Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn (2012) User Reviews

Surprisingly decent production

[RogerBorg · 8/10 · 11 June 2022]

To confound those mind-reading reviewers, I'm someone who's never played any Halo game, ever, and yet still enjoyed the amalgamated "feature" cut of this miniseries on its own merits.

It's not perfect, but it's committed and competent. The sets, costumes and props are surprisingly decent for what is effectively a promotional advert, and the actors give it their absolute all. The effects, once they get going, are decent enough and the budget is very well used.

Sure, it's never going to win awards for originality, and the boot camp concept has been done many times before. But it's strongly conceived and written, the young actors are actually age appropriate, and they perform it compellingly.

Once the CGI bugs and that guy from Doom show up, it actually gets weaker for me as a non-player, but it never drops below the level of credible and competent, and that's high praise for one-off limited series.

I got the impression that the cast and crew had a great time making this, and it shows on screen. Not life-changing, but a great lesson in why you shouldn't lower your expectations of what talented creatives are capable of making when given free reign.

Not a bad introduction to the Halo universe

[zindzijade · 8/10 · 4 December 2012]

As a fan of all things sci-fi, I was really eager to see what a live- action representation of the hallowed game would look like. After seeing this, I am motivated to buy my first ever Halo game and start playing. I would have given it a 10/10 but for the constant slo-mo which I believe was used due to the brief nature of the series. Very good acting, conveying so much emotion and some pretty good action scenes for a 15- minute webisode. I was very impressed with this and as a Halo novice, I am now so intrigued by the series that I want to play it more than I ever wanted to plan any other game! I put this up there with some of my other favourite shows, Battlestar Galactica (the remake) and Stargate Universe. This was very well done.

Far from a Shallow

[view_and_review · 7/10 · 12 March 2014]

I've never played Halo so I was going into this movie somewhat blind not knowing what to expect. It started out ordinary enough with young cadets in a military school introducing themselves and stating why they joined. Much to my surprise, the wide swath of kids (teens really) had varying reasons for joining that extended beyond blood lust or just seeing how cool it would be to kill. That, in itself, was a big notch of respectability in my eyes. I expected a lot of HOO RAH type speech and antics and I didn't see that.

Furthermore, I looked for the typical teen movie clichés, because these were teens after all. Although it wasn't a high school setting, I was looking for the ultra popular beauty queen, the muscle-headed jock, the dweeb and the supporting cast. Fortunately, those characters never appeared. Halo proved to be a deeper, layered, better thought out film than I expected. It could be considered slow, but I thought it was right on point. Very nicely done.

If you don't play Halo, you should still watch this film.

[joenasc · 20 December 2012]

The year is 2525 and the UNSC is at war with terrorists know as Insurrectionists. Thomas Lasky, a freshman cadet, is unsure about this war and his combat capabilities, but when the Covenant invades, he learns what it takes to be a hero from spartan John-117 (aka Master Chief).

This was an awesome film/mini series. Pretty good cast of characters, the actors weren't people I've heard of, but they were still good, cool special effects, and of course the music was great.

I think anyone, whether they are Halo fans or not, will like or love this film/mini series. One more thing: as a lot of people know, most games that are turned into movies are bad, but after watching this, I have faith in an actual Halo movie being made and it being great. All they have to do is do what they did here.

Better than most

[Snootz · 7/10 · 2 April 2018]

Well-done story about cadets in the Halo-world military training facility. Would be better if people knew the Cortana and Master Chief story. As it is, slightly weak ending but fascinating storyline and good acting, filming and directing.

A decent little sci-fi movie released sideways.

[Safetylight · 7/10 · 15 March 2022]

Let's bear in mind that this came out several years before Netflix rudely awakened the slumbering movie industry with their 2017 Wil Smith project, "Bright".

-Which critics completely panned, not because it was bad, (it was a solid 7/10 movie which regular folks enjoyed), but because it bucked the system and made all the little Authoritarian reviewers feel threatened. (You can't get free passes and pats on the head if the regular Hollywood machine's distribution network gets bypassed and Netflix ignores you and doesn't send you review copies, and has the audacity to still rake in tens of millions of viewers without your shillmanship).

I love that! Hollyweird needs to undergo a serious purge at every level.

Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn was essentially a grab bag item, like a coffee mug or tee shirt, swag to be released along with the latest episode in their flagship game franchise. I rolled my eyes when a gamer friend of mine insisted that I watch his DVD copy, "No, it's really good!"

Come on. It's a marketing product. An advert. How good can it possibly be?

So I strapped in, ready for a dose of tacky cheese...

And was blown away.

Wow! They hired real movie pros, actors, production teams. And script writers! It was better than most sci-fi TV shows.

I came to the end asking, "Is there more?"

That was the day I realized that just because Hollywood didn't spit it out doesn't mean it can't be good!

This is good stuff!

After watching new halo tv series this feels like a masterpiece.

[dikarmick · 10/10 · 1 April 2022]

They captured the actual essence of master chief.

Wish this team got the budget of the current series.

Holds true to the fans. Doesn't lack basic logic.

And even has better looking CGI.

Good step up but not there yet

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 21 September 2014]

The year is 2526. Thomas Lasky (Tom Green) struggles in training at the Corbulo Academy of Military Science on the planet Cirnicus-IV. He is a disappointment considering his illustrious military family. His only friend is fellow cadet Chyler Silva (Anna Popplewell). Humanity has ventured out to colonize other worlds. The big threat is expected to be colony insurrectionists. Then the planet is invaded by an alien army, the Covenant, which is kept secret from everybody except the higher ups.

As a web mini-series, there is some good work with impressive F/X for the price. As a TV show, this is better than most Syfy channel work. It's more of an interesting road map of what a Halo TV show or movie could be. Tom Green is a relative newcomer. I've only seen him in a TV show called Camp. It's a different character with a completely different hair cut. Anna Popplewell is probably the only recognizable name and face. She does the only competent acting on the show. In the end, this is not about the acting or even the story. This is mostly a dry run to get the look, the style and the effects correct for something bigger later on. At least, that's the big hope for fans. Looking at what they have, I hope they dial back the shaky cam work. I also hope that they lose the slow-mo Michael Bay wannabe. This seems to be going for Battlestar Galactica and I think that's a good move. If they make a theatrical war movie, it's going to need more money, a lot more money. However I think there is a great horror movie available for a lot less cash.

Where did you come from?!

[meestabeck-586-169733 · 10/10 · 20 January 2013]

Okay, I consider myself a pretty good Halo fan. I have played through all of the games numerous times, and read every Halo book that has been released. I was walking through Walmart's electronics department about a month ago, and I see a Halo movie. What? A Halo movie? Let me take a closer look. Oh great, its a live action Halo movie that I have never heard of, this is going to be terrible.......but its only $14 on BluRay so what the heck. Then I get home (with the kids at daycare) and start watching it on my 42" TV. OH MY GOD. The movie is brimming with great character development, and morality themes regarding the human rebellions before the covenant attack. The main characters (which are cadets at a UNSC Military Acadamy) are all new faces, except the lead female who is the girl from Narnia. They all do a great job convincing me that they are the children of the highest echelon of the UNSC elite, who are trying to make their parents proud. Some people claim that them movie is a little slow at first, or that it parallels Starship Troopers. I do not agree with those claims. The movie thoroughly develops and introduces the characters, so when the covenant (and Master Chief) arrive, you are vested in them, and don't want them to die. By the way, the Covenant were done fantastically, and Master Chief is NOT CGI, but instead the most realistic and amazing armor outfit every constructed. Bottome line, if you like anything about Halo, or if you plan on playing Halo 4, see this movie. Thank you 343 studios for coming out of left field and blowing me away with this movie. I just wish I could have seen it in the theater!!!

Deceptive as a Sci-Fi Movie

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 15 September 2013]

In the future, a group of teenagers from prominent families are trained at the Corbulo Academy of Military Science forming the Hastati Squad to fight against the insurrectionists. Out of the blue, the planet is invaded by powerful aliens and only four cadets survive. When there is no hope for them, they are rescued by the strong Master Chief.

"Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn" is a sci-fi movie made to promote a video game. The characters are not well developed and the first half is a rip-off of "Starship Troopers". Maybe fans of the video game like this movie but for those like me that do not know the game, it is a deceptive sci-fi movie. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Halo 4: Em Direção ao Amanhecer" ("Halo 4: Torward the Dawn")

Note: On 19 Feb 2022, I saw this film again and I note that the Brazilian one-disc DVD is completely edited and maybe this is the reason of my bad review. I upgraded my note to six.

I guess Halo fans like it - but fans of good movies won't

[dalxray · 3/10 · 20 November 2012]

I don't know why the Halo fans are giving this movie such great reviews - as a standalone movie it is (as another reviewer put it) a poor man's Starship Troopers - not that ST was a great movie itself. Mostly this movie is just plain boring. Nothing happens for the first 55 minutes - we are introduced to a group of cadets at a military academy. All the standard character clichés are here with typical tragic back-stories - the protagonist Lasky, who has a problem with authority (what's he doing at a military academy? - oh, his brother was the best cadet ever at same academy and was then killed in combat), the squad rival, the love interest, the computer hacker, the tough chick - you've seen it all before. They go through training, the protagonist nearly quits, the instructors see great potential in him if only he would realize it, etc, etc. Boring. At about the 55 min mark, the aliens attack, kill nearly everyone in a matter of minutes (apparently on the entire planet) except for said group of cadets, who mostly survive despite the fact they often stop and pause in the middle of firefights and explosions to look around dumbfounded at their fallen friends and instructors. Finally a super-soldier "MasterChief 117" - rescues the few remaining survivors. All this is presented as a flashback of the older Lasky, now a captain, after receiving a distress call from a ship named Forward Unto Dawn. There is an opening sequence featuring this vessel drifting thru space which is totally incomprehensible - I guess you'd have to know some of the Halo back-story to make sense of this bit. On the positive : effects are pretty good, performances not bad despite a lot of banal dialogue. Overall, I guess the not-too-fussy fans of the game enjoy this movie, but everyone else - don't waste your time.

This Is How The Halo Movie Should Be Made

[zack_wall · 10/10 · 5 October 2012]

A few months ago when the first trailer came out for the web series, "Forward Unto Dawn", I was beside myself with excitement. I watched the trailer an easy 5-10 times, and then periodically checked back to view it again, in case I missed something the first time around. I've been a fan of the Halo series since day one of Halo C.E., and it's been really disappointing to not have a Halo movie I can feel proud of. Since high school, I've followed the hype surrounding the script writing and screenplay mock-ups of a potential Halo film, but they never panned out into anything real. Then, Microsoft and 343 Industries teamed up to create Forward Unto Dawn, and the hype surrounding a Halo movie returned. Only this time it wasn't going to be a movie, but a web series instead. And when it debuted on October 5th, I was one of the few to see it when it was only at 5k views(hipster moment). It was everything I expected and more. Superb acting, gorgeous visuals, a beautiful soundtrack, and the promise to deliver more and more in future episodes. Friday has always been my favorite day of the week, but now I have a reason to love it. Each episode debuts on a Friday, which means all my calls will be held, pizza will be delivered to my couch, and nothing is more important than those 20 minutes of Halo action. No feature length movie just yet? Well, this is the next best thing. If you call yourself a fan of the game, you...will...watch...this. Oh, and before I forget...Axios!!

Not as Bad as You'd Think, Not as Good as You'd Hope.

[spotthegecko53 · 6/10 · 18 June 2013]

I was pleasantly surprised that the movie "Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn" was actually watchable and somewhat enjoyable! While not anything amazing, but for being essentially a made for TV movie though it was really well done, even if some of the acting was less than par (I'm looking at you Asian guy that got sworded and I was supposed to care about because of your stern father issues). Once you got passed the generic military life beginning and the cliché characters, it actually turns into an interesting survival thriller more than a military movie, stirring up the feeling of "things are not going well and we're not going to make it" I had while playing Halo: Reach, except of course a couple live and all in the movie. On a side note though it's always a plus to see the entitled bitch character get the raw deal though.

The cinematography was nice looking and they definitely had a budget to work with. Most of the characters though were strongly stereotyped (like the aforementioned Asian guy), an inkling of a love story that kind of falls flat at it's climax (no pun intended) and not hearing the voice of Steve Downes as Master Chief, anyone going into watching this with high expectations will be gravely disappointed. That was me upon the first time I attempted watching it. The second time though, I was not expecting much, and wasn't disappointed as much as I maybe should have been. Oh and the thing I was worried about most going into this was the Covenant. Knowing it was TV movie level of quality, I was half expecting cardboard cutouts, but besides what seems like a cop-out of using cloaking, the Elites and Hunters are actually a bit intimidating and add to the thrill a bit as they are a animated very well. The acting is probably at it's peak when they are panicking about the Elite hunting them down. The Jackals though didn't quite the same love though. I loved the nod to how terrible the marines are at driving in the games. I can't count how many awesome situations I had to pass up on because it'd mean I'd need a marine driver. "No thanks, I'd rather walk." Going back to animation quick, I thought that the chief's take down moment was a little odd looking but that's just being picky, I'm just glad we got to see it and not have it happen off screen.

Not quite what I wanted when I thought "Halo Movie," but given the history of video game based movies, this ultimately turned out for the better I suppose. I'm going to continue to hope for more from video game movies though...I'm looking at you alleged Mass Effect movie! Don't f**k that up more than people bitching about ME3's ending, please?

75% Teen Drama 25% Master chief blowing stuff up

[lzakedis2016 · 4/10 · 5 June 2013]

Let me start out with this: i >>LOVE<< the halo series and by my standards the game is the best thing you can put in to you xbox disk drive. It is a wonderful FPS, but it is better than that because its story line is not just developed but its planed out (compared to COD which just slaps together a campaign year after year, just so that they can get back to multiplier settings).

That being said i was extremely disappointed with this. First of all it's a web series (I don't want to hate on web series but for the most part they are not vary well put together). Then, maybe it was just me but i thought this film would be either about master chief and his missions against the Covent or at vary least some other Spartan warriors with there missions like in Reach. But no, this is basically a sad version of harry potter with a halo weapons replacing the wands. They spend so much time on the drama of this kid (the main character who's going through futuristic boot camp) and also his cliché social circle. I mean we got them all: the slightly hot (not really) girl from Narnia ,the bully who's only job in the film is to be mean and petty, the nerd, the Valle girl who's daddy will beat you up if you mess with her, i mean they even the brother who we really know nothing about except that hes a ODST, really what age group was this made for? The name is forward until dawn, but i think they where trying to see how far they could go from the original story in order to keep the name (this is a films basically flash backs of the captions child hood who finds M.C. on the ship F.U.D. in the game).

Now that i have said everything that i HATE this movie for i might as well tell you some of the pros that are in the film (if you really can call this a film). the animation is pretty good, not transformers stuff but enough to stimulate the viewers. i admit that i think that connecting ODST to it was a good idea to keep the halo ecosystem working (even though the way they did it was vary generic). another thing i liked was the way they depicted the Covent. i feel that one of the problem's in modern games these days is that i never really get a good HD look at what they games apposing team is. Not so much their arch enemy but there fighters that you are constantly fighting with, and this film showed the details on these guys quite nicely.

Going in to this i admit that i had high expectations for them to show off the halo universe to us fans a a beautiful way, but it ended up that all we got was snips from the game and a lot of a school on one unnamed planet that looked a lot like earth. over all i think you can tell i dislike the film, not due to that it was bad (even though that was a big factor) but that it in my eyes had a crap load of potential. i mean they had a plot and a story line practically laid in-front of them that they din't use AT ALL!!!! i would later look up the name of the weighter of this film. there names where Todd Helbing and Aaron Helbing. i wanted to find out more about them but they dint have there own wiki page, you want to know why -because the biggest thing they could make was this peace of crap and then disappear into the abyss of bad story writers again!! Hell they should get freeken Oral Scot card or something in here to do the job. I think that Microsoft saw this as a easy way to make halo 4 even more popular so they din't care who made this just as long as it helped there stocks. I pray that the new TV show that they announced there making by Spieberg will be made because they think that they can better Hollywood and make a mark by saying that video games can make a good story line, and also if Microsoft could care more about plot than their name being advertised on a big movie banner.

A Good Sci-Fi Adventure for the Halo Games.

[rdbrown-zeteo · 7/10 · 23 November 2012]

I enjoy playing the games, though I really haven't played much and nor am I a hard core fan but "Halo: Forward Unto Dawn" was a fun and entertaining sci-fi adventure for the games.

I really enjoy sci-fi, especially the artistic and creative ones. The story isn't magic, it sets you up for something yet to come (perhaps the next video game... I don't know... but that's just what the movie feels like, esp. after the ending). However, its the journey of some cadets who get their world shaken as the fight comes to them.

The acting is surprisingly good. Not anything amazing, but good enough so that the movie is still enjoyable. The visuals were great. I loved the effects and the scenery. The action was exciting. The film makers did a great job creating the action scenes in the dark settings. Once the action hits, you will understand the title of the movie.

Overall, if you have ever played the game, I'm sure you will enjoy watching this movie. If you have never played the game what-not, stop using "real life" as a standard for a science fiction film based and centered around a video game. I don't get the negative reviews, but certainly this movie isn't perfect despite how entertaining it is. My rating is on a scale of entertainment, not based on a standard of flawlessness. There was some depth to the movie, mostly in some of the characters and in some aspects of the war, but just surfacy stuff - this also added to the entertainment of the movie.

Fun movie. Worth watching. If you don't like the movie, I'm sure you would appreciate something from it to get your viewings worth.

Much better than nightfall.

[paydenmaddux · 7/10 · 20 September 2019]

This movie was decent. It gives you reasons to care about your characters died, I kinda felt bad. Cause I knew that other people cared about them(those very same people being in the show). The cgi wasn't the best, but it was still pretty good (again. Better than nightfall).i loved the master chief being in this movie. I want more, but this is the best halo movie they have made so far. Definitely worth your time if you have an hour and a half to spare.

Very Impressed

[thedarkknight-89 · 9/10 · 20 June 2013]

I'm aware enough of the Halo Universe to pick up on most of the references in the series, but beyond the fact that it provides an excellent live action piece of an excellent game series, it's simply a great piece of storytelling all it's own.

The people reviewing this saying it's 'boring for the first 55 minutes' or 'cheap and generic' must be expecting heavy action and constant explosions. And those people will never be satisfied with character pieces, which this most certainly relies heavily upon.

The arc of the characters is phenomenal, and their trepidations about becoming soldiers are real and extremely pertinent to the teens of today.

This series manages to fulfill Halo fans expectations of a glimpse into the universe they love, as well as provide new fans with relatable, intensely realistic characters that allow new viewers to experience this universe for themselves, along with the characters.

Definitely worth a watch. That is unless you're looking for non-stop action, explosions and witty one liners said by Master Chief. At which point, don't bother, because this is so much more than that.

Never played the game

[JCinHB · 6/10 · 18 January 2023]

OK... for a person who has never played the game and didn't have a clue as to what to expect other than a shoot em up against aliens, this is decent watching. It starts off kinda slow building up the characters then gets going pretty well with everything hits the fan. Lots of action for the final part of the movie and keeps you interested. I am now going to watch the next installment Nightfall... and so far so good with that one, only 15 minutes into it.

If you are into fighting and space aliens, this is worth a watch. Its no academy award anything, its just 1:41 of 'video game' movie action.

First two episodes are superb!

[je2643 · 10/10 · 14 October 2012]

Well, since I am another halo fan playing since CE on my pc many years ago, like all the other halo fans, i have been salivating at the prospect of a halo movie. Shows like Stargate Atlantis, Stargate Universe and Battlestar Galactica (the remake) have shown us that high caliber special effects and great acting can go hand in hand on the small screen. The first two eps of Halo 4: Forward unto Dawn live up to that expectation.

This web series is tight - even though each is the equivalent of a half hour of live TV (less the commercials) we already have excellent character development, and a sense of what is going on in the timeframe of the series. Acting is taught, tension is palpable, and the editing, sound and effects are crisp and clean. This is not a small budget web series, most of the actors have deep big screen and small screen resumes, and are highly recognizable. It's filmed in big screen movie quality film, and it shows.

The series gives an excellent indication of what direction a halo movie series can achieve, if ever undertaken. At the same time, one becomes aware that if the Halo books ever make it to the big screen, it would be best to avoid what they did with movies such as Master and Commander - where they tried to squeeze multiple books into one movie, with undesirable results. Halo will take several movies at a minimum, to depict its storyline, but as well done as this web series, the fans will rejoice and reward.

Obviously, most viewers will be halo fans, but if you need an intro to the halo universe, this web series is an excellent start.

So 10 out of 10 from me for exceeding my expectations on quality in all respects. Thank you for not doing a cheapy production, but going the full monty, and commencing some Halo precursors in high quality.

Slow-motion!!

[kaiba2789 · 7/10 · 17 May 2014]

Alright for a live-action Halo series, it's pretty good. The acting is nice and believable and the visuals are amazing. Nothing is really left out but you aren't bogged down by insignificant details either. I am rather pleased with what I saw and for a video game adaptation, that's saying a lot. I can't say the same for some of the action. When it comes to the actual gun fights, it feels kind of lacking. All the whooshing and zapping and blasting is nice and all but the feeling behind it all just feels lost. It's pretty slow-paced when it comes to the battle scenes and when Chief appears it doesn't really get any faster. And all the slow-motion doesn't help. If you've ever played a Halo game than you know what Master Chief looks like in slow motion and this doesn't make it any cooler. Showcasing Master Chief blowing up an alien with a grenade is fine but it didn't need to be all slow. It's obvious what's going to happen. If you go into this movie expecting a lot of Chief you might be a bit disappointed but you'll enjoy it either way

Great source material ; poor execution

[native84 · 3/10 · 27 April 2014]

In my opinion , this movie/web-series has been over-rated by Halo fans and in the end it will be to everyone's detriment. If Microsoft/343 Studios get the impression they can release something like this and hit one out of the park we will just see more of it in the future.

As a Halo and Movie fan I believe this would be a shame. The source material (the Halo universe) has the potential to bring something truly great to the big screen but this is far from it.

I won't go into plot, as it has been covered in many reviews, but I will say it is clichéd. The military boot-camp stereotypes have all been done before and with much more depth. These characters seemed one-dimensional and lackluster development left me indifferent to their fates. Some of the dialogue was corny to the point of cringe-worthy and the actors (including some of the adults) lacked the presence to pull off their roles and really set the scene.

Given the relatively small budget some of these things can be understood but the hackneyed plot is not one of them. The special effects were good, despite said constraints, but too many "bullet time" segments bogged the action down.

All in all I was disappointed by Halo 4: Forward Until Dawn and I (like many others I'm sure) am still praying for a Blomkamp/Jackson treatment of the source material.

I do not believe that 10/10 rankings of an obviously flawed series/movie will get us there.

Amazing

[jershin71 · 10/10 · 29 November 2012]

Standing alone, Forward Unto Dawn is visually stunning, aesthetically sound, and superb talent on both sides of the camera. I have read some of these other reviews, and the ones that gave mediocre to terrible reviews basically had viewed the storyline as poorly written or unfinished. In my opinion, Forward Unto Dawn's storyline was not intended to be a stand alone story, but instead as a lead up story to be used in unison with the Halo 4 video game. The character building within the series was centered around Cadet Lasky. It was also about Lasky's first meeting with John-117, as a flashback/memory. Forward Unto Dawn was also intended to bring more fans of the series to the Halo books. Thank you for reading this review and help me look forward to more live-action Halo films.

AT THE END OF THE GAME, THE KING AND THE PAWN GO INTO THE SAME BOX

[nogodnomasters · 7/10 · 5 December 2018]

The story begins at the space academy where a group of privileged teens train to fight the "insurgents" a group of "over taxed farmers" as cadet Thomas Lasky (Tom Green) puts it. He has trouble with cryo-sleep as it makes him violently ill. He also has a love interest in Silva (Anna Popplewell, Queen of Narnia). The film centers around the character of Lasky and his relationship with his fellow students as well as his medical condition.

The students realize something isn't right. When the academy is attacked, they must all man up.

This is part of a series. As a stand alone film, it makes little sense as the background information is provided in bits and pieces. This is geared toward a teen/ young adult audience, having the feel of "Starship Troopers" with its over the top military propaganda speeches.

Rated TV-14, although outside of the violence, it could very well be PG. One co-ed locker room scene with girl in bra top. One use of "D" male member word.

Not an actual movie, it's a novelty item

[Dzhastin · 2/10 · 13 September 2013]

To promote the upcoming release of the video game Halo 4, somebody made a series of five 15-minute web videos, using live action, set in the Halo universe. They were set up like a little miniseries with a vague story to accompany the novelty of seeing what it would look like if Halo came to life. It was a much, much higher quality than you would expect for a bunch of web videos. In fact, I'd say the production values and special effects were of higher quality than several movies I've seen recently. If the goal was to create a compelling marketing product that people would want to watch in order to get them excited about the game, they really did a phenomenal job.

Unfortunately somebody decided that because they had something that visually looked like a movie and had a story that vaguely resembled something you might see in a movie, that meant they had made an actual movie that they could release as a commercial product. Because Hanlon's Razor states, "never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity," I'm forced to assume that this decision was an attempt to cash in on the Halo buzz and not an act of spite against all the people they knew would be furious when they realized they paid actual money for something that is not actually a movie. There are no real stories, there are no real characters, there's really not any explanation of why anything is happening or what any of it means. It's just long stretches of children being upset interspersed with shots that will make the viewer feel like they're playing the video game. It's about as much a movie as a pile of bricks and lumber is a house.

Warning to parents - towards the end of this movie my son (who's a little young to be playing Halo yet himself) looked at me with a very concerned face and asked, "why are so many kids getting killed?" If you think you might want to put this on for your child because they don't care if something doesn't have a story as long as it's something they like, you really don't. Nothing at all interesting happens for the first half of the movie, and then the rest of the movie is children getting crushed, shot, blown up, and slowly bleeding to death from gory leg wounds as their friends helplessly look on in tears. You'd have to be a real piece of excrement to deliberately charge people money for this.

Not bad, has potential

[mergatroid-1 · 6/10 · 5 January 2013]

I've only seen the pilot movie.

I can't believe all the uber fans gushing about this show.

The acting is not all the great. Period.

Overall the show is pretty average. The story is not bad, but the acting and script need some work. It does have potential though, if it goes on and continues to be produced, perhaps the actors will grow into their roles and the acting will improve as they do.

This movie reminds me of the pilot for Babylon 5, where all the acting was stiff and people weren't quite sure about their rolls. The same thing happened in the ST:TNG series, but in both instances the series vastly improved during the first season.

It would also be better if there were actually some adults here and there. I find it hard to believe an entire defense force consisting of nothing but under 25s.