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?
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?