dsalouk Halo 4; Forward Unto Dawn continues the trend every movie that has been adapted from a game has set; it fails incredibly. The director; Stewart Hendler, has shown that he has brought his unique type of direction to this movie, and in doing so, it has a poor structure, and incredibly poor acting. The chemistry between Thom Green and Anna Popplewell is unbelievable, and at times their dialogue is obviously scripted. The excitement of seeing the Chief himself was not enough to carry this movie that failed on most fronts. For a viewer watching this as a stand alone film, it is disappointing and lacklustre, however, if you're an avid Halo player, then maybe there is enough nostalgia and references to keep the tedious story afloat.

atlasmb I found this on Netflix as a 91 minute "movie". As a fan of the video game franchise, I decided to watch it. As always I will evaluate this film as independent of the source material, but I will include some notes about the games.The film starts fairly typically, following the progress of a group of young cadets at a military academy. They are training to do battle with "the Insurrectionists"--a group of "terrorists" who may just be outworld farmers rebelling against taxes.Thomas Lasky (Tom Green) is the central character--a cadet who sees himself as a pacifist and who has trouble living up to the legacy of his military family. But all of the cadets are untested and have no idea how they would react under real fire.Their ivory tower dedication to the cause is jarringly interrupted by an actual attack, but the invaders are like nothing they have ever seen. How can they survive against a superior force of aliens?The photography and the music are both excellent, immersing the viewer into a dynamic and sometimes spooky conflict. But the story is disjointed, with significant parts left unexplained. The actors, though young, become believable as the action unfolds.I cannot give this film a good score, due to the deficiencies in the story. But I can recommend the film to anyone who loves the games, like I do. What fun to see the Master Chief come to life, to see great depictions of the warthog, the grunts and weapons like the needler. The various members of the Covenant, though only briefly depicted in some cases, were a joy to see.

smod-mail I'm a pretty big Halo fan. Now I am sure, a lot of the reviews start in the same way! Let's be honest Halo is a massive franchise and it's been made so well, that making a movie was always going to be judged with extreme criticism. Firstly and most importantly: This movie lives up to all our super HD and CGI needs- the covenant, master chief and action is so well done you almost wish you had blu ray and 4K now to see it in! (Where? Currently on NETFLIX in beautiful quality).Secondly, now this is the problem with it. Almost half the movie is just a back story and an emotional journey only part of which is actually integral to the whole idea of Halo. When you pick up a game/franchise/sci-fi genre that has already given people a story; your own idea or execution of a new back story has to be 'excellent'. I am sorry, the execution here is excellent but the plot is highly boring. If I wasn't a fan of Halo I would have stopped watching 20 minutes into the film. I urge you though, watch it, it gets better and reaches a very very good peak. If you haven't played the game, you will want to play it after this.

Helio Copter First of all, I have virtually no experience playing the Halo games, and thus only a very casual acquaintance with their universe and story line. I like science fiction, though, and was interested in something with action, so I gave Halo 4 a spin, not expecting too terribly much. As at least one other reviewer has written, ALL CAPS WOW!This film is simply astounding in the quality of its production values, cast, writing, cinematography and musical score. I am completely blow away. I have not seen a science fiction/action film this arresting in a long time. Just the visual aspect of it is incredibly beautiful. From what I understand -- I could be wrong -- this was not released in theaters, but I would absolutely love to see something like this on a big screen.Does it start out slowly? I suppose so, but I am a big fan of taking time to develop characters, establish themes and set the stage. Once the action hits, it is intense, and that is only helped by the build up to it. I was on the edge of my seat, lost track of time, and kept thinking to myself, How can this be so good? A little bit of Starship Troopers without the satire/gore, a little bit of Aliens w/out the 80s rough edges, a little bit of Ender's Game with a more hands-on approach, but with a specific modern style all its own. Halo 4 may be just an origin story on a small scale, but what a ride! Highly recommended if you enjoy being transported and thrilled.