Blu-ray Review: Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn

Blu-ray Reviews, Reviews

Surely there is no review in the world that I could possibly write that would interest the target audience of this film (Halo fanatics) in the least. I have spent one evening of my life with the video game and the alien creature feature is hardly my preferred genre so I approached this film differently than most who sought it out. And with that in mind I will go ahead and say that I found it to be deeply flawed with very limited upside; a beautiful CGI commercial for the video game it is trying to pimp an obnoxious, mindless militarism that here is personified by the Master Chief. It musters up some balls every now and again in the storytelling department but everything else about it is just so darn wimpy that those risks are just swallowed up into an ocean of blah. Neither insulting or enriching Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn will most likely only be appreciated by those with an emotional attachment to some aspect of the brand while everybody else will be too distracted by the parade of missteps that march on by from beginning to end. I don’t doubt that the folks at 343 Industries gave it their level best here, and the next time they try their hand at feature film-making I will certainly give their product a look, but frankly this specific project is flat and dull.

The story, which was originally a 10-part webisode and serves as a prequel to the Halo 4 game, focuses on Thomas Lasky (Tom Green) a young cadet with a usual set of problems. He is overflowing with natural talent but is unsure of his future in the military both because of his need to go his own way and because of his doubts surrounding the politics of the war his people are engaged in. Of course those doubts are basically mocked by the writers through a host of other characters who spend the first half of the film ostracizing him for his ego and for his inability to stay on script. They are actually rather relentless in the way that they pound home the point that the mission they are on is righteous and that those who step out of line are very bad people. There really isn’t much else to the first 45 minutes or so. The kids interact and go on training missions and bide their time waiting for the aliens to attack. Keeping in mind that this is a lead up to the mission that takes place in the game having the story revolve around young people getting ready to ship out and kick extraterrestrial ass makes sense, my beef is that in this case it makes for mighty poor cinema. Lasky is there wringing his hands about whether to stay on board and battling an allergy that makes breathing difficult for him but once the aliens land and the shooting begins all of those problems are dropped and the story becomes very simplistic, survive the attack and get the hell out of dodge.

Minor Spoiler Alert: Things get a lot easier for these kids when Master Chief himself shows up to lend a hand (aka: save their asses). Seeing as how he is the face of the franchise it really wouldn’t be much of a Halo movie without him and for much of the audience he will be a welcome addition. Personally I don’t really see the appeal as he strikes me as not much more than the figure head of the hard lined conformity that they seem to be touting here. But more than that there just isn’t a whole lot to his character. His big lines are things like “Who here has the best shot” and “Get down.” He’s cold and robotic and just because he’s a certified bad-ass doesn’t mean that I have to like him. The escape he is assisting with is equally as unaffecting and the whole thing feels like something you find after digging through Netflix for three and a half hours. But to be fair visual panache is more the name of the game here than having a solid script and at the very least they do nail that.

I will also defend the project in larger terms and remind that for most of the history of the relationship between film and video games the deal has been that film can try and sell tickets off the back of video game brands but they never have to actually respect the property. They’ll take characters and general ideas and warp them until they fit into what a Hollywood exec thinks a movie is supposed to look like which is fine unless you’re a gamer who isn’t down with the games he loves being turned into trash entertainment. Here they have failed to make a good movie but they at least respect the brand (yes, I know, because they own it) and are trying to expand the universe that they have already invested so much in. I could just never tell anybody that it is worth their 90 minutes. It feels like something my dad would watch and I don’t say that as a compliment. The acting is strained and hard to watch (Anna Popplewell as Chyler gets especially low marks) and the plot line was probably rushed through during a late Friday meeting. I’m glad it exists because this is the direction I want my entertainment to go in but anybody with discerning tastes will notice the stench on it.

Truthfully, the absolute best thing about this Blu-ray is the Blu-ray itself. Watching this movie in anything less than 1080p seems like a total waste to me. They didn’t skimp out on extras though I can’t say any of them really add a whole lot to the total package. There are two commentaries which are the highlight of the package, one from the guys at 343 Industries and the other by the director Stewart Hendler. There are also some concept art pieces and shots of the models which were used for the special effects though I wouldn’t recommend any of them as they just seem tacked to make it look like it comes with a lot of special features.

Microsoft Studios and 343 Industries presents Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. Directed by: Stewart Hendler. Starring: Tom Green, Anna Popplewell, Enisha Brewster and Ayelet Zurer. Written By: Todd Helbing and Aaron Helbing. Running time: 90 minutes. Rating: TV-14. Released: December 4, 2012. Available at Amazon.com.