to Purnell, the showrunners asked for a chance to pitch Lucy to Purnell even before the actress had a chance to see the script. “And thank God they did,” she adds.

That’s because Fallout is a different kind of post-apocalyptic story. Based on Bethesda Softworks’s long-running video game series of the same name , Prime Video’s new show about life 200 years after the end of the world has assembled a murderer’s row of talent both behind and in front of the camera. And better yet, it’s the brainchild of executive producer Jonathan Nolan , whose work on the Dark Knight trilogy and HBO’s Westworld series have primed the pump for this kind of ambitious storytelling.

As he prepares for the release of his series on April 11, Nolan reflects on the magic of his own first playthrough of Fallout 3 . “I knew almost nothing about it,” Nolan, who also directs the first three episodes of the series, explains, “and could not believe the ambition, the scope, the scale, and all the different textures.”

But what makes Fallout unique to Nolan – and the millions of people who have played the various games – is the tone, which he describes as “simultaneously epic, dramatic, dark, emotional, but also political, satirical and crazy, deeply funny – almost goofy.”

Setting the Stage

Fallout may offer a grim vision for the future of mankind, but don’t worry – it’s not our future. Not exactly, anyway. Fallout takes place in an alternate universe, one whose history diverged from our own in the years following World War II. Steeped in the tradition of retrofuturism – a mode of storytelling that builds on the now-absurd imaginings of 1950s science fiction – Fallout explores a world where both robots and Bob Crosby are humankind’s greatest accomplishments.

And while this Fallout does spend a good amount of time on the events before the Great War – more on that in a minute – the show shares the games’ vision for humanity’s new future over our sudden collapse. “They really feel like they’re about the beginning of the new world,” Nolan explains. “It’s not dour in that way. It’s about all these cultures that spring out of the wounds of the old world and where it’s all headed.”

If anything, Nolan is underselling just how manic the video game series can be. Running the gamut from cartoonishly violent to absurdly silly, the Fallout series is constructed as much from the DNA of direct-to-video apocalypses than Cold War warnings of the end of the world. The games in the series draw comparisons to Radioactive Dreams, A Boy and His Dog, and Hell Comes To Frogtown, low-budget takes on the apocalypse that lean deeply into the absurd.

The exec producers and cast break down Fallout's characters in the exclusive video below:

How does one split the difference between B-movie madness and big-budget storytelling? It turns out you don’t. For his version of Fallout, Nolan turned to “terrific writers and showrunners” Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner, real-life friends who come from very different writing backgrounds. Robertson-Dworet’s previous credits include films like Tomb Raider and Captain Marvel, while Wagner has built a name for himself in 30-minute comedies like Portlandia and Silicon Valley.

On paper, these may seem like very different approaches to storytelling. For Robertson-Dworet and Wagner, it was a match made in heaven. “We’d been wanting to work together for so long because we wanted to merge my sci-fi action instincts and his comedy instincts,” Robertson-Dworet explains, adding that a lot of sci-fi projects “don’t really want to have a sense of humor” and are “very self-serious.”

While Wagner fully admits it might sound pretentious, he points to the screenplay for The Favourite as a north star for the series. “It drove me fucking crazy, because I was like, how did someone who knows history, and writes such a well-researched history movie, also be funny?” he explains. It was only after reading about the script’s history – what screenwriter Tony McNamara added to Deborah Davis’s original draft – that the light bulb went off. “It’s two brains,” he adds. “That’s why I like this movie so much. I was watching two specialties at play.”

And for all of these reasons – the mashup of genres, the blank slate of a post-apocalyptic world – it was never a question as to where the Fallout series would be set. While more recent versions of Fallout have been set in locations like Massachusetts and West Virginia, this series is set in the cradle of entertainment itself: the wasteland of California. “It really felt irresistible to us, given on a meta-level that, here we are, the Hollywood folks coming to adapt these games,” Nolan explains.

Walton Goggins as The Ghoul in Prime Video's Fallout.

Surviving the Wasteland

In the 200 years since the Great War, life on the surface has gotten a little, ah, contentious. It will come as no shock – to anyone who isn’t a vault dweller, at least – that humanity continues to thrive in the aftermath of nuclear war. But society as we know it has devolved into violence and feudalism, with pre-war relics providing the closest thing we have to a unified currency.

In the games, players are given the lowdown on life in the wasteland from companions, the people they choose to partner with on their journeys. This is an approach that Robertson-Dworet and Wagner have recreated with The Ghoul, Walton Goggins’s undead bounty hunter .

When we meet The Ghoul, he’s hardly a hero – even an antihero would be a stretch. But the showrunners knew that Goggins was the right guide for audiences to a post-apocalyptic America. “I think in our earliest conversations back in 2020, Graham and I were like, oh, if Walton Goggins played a ghoul in a Fallout show, I would totally watch that,” Robertson-Dworet explains. “That was one of our earliest creative decisions. And Graham and I have talked about how stupid that was in retrospect, because what if he’d been busy?”

Thankfully for showrunners and Fallout fans alike, Goggins was thrilled with the idea. “I thought it was complex and absurdist and satirical and subversive,” the actor explains, “which is right up my alley. And a challenge to play two people at two very different times in their life split up by a nuclear fallout.”

The “two people" also includes Hollywood icon Cooper Howard, who audiences will spend time with in the runup to the Great War. To understand the character, Goggins researched Hollywood idols of the 1950s, trying to understand how a man like Howard would exist in a society still shaped by post-World War II entertainment.

“I started watching a lot of movies and television shows, like James Aness in Gunsmoke,” the actor explains, working to understand the niche celebrity that allowed Howard to move between several corporate factions in pre-disaster Hollywood. “Who were his contemporaries at that time? Who were people that he lost out to? Was he the first call? Probably not.”

For Goggins, on the other side of the apocalypse is The Ghoul. Those lucky enough to survive the radiation of the Great War found their lives extended by centuries, but not every ghoul retained their humanity in the process. Many of the ghouls you encounter in the games – especially in the tunnels and subway systems below major cities – are feral and dangerous, which gives a bad name to the zombie-like survivors trying to make ends meet on the surface world.

Of course, surviving that long is its own kind of hell. The transition from Cooper Howard to The Ghoul was 200 years in the making, and Goggins draws on every year of that existence to fuel the metamorphosis. “I can imagine, as you or anyone else, the horrors that he’s seen the day after, a week after,” the actor explains. “Seeing loved ones separated, seeing loved ones melted. All of these things.”

As the show progresses, Goggins’s character also provides the showrunners with opportunities to start filling in the gaps. As the show progresses, Goggins's character also provides the showrunners with opportunities to start filing in the gaps. Wagner likens him to Marvel's Wolverine, whose long lifespan has allowed writers to insert him into pivotal moments throughout modern human history. "It's a really delightful device for us we hope to explore more of as the show goes on," he adds.

And if The Ghoul is our introduction to the residents of the wasteland, then Filly – the small marketplace where the Fallout characters face off for the first time in Episode 2 – is our introduction to civilization as a whole.

Walton Goggins as Cooper Howard in Prime Video's Fallout.

Nolan wanted audiences to experience the wasteland as he did during his first playthrough of Fallout 3, when players are dumped from the vault into the appropriately named community of Megaton. “I just remember the beauty of the way that environment was designed,” Nolan recalls, “all around this central unexploded Chekov’s nuke in the middle of town.”

Filly also has a centerpiece: a giant pile of trash that is slowly sinking into the earth. “Our landfill basically becomes their gold, their mines that they dig into to extract old bits of technology, old bits of trash,” Nolan adds, calling the design of the city a “fantastic opening salvo” that helps introduce audiences to the interplay between pre- and post-apocalyptic California.

And while Goggins jokes about the challenge of putting on The Ghoul’s makeup – admitting that he did not learn his lesson when he played a similar character in Maze Runner: The Death Cure – the emphasis on the practical with the production design is something that caught him by surprise in the best way. “I thought I was going to be looking at a fucking green screen for nine months,” the actor jokes. “It’s not. They built it. It’s all tactile, it’s all tangible, man.”

Ella Purnell as Lucy in Prime Video's Fallout.

Life in the Vault

If the violence and madness of the wasteland are on one end of the spectrum, Vault 33 exists far, far on the opposite end. Think of vaults as nuclear panic rooms: those families who were wealthy enough to earn a spot in their local vault could ride out the apocalypse in style, with enough supplies to last the hundreds of years it would take for radiation on the surface to die down.

Vault 33 – also rendered in all its physical glory thanks to the talents of Fallout’s production team – continues in the series' grand tradition of isolationist utopia. The families we meet early in the series seem lifted straight from a 1950s sitcom, where everyone knows their neighbor and the biggest conflicts can be resolved with a short story and a firm handshake.

It is here that we meet Ella Purnell’s Lucy, the daughter of the vault’s overseer (played by Kyle MacLachlan). Lucy is the platonic ideal of what it means to be a vault dweller. Like everyone else in Vault 33, she believes that it is her responsibility to help usher in a new era of humanity to the wasteland – until the wasteland proves itself more than she could’ve ever imagined.

“It was always important to me that she had somewhere to go, that she could start in a place of complete innocence,” explains Purnell. “She's really never had much hardship, at least not as much as people in the wasteland. She's very privileged.”

Purnell has a tricky job as Lucy. Vault dwellers are not an unknown entity in the wastelands of California – take a sip of your drink every time someone calls Lucy a “fucking vault dweller” in the first few episodes – but for both the comedy and the adventure to work, Lucy must balance naïveté and competence in equal measure.

To that end, Purnell also used Ellie Kemper’s performance in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt as another source of inspiration. “She has this optimism and this innocence and it's all she's ever known,” Purnell says about Kemper’s character. What rounds out Lucy is her ability to rise to the occasion, with Purnell pointing to the clip of her first confrontation with The Ghoul as “the moment that she really has to make the first choice about who she wants to be in the wasteland.”

But while Lucy may head to the surface world, the story of Vault 33 does not end there. There is one thing the Fallout show can do that the games cannot: cut back to the vault after the hero has left. According to Nolan, one of the things that excited him the most about the script was his showrunners’ desire to continue the story of Vault 33. “Just because Lucy left the vault doesn’t mean that we have to,” Nolan explains. “There’s a whole community back there that you’ve gotten to know a little bit.”

For Robertson-Dworet and Wagner, the residents of Vault 33 also serve a very important narrative purpose: they allow the series to juxtapose the violence of the wasteland with the privilege that comes with living in Vault 33. “It’s very fun for us to be able to cut from some hell-on-the-surface scene to our happy vault dwellers harvesting potatoes and planning bingo night,” Robertson-Dworet explains.

Lucy may not be aware of the events in Vault 33 after she leaves, but the way her community reacts to hardship also helps audiences better understand her upbringing. Purnell dug in deep with the showrunners to better understand this alternate version of America. “If the entire function of the vault is to create generations and generations and generations of vault dwellers who truly believe that their entire life's purpose is to rebuild America, how does that influence your attitudes towards relationships,” the actress explains. “Towards sex, towards education and reform?”

Purnell – no stranger to big-screen adaptations, having starred in Never Let Me Go and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children – knows expectations are high among fans for Fallout. She’s even spent a good amount of time in online forums, calling the Fallout Reddit her “best friend” when it came to better understanding the world. But while she does hope that fans love the series as much as she does, she’s grateful for the chance to play someone new in the Fallout universe. “I had a slightly easier job because Lucy is an original thought,” she adds.

The Brotherhood of Steel

Then there’s the Brotherhood of Steel. Despite being one of the most advanced factions in the aftermath of the Great War, they are essentially a group of militaristic ideologues whose overriding mission – to recover and control pre-war technology – often reveals a complicated relationship with the communities they inhabit.

Our introduction to the Brotherhood of Steel in Fallout comes via Maximus, a young man working to earn his place among the Brotherhood’s recruits. When we meet Maximus, he is in the middle of a beating – his – that speaks to the spartan lifestyle the Brotherhood undergoes. Aaron Moten, who plays Maximus, finds them just as complicated in the show as they can be in the game.

“They are devout,” he explains. “They are certainly capable of monstrosities in the wasteland as well. They want to project this sense of power and violence, and they want to control the wasteland.”

On the moral spectrum from Lucy to The Ghoul, Moten’s character sits solidly somewhere in the middle. “Maximus is really torn between what is a pursuit of his own personal glory and rising in the ranks with the Brotherhood,” he notes, “and what is a pursuit that is more noble.”

Most of the power and violence comes in the form of the armor itself. Over the first few episodes, audiences will get a good look at the power armor in action – including the ability of the Brotherhood of Steel to go head-to-head with mutations and mercenaries alike. But to really bring the power armor to life onscreen through practical means, the Fallout team relied on the combined performances of both Moten and stunt actor Adam Shippey, the man behind the mask for most of the action sequences.

“I've never had this working relationship with a stunt actor,” Moten admits, describing the “amazing collaboration” that he and Shippey underwent before, during, and after each action sequence. “Sometimes I would walk a rehearsal as if I were in the suit,” Moten explains, mimicking the bulky movements of the power armor. “It’s a tough job to be in that full suit because in order to express in it [...] you have to move a lot.”

When the time comes to share the man inside the armor, Fallout borrows a page from the Iron Man movies, closing in on Maximus’s face inside the helmet as he manages a heads-up display that will be instantly recognizable to fans of the game. When asked about the secret to giving a good Robert Downey Jr. performance, Moten laughs. “Often it's that communication with camera ops and Jonah saying, does it look like I'm looking at him here?” he notes. “It's super technical, but I really love the technical aspects of filmmaking.”

And while the first few episodes set Maximus off on a solo mission on behalf of the Brotherhood of Steel, the threat of war lurks around every corner. Rival factions such as the Enclave and the New California Republic are out there in the wasteland, and in time, the series promises to zoom out even further and let us see the scope of mankind’s conflicts.

Where the Brotherhood will ultimately sit on Fallout’s grand morality chart is best left for the audiences to experience for themselves. Nolan likens the journey to his own experience of playing the games. “You’ve got all these different factions that try to recruit you into them,” he adds, “and you have to decide, without a lot of context, are these the good guys, the bad guys?”

Prime Video's Fallout: The Brotherhood of Steel

What Comes Next?

As the season unfolds, audiences will learn more about our trio of unlikely wastelanders – and a whole lot more about Cooper Howard, whose road to survival promises both darkness and comedy in equal measure. But even with brand new characters and locations to explore, the show has only begun to peel back the surface on the larger Fallout series.

Both Robertson-Dworet and Wagner know that there are a lot of creatures and events that fans want to see in Prime Video’s Fallout, but they’re also aware that these things take time to do right. Wagner compares it to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. “I remember turning on season seven and it was, a demon’s on the couch talking about a breakup to a witch,” he recalls. “And it was just like, oh, this is a lot. But then I went back and watched the first episode and it was just a girl at a high school who finds a vampire.”

So fans, take heart: if the showrunners are lucky enough to get more seasons of the show, they are ready to pull out all the stops. “We want to get to the Fallout equivalent of the demon on the couch talking to the witch,” Robertson-Dworet adds, “but that might be for a couple of seasons down the road.”

For his part, Nolan believes that, just as with Batman Begins, he’s lucky to have a chance to work on a series like Fallout when the industry is ready to treat these kinds of adaptations with the seriousness they deserve.. “I was there close to the ground floor – let’s call it the mezzanine – of the comic book adaptation,” Nolan adds. “I’m now standing close to the ground floor of the video game adaptation moment.”

So pardon the Fallout team if they build their world one important piece at a time. After all, they don’t want to set the world on fire. They just want to start a flame in your heart .

All episodes of Fallout will be available on Prime Video on April 11.

Some interview quotes have been edited or condensed for clarity.

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Even Fallout fans won’t know what’s going to happen in the Fallout TV show

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Amazon’s TV adaptation of the Fallout video game franchise is taking a fresh approach to its source material. Rather than rework an existing storyline from one of the games — or multiple games — it will tell an original story. That means longtime Fallout fans won’t already be spoiled on Fallout , the way that fans of another ambitious video-game-to-TV adaptation, The Last of Us , were.

Polygon is looking ahead to the movies, shows, and books coming soon in our Spring 2024 entertainment preview package, a weeklong special issue.

“This isn’t a direct adaptation, this is an interpretation of the game,” star Walton Goggins told Polygon in a recent interview. In the series, Goggins plays Cooper Howard, who becomes The Ghoul . “It’s another story, so I don’t know if my Ghoul, in this incarnation, has ever existed in [the game] world.”

The post-nuclear retro-futuristic setting of Fallout, the factions that inhabit it, and its memorable cartoon iconography will be present. But the story beats will be all new.

Fallout is set (mostly) in the year 2296, a decade after the events of the most recent mainline game, Fallout 4 . The TV series will also look backward, to before the Great War that unleashed nuclear hell on the United States. Goggins’ Ghoul will inhabit both time periods, “bridging the past, before the bombs drop, to this post-apocalyptic landscape,” he said. “Over the course of the show, through his experience back in the world before the nuclear fallout, you will understand how the world was.”

Graham Wagner, executive producer, writer, and showrunner on Fallout , has said the show is “built on 25 years of creativity and thinking and building. We thought the best thing to do is to continue that versus retread it, because that’s sort of what has worked with Fallout over the years. It’s traded hands, it’s changed, it’s been altered, and it’s a living thing. We felt like we ought to take a swing at trying to build a new piece on top of all of that.”

Fallout will be populated with familiar-feeling characters, though their stories are new. Lucy (Ella Purnell) represents the optimism and naivete of the privileged Vault dwellers, who have lived a relatively peaceful existence sheltered underground below the irradiated Earth. Maximus (Aaron Moten) is an idealistic soldier in the militaristic Brotherhood of Steel, fighting to bring law and order to the wasteland. And Goggins’ Ghoul is still something of a mystery, “a bounty hunter that’s been roaming the wasteland for 200 years,” he told Polygon.

How their plotlines converge will mostly be a surprise to Fallout fans. And the TV show won’t spoil what’s next for the Fallout game series, either, which likely won’t see another entry for many, many years. In an interview with Den of Geek , Fallout series game director Todd Howard said, “Well, there were some things where I said [to the showrunners], ‘Don’t do this because we are going to do that in Fallout 5 . It wasn’t the translation of an existing story. It was, ‘What would the next thing be?’ It just happens to be a TV show.”

Fallout premieres on Prime Video on April 11. All eight episodes of the TV show will drop at once.

Spring 2024 entertainment preview

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Here's the cast of Amazon's 'Fallout' and the shows and movies where you've probably seen the actors before

Posted: March 29, 2024 | Last updated: March 29, 2024

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Amazon's "Fallout" is based on Bethesda Softworks' post-apocalyptic video game series.</li><li>It takes place in an alternate world, where nuclear technology is used for everything.</li><li>The cast include actors from "Yellowjackets" and "The Hateful Eight."</li></ul><p>The "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fallout-tv-series-amazon-everything-we-know-so-far-2024-2">Fallout</a>" video games have gripped players since the late '90s and the franchise is finally getting the live-action treatment from Amazon. The show starts streaming on Prime Video on April 12, and fleshes out the post-apocalyptic wasteland from the games.</p><p>Bethesda Softworks bought the franchise from Interplay in 2007 for $5.75 million, and the four games it has published since then have sold 45.4 million copies in total.</p><p>The most recent entry, "Fallout 76," pushed the single-player franchise online. Per Bethesda Softworks, since 2018, 17 million players have explored the multiplayer game, which the studio has frequently updated with new storylines, missions, and loot.</p><p>The franchise imagines a world inspired by 1950s futurism where society relies on technology that is more advanced than our own, from chunky wearable computers, to floating robots, and giant suits of armor. But all that technology didn't stop a nuclear war from breaking out.</p><p>Some people survived the apocalypse thanks to huge underground bunkers, called Vaults, which were built by a nefarious company called Vault-Tec.</p><p>When the "Fallout" TV series kicks off, one of these Vault Dwellers leaves the safety of the bunker to find her father.</p><p>Here's who's in the cast of "Fallout."</p><div class="read-original">Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fallout-amazon-cast-characters-past-movies-tv-2024-3">Business Insider</a></div>

Amazon's "Fallout" is based on Bethesda Softworks' post-apocalyptic video game series.
It takes place in an alternate world, where nuclear technology is used for everything.
The cast include actors from "Yellowjackets" and "The Hateful Eight."

The " Fallout " video games have gripped players since the late '90s and the franchise is finally getting the live-action treatment from Amazon. The show starts streaming on Prime Video on April 12, and fleshes out the post-apocalyptic wasteland from the games.

Bethesda Softworks bought the franchise from Interplay in 2007 for $5.75 million, and the four games it has published since then have sold 45.4 million copies in total.

The most recent entry, "Fallout 76," pushed the single-player franchise online. Per Bethesda Softworks, since 2018, 17 million players have explored the multiplayer game, which the studio has frequently updated with new storylines, missions, and loot.

The franchise imagines a world inspired by 1950s futurism where society relies on technology that is more advanced than our own, from chunky wearable computers, to floating robots, and giant suits of armor. But all that technology didn't stop a nuclear war from breaking out.

Some people survived the apocalypse thanks to huge underground bunkers, called Vaults, which were built by a nefarious company called Vault-Tec.

When the "Fallout" TV series kicks off, one of these Vault Dwellers leaves the safety of the bunker to find her father.

Here's who's in the cast of "Fallout."

Ella Purnell plays Lucy MacLean

"Fallout" mainly follows Lucy MacLean, a vault dweller born and raised in Vault 33 after the apocalypse, played by Ella Purnell.

Purnell previously played Jackie, a high school soccer team player who survives a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness, in " Yellowjackets ."

She also appeared opposite Dave Bautista and Hiroyuki Sanada in Zack Snyder's " Army of the Dead " as Kate Ward.

In "Fallout," Lucy has spent her entire life inside Vault 33 with her father and brother. She has an idealistic view of the world because she was educated by the company behind the underground bunker, Vault-Tec .

So, she's forced to adapt quickly when she leaves the safety of the Vault to find her father in the outside world.

<p>During Lucy's quest to find her missing father, she crosses paths with an irradiated bounty hunter called The Ghoul, and actor Walton Goggins is the star under all that makeup.</p><p>He previously played career criminal Boyd Crowder in "Justified," as well as Captain Mannix in Quentin Tarantino's "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/every-quentin-tarantino-movies-ranked-worst-to-best-2019-7">The Hateful Eight</a>."</p><p>As players of the games will know, most ghouls are creatures who were once human but have been turned into mindless creatures by exposure to radiation. But The Ghoul has retained his humanity and has been alive for hundreds of years by the time "Fallout" starts.</p><p>Goggins' character used to be a normal man called Cooper Howard, and he shows up in a Vault-Tec commercial in the trailer.</p>

Walton Goggins plays The Ghoul

During Lucy's quest to find her missing father, she crosses paths with an irradiated bounty hunter called The Ghoul, and actor Walton Goggins is the star under all that makeup.

He previously played career criminal Boyd Crowder in "Justified," as well as Captain Mannix in Quentin Tarantino's " The Hateful Eight ."

As players of the games will know, most ghouls are creatures who were once human but have been turned into mindless creatures by exposure to radiation. But The Ghoul has retained his humanity and has been alive for hundreds of years by the time "Fallout" starts.

Goggins' character used to be a normal man called Cooper Howard, and he shows up in a Vault-Tec commercial in the trailer.

<p>The third protagonist of the series is Maximus, a member of the Brotherhood of Steel, played by Aaron Moten. The star played Ben in the Fox TV series "Next," as well as Petey in HBO's "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hbos-amazing-new-drama-the-night-of-2016-7">The Night Of.</a>"</p><p>Maximus was raised in the wasteland but adopted by the militaristic Brotherhood of Steel when he was a child. When "Fallout" starts, he's a squire who serves one of the knights in the hulking suits of Power Armor that are synonymous with the franchise.</p><p>In <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/11/fallout-first-look">Vanity Fair</a>'s lengthy first-look at the series, executive producer Jonathan Nolan said that Maximus' role in the Brotherhood of Steel was inspired by medieval legends.</p><p>"This is a drawing on the classic Arthurian Knight legends where life was cheap, and you had a squire as long as they were useful," he explained. "They had to prove their worth, they had to prove their valor and their strength, and if they didn't, they were kind of cast aside."</p>

Aaron Moten plays Maximus

The third protagonist of the series is Maximus, a member of the Brotherhood of Steel, played by Aaron Moten. The star played Ben in the Fox TV series "Next," as well as Petey in HBO's " The Night Of. "

Maximus was raised in the wasteland but adopted by the militaristic Brotherhood of Steel when he was a child. When "Fallout" starts, he's a squire who serves one of the knights in the hulking suits of Power Armor that are synonymous with the franchise.

In Vanity Fair 's lengthy first-look at the series, executive producer Jonathan Nolan said that Maximus' role in the Brotherhood of Steel was inspired by medieval legends.

"This is a drawing on the classic Arthurian Knight legends where life was cheap, and you had a squire as long as they were useful," he explained. "They had to prove their worth, they had to prove their valor and their strength, and if they didn't, they were kind of cast aside."

Kyle MacLachlan as Overseer Hank MacLean

Lucy's journey in "Fallout" revolves around finding her father, Hank MacLean, after he goes missing from Vault 33.

He's played by Kyle MacLachlan , who fans might recognize as Agent Dale Cooper from David Lynch's "Twin Peaks," as well as The Captain in "How I Met Your Mother," and villain Calvin Johnson in "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Hank is the Overseer of Vault 33, and he's respected among the vault dwellers, which is why Lucy bravely decides to leave the safety of Vault 33 to find him.

Fans of the "Fallout" games will know that aside from saving some of the population, Vault-Tec used the vaults to experiment on their inhabitants. So it'll be interesting to see whether Hank has also been tasked with experimenting on the people he's in charge of.

<p>The wasteland is filled with colorful characters, some more mysterious than others. One of those intriguing individuals is Wilzig, played by Michael Emerson. Little is known about the character, but the Vanity Fair feature describes him as an "enigmatic researcher."</p><p>Wilzig may be a Vault-Tec employee or a member of the sinister Enclave, which experiments with radiation in the games. He can briefly be seen in the trailer warning Lucy about the dangers of post-apocalyptic America.</p><p>Emerson is best known for his role as the scheming villain-turned-ally, Benjamin Linus, in "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cast-of-lost-where-are-they-now-2018-2018-10">Lost</a>." He also played genius billionaire scientist Harold Finch in "Person of Interest."</p>

Michael Emerson plays Wilzig

The wasteland is filled with colorful characters, some more mysterious than others. One of those intriguing individuals is Wilzig, played by Michael Emerson. Little is known about the character, but the Vanity Fair feature describes him as an "enigmatic researcher."

Wilzig may be a Vault-Tec employee or a member of the sinister Enclave, which experiments with radiation in the games. He can briefly be seen in the trailer warning Lucy about the dangers of post-apocalyptic America.

Emerson is best known for his role as the scheming villain-turned-ally, Benjamin Linus, in " Lost ." He also played genius billionaire scientist Harold Finch in "Person of Interest."

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Fallout: A Wasteland Survival Guide to the New TV Series

Ign cover story: the executive producers and stars ella purnell, walton goggins and aaron moten provide a vault of information on prime video's adaptation of the game franchise..

Think anyone – literally anyone – but Lucy MacLean.

Setting the Stage

The exec producers and cast break down Fallout's characters in the exclusive video below:

Surviving the Wasteland

Wagner likens the Ghoul to Marvel's Wolverine.

Life in the Vault

Purnell used Ellie Kemper's performance in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt as a source of inspiration.

The Brotherhood of Steel

What Comes Next?

So pardon the Fallout team if they build their world one important piece at a time. After all, they don’t want to set the world on fire. They just want to start a flame in your heart .

All episodes of Fallout will be available on Prime Video on April 11.

Some interview quotes have been edited or condensed for clarity.

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What Japanese moviegoers have to say about Oppenheimer as it debuts on Hiroshima, Nagasaki screens

Movie opens 8 months after north american debut, previous controversy over 'barbenheimer' imagery.

Hiroshima residents react to Oppenheimer's debut in Japan

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Oppenheimer finally premiered Friday in the nation where two cities were obliterated 79 years ago by the nuclear weapons invented by the American scientist who was the subject of the Oscar-winning film. The reviews of Japanese filmgoers who spoke to reporters were understandably mixed and highly emotional.

The film's release in Japan, more than eight months after it opened in the U.S., had been watched with trepidation because of the sensitivity of the subject matter.

Oppenheimer — which won seven Academy Awards earlier this month , including best picture — does not directly depict what happened on the ground when the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, instead focusing on J. Robert Oppenheimer as a person and his internal conflicts. Some 100,000 people were instantly killed in the bombings, mostly civilians, and thousands more perished in the days that followed.

Toshiyuki Mimaki, who survived the bombing of Hiroshima when he was three, said he has been fascinated by the story of Oppenheimer, often called "the father of the atomic bomb" for leading the Manhattan Project.

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"What were the Japanese thinking, carrying out the attack on Pearl Harbor, starting a war they could never hope to win," he said, sadness in his voice, in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

He is now chairperson of a group of bomb victims called the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organization, and he saw Oppenheimer at a preview event. "During the whole movie, I was waiting and waiting for the Hiroshima bombing scene to come on, but it never did," Mimaki said.

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Hiroshima mayor critical of film

Former Hiroshima mayor Takashi Hiraoka, who spoke at a preview event for the film in the southwestern city, was more critical of what was omitted.

"From Hiroshima's standpoint, the horror of nuclear weapons was not sufficiently depicted," he was quoted as saying by Japanese media. "The film was made in a way to validate the conclusion that the atomic bomb was used to save the lives of Americans."

Keeping the stories of Hiroshima alive 75 years after bombing

Some moviegoers offered praise. One man emerging from a Tokyo theatre Friday said the movie was great, stressing that the topic was of great interest to Japanese people, although emotionally volatile as well. Another said he got choked up over the film's scenes depicting Oppenheimer's inner turmoil. Neither man would give his name to an Associated Press journalist.

In a sign of the historical controversy, a backlash flared last year over the "Barbenheimer" marketing phenomenon that merged pink-and-fun Barbie with seriously intense Oppenheimer . Warner Bros. Japan, which distributed Barbie in the country, apologized after some memes depicted the Mattel doll with atomic blast imagery.

Kazuhiro Maeshima, professor at Sophia University, who specializes in U.S. politics, called the film an expression of "an American conscience."

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Those who expect an anti-war movie may be disappointed. But the telling of Oppenheimer's story in a Hollywood blockbuster would have been unthinkable several decades ago, when justification of nuclear weapons dominated American sentiments, Maeshima said.

"The work shows an America that has changed dramatically," he said in a telephone interview.

'Starting point' for important topic: Japanese historian

Others suggested the world might be ready for a Japanese response to that story.

Takashi Yamazaki, director of Godzilla Minus One , which won the Oscar for visual effects and is a powerful statement on nuclear catastrophe in its own way, suggested he might be the man for that job.

"I feel there needs to [be] an answer from Japan to Oppenheimer . Someday, I would like to make that movie," he said in an online dialogue with Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan.

Nolan heartily agreed.

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Hiroyuki Shinju, a lawyer, noted Japan and Germany also carried out wartime atrocities, even as the nuclear threat grew around the world. Historians say Japan was also working on nuclear weapons during the Second World War and would have almost certainly used them against other nations, Shinju said.

"This movie can serve as the starting point for addressing the legitimacy of the use of nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as humanity's, and Japan's, reflections on nuclear weapons and war," he wrote in his commentary on Oppenheimer published by the Tokyo Bar Association.

Still feeling the fallout in Hiroshima

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‘snl’ cold open mocks donald trump’s bible venture: “sounds like a joke. and in many ways it is, but it’s also real”.

Trump's Bible product, which is being sold for $59.99, includes the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance and the handwritten chorus to "God Bless the USA."

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James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump on 'SNL'

Saturday Night Live mocked Donald Trump ‘s most recent venture — promoting the “God Bless the USA Bible” — on its most recent episode.

The product, which is “inspired by” country musician Lee Greenwood’s song “God Bless the USA,” is being sold for $59.99. It includes the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance and the handwritten chorus to “God Bless the USA.”

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COMMENTS

The Fallout
TOP CRITIC. A devastating portrait of survivors of school shootings. Anchored by Jenna Ortega's revelatory performance as a girl unable to process her emotions, Megan Park's script and direction ...
'The Fallout': Film Review
By Sheri Linden. March 17, 2021 4:00pm. Jenna Ortega and Maddie Ziegler in 'The Fallout' Courtesy of Clear Horizon, SSS Entertainment. It's a horrendous sign of the times that the school ...
'The Fallout' Review: The Unexpected Effects of Trauma
Jenna Ortega has a star-making turn in "The Fallout," a high school drama that explores a teenager's emotional turmoil following a school shooting. The film conjured up by that sentence may ...
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible - Fallout. Great action movies develop a rhythm like no other genre. Think of the way the stunts in " Mad Max: Fury Road " become a part of the storytelling. Think of how " Die Hard " flows so smoothly from scene to scene, making us feel like we're right there with John McClane. Think of the dazzling editing of ...
The Fallout Review: Jenna Ortega Stuns In Deftly Handled School
Enriched by a profound performance from Ortega, The Fallout is a nuanced take on tragedy that focuses on the difficult question of what comes after. The film begins with 16-year-old Vada (Ortega) having a perfectly normal day. She's late for school, she sings in the car alongside her best friend Nick (Will Ropp), and she lends comfort to her ...
HBO Max's 'The Fallout' is a surprisingly funny and deeply cathartic
Jenna Ortega and Maddie Ziegler star in HBO Max's "The Fallout," a coming-of-age tearjerker about two tweens who bond in the wake of a tragedy. Writer/director Megan Park brings welcomed empathy ...
The Fallout (2021)
egorrukas 17 April 2023. The Fallout is a 2021 drama film directed by Megan Park and starring Jenna Ortega, Maddie Ziegler, and Niles Fitch. The film tells the story of high school student Vada (Jenna Ortega) who is struggling to cope with the aftermath of a school shooting that she survived.
The Fallout review: A restrained drama about a school shooting
And in The Fallout, Canadian actor Megan Park's well-measured first feature as a writer and director, a school shooting triggers a model student's rebellious phase. Well-meaning zoomer Vada ...
The Fallout (2021)
The Fallout: Directed by Megan Park. With Jenna Ortega, Maddie Ziegler, Niles Fitch, Will Ropp. High schooler Vada navigates the emotional fallout she experiences in the wake of a school tragedy. Relationships with her family, friends and view of the world are forever altered.
'The Fallout' Review: Teen Movie With a Lot on Its Mind
'The Fallout' Review: Megan Park Takes the Pulse of a Shell-Shocked Generation Reviewed at SXSW Film Festival (online), March 13, 2021, Los Angeles. Running time: 92 MIN.
The Fallout
International Online Cinema Awards (INOCA) • 2 Nominations. Bolstered by new friendships forged under sudden and tragic circumstances, high schooler Vada (Jenna Ortega) begins to reinvent herself, while re-evaluating her relationships with her family, friends and her view of the world. Moving away from her comfortable family routine, she ...
The Fallout Movie Review
Parents need to know that The Fallout is a poignant, intense drama about a diverse group of teens experiencing grief after going through the trauma of a school shooting. Mature content includes drug use and drinking by teens, strong language ("f--k," "s--t," and more), kissing, implied sex, sounds of gunshots and screaming, and some blood.
The Fallout (film)
The Fallout is a 2021 American drama film written and directed by Megan Park in her feature film directorial debut.The film stars Jenna Ortega as Vada Cavell, a high school student who navigates significant emotional trauma following a school shooting.The film also stars Maddie Ziegler, Julie Bowen, John Ortiz, Niles Fitch, Will Ropp, Shailene Woodley, and Lumi Pollack in supporting roles.
The Fallout Movie Review and Star Rating
Reviews for Movies like The Fallout (2021) Licorice Pizza (2021) Summering (2022) The film has good intentions. Vada's struggle to commit to each of her different relationships as she tries to internally move on from this event is clearly stated, but it makes for a messy movie. Quinton is billed as a main character.
The Fallout Movie Review for Parents
The Fallout Rating & Content Info . Why is The Fallout rated R? The Fallout is rated R by the MPAA for language throughout, and teen drug and alcohol use.. Violence: A school shooting is heard and discussed but not shown. An individual is seen covered in blood. Sexual Content: Teenage characters are seen kissing passionately and, in one instance, have sex off-screen without detail or description.
Fallout (TV Series 2024- )
Fallout: Created by Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Graham Wagner. With Moises Arias, Ella Purnell, Johnny Pemberton, Aaron Moten. 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.
The Fallout
A raw and honest coming-of-age story for this generation. Jenna Ortega and Maddie Ziegler star in Megan Park's directorial debut, #TheFallout, streaming Janu...
"The Fallout" Movie Review
The film follows the main character Vada and a few of her other friends, Quinton (Niles Fitch), Mia (Maddie Ziegler) and her long-term best friend Will (Nick Feinstein). We see them all struggle to come to terms with the tragic events and all of the emotions that come after. "The Fallout" is a much-needed movie in the times we live in, as ...
The Fallout Teaser Trailer Starts To Unearth the Secrets of Vault 33
Vault 33 Has A Deadly Secret. When the bombs dropped on America in the Fallout series, those with wealth and power retreated underground, seeking refuge from the radiation and destruction in ...
Fallout: A Wasteland Survival Guide to the New TV Series
IGN Cover Story: The Fallout showrunners and stars Ella Purnell, Walton Goggins and Aaron Moten provide a vault of information on Prime Video's adaptation of the game franchise.
The Fallout TV show will be spoiler-free for fans of the Fallout games
Amazon's TV adaptation of the Fallout video game franchise is taking a fresh approach to its source material. Rather than rework an existing storyline from one of the games — or multiple games ...
Here's the cast of Amazon's 'Fallout' and the shows and movies ...
The "Fallout" video games have gripped players since the late '90s and the franchise is finally getting the live-action treatment from Amazon. The show starts streaming on Prime Video on April 12 ...
How to watch 'Fallout': Release date, streaming deals, and more
Here are the best ways to watch Fallout for free when the highly anticipated adaptation starts streaming on Prime Video on April 11. ... Product Reviews. ... the best sci-fi movies on Prime Video, ...
Fallout: A Wasteland Survival Guide to the New TV Series
When the time comes to share the man inside the armor, Fallout borrows a page from the Iron Man movies, closing in on Maximus's face inside the helmet as he manages a heads-up display that will be instantly recognizable to fans of the game. When asked about the secret to giving a good Robert Downey Jr. performance, Moten laughs.
What Japanese moviegoers have to say about Oppenheimer as it debuts on
Oppenheimer finally premiered Friday in the nation where two cities were obliterated 79 years ago by the nuclear weapons invented by the American scientist who was the subject of the Oscar-winning ...
'SNL' Cold Open Mocks Donald Trump's Bible Venture
Trump's Bible product, which is being sold for $59.99, includes the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance and the handwritten chorus to ...

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The Fallout is a surprisingly restrained drama about the aftermath of a school shooting

‘The Fallout’ Review: Megan Park Takes the Pulse of a Shell-Shocked Generation

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Reviewed at SXSW Film Festival (online), March 13, 2021, Los Angeles. Running time: 92 MIN.

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