Practical and CGI effects are mostly great, real violence is a nice touch, the first person with crosshair is also great, the new timeline is the best choice for the series.
The problems? A fucking whole lot of cliches. Basically every scene is predictable. Why the fuck Master Chieff has to take his helmet off?! The end of the episode is so convenient that my chest hurts
It has heart, but holy shit, looks like the script was made by a game fan who doesn't get how TV shows works
Was interested in giving this a shot. The impressions seem brutal. However, as a person not invested in the lore I had to ignore the faithfuls since they are losing their minds over it not following the lore/books. However, I have watched some scenes on youtube and the touted moments of the show just come across as bad. Then the plot points revealed are just... bad. Seems like generic scifi with a budget. I might still give it a shot once the show reaches completion but the impressions of the 2nd episode seem to lead this to a nosedive.
Halo is the back to being a really good multiplayer FPS and pretty lame in just about every other aspect.
MS tried so hard from the beginning to make Halo a "media empire" but it all just sucks. I wish they would stop cheapening and diluting the brand of a game I'm a fan of.
I really didn't like what I saw with the first episode, mostly because I have at least a surface level investment in the plot from the games. Like im not a super halo buff or anything, but i figure you're gonna adapt something, you'd at least follow the game's story a little.
There's this strange and total disregard for the story of the actual games from both a lore and plot perspective. Turns out Halo's location was found on some map in an easily accessible cave on Madrigal. The Fall of Reach and the ensuing events after in Halo CE just doesn't happen. Master Chief goes awol with his trendy liberal arts sideshave sidekick at the end of the first episode to what I guess is Halo's location (going by the forerunner mcguffin he activates at the end)?
Everyone in the UNSC is just a bastard now (maybe except Miranda Keyes, who is now suddenly black and looks 12 years old).
I mean yeah, the UNSC isn't squeaky clean (and by extension third parties like ONI) in the actual story, but they just go all out on making them a bunch of cunts. They immediately compile an arbitrary situation to make chief a rogue element because apparently the artifact made him remember he owned a dog or something as a kid. Also yeah, apparently chief doesn't actually have a stake in the UNSC or humanity's struggle because the Spartans are all totally mind controlled in this version of the setting.
It's like the writer glanced at the summary of the games on a wiki, and decided all the hurrah hurrah military heroics is super problematic and doesn't fit their ideal vision of an anti-authoritative society.
I dont expect any adaptation to follow its source beat by beat, but this show has shown right out of the gate that it does not give a solitary fuck about what its adapting, aside from just referencing a few names and including some iconic imagery.
Im not even gonna bring up the dodgy cgi or the generally clichéd writing. Im just so sick of these cynically produced adaptations.
I gave this a shot last night and it's be really nice if costumes were a thing again. The CGI looks really bad. The entire episode gave me The Rock's Doom vibes.
I gave this a shot last night and it's be really nice if costumes were a thing again. The CGI looks really bad. The entire episode gave me The Rock's Doom vibes.
To me this seem better then anything Boba Fett had going on. Quality was all over place when it comes to CGI. It did have all those typical gripes TV shows have these days but not having any knowledge about the Halo universe or the games propably helped me to enjoy it more. Nothing to ruin there for me. Seen only first episode.
Episode 2 was pretty fun too. I always like the roles of that dude that looks like he is some lost brother of Dave Chapelle.
What's weird about this show is that it doesn't really feel like Halo. It feels like a decent new sci fi show with pretty good production values that for some weird reason just happens to have elements from the Halo universe.
Also lol, I guess when early reviews were saying MC takes off his helmet a lot what they actually meant was "he spends more time with his helmet off than on"
Also the blonde Spartan looks more like a Spartan than in the trailers, no pink hair n shit. So I can only assume they'll eventually all "get feelings" and discover Twitter.
I just don't know how I feel about this show. It's watchable, there's some promise but I cannot withhold that part of me that wants to rage at what could have been made. My biggest Halo lore bud is raging at this show, I'm still watching but there's just some really stupid shit in there that is hard to turn off. I'll put it in spoiler tags just so I don't ruin something for someone.
I really love some of the shots e.g. Chief in the Condor taking off from the Rubble was gorgeous. Seeing a Spartan gone AWOL is pretty cool. Seeing John wade through the Rubble was cool. The show at least held its own line and is building a world/story it wants to tell, I can respect that. It's doing it pretty bloody slowly though.
Then there is some really dumb stuff like John having his helmet off let alone all his armour too in a massive Innie place of danger. Miranda being the one who takes all the tech advance credit in place of Halsey of old. The flashbacks to Spartan training are really shit compared to what has been done in Nylund books, easy IRL action stuff that would have translated to the screen and production costs just fucking fine. Zero action in Episode 2, fucking zero. How are we basically 25% into this season/show (2 of 9 episodes down now) and Cortana is nothing but a name basically. Hello snail pace story. Why the shit is the same sequence used when Chief touches the artefact again, again no progression, we already know about the Blessed Ones from the Covie chick in EP1. I really don't like this idea of Forerunner tech just being a "touch me and I'll solve all your situational problems".
They had this awesome premise of Chief going rogue and it could have lead right into him going solo on a Halo ring like CE and leading into Halo 2 sort of UNSC help as they went along. They could have had him steal Cortana and escape with Kwan and the artefact but instead we just got Chief returns to UNSC politics. If all the Chief changing since interacting event(s) just fall into he becomes more human in the process it will be a wasted opportunity. They have a nice premise for stepping him into the next evolutionary phase in terms of action, strategy, tech he can access, ways out of things etc. It needs to rapidly become more about action, events, tech, space, mystery, strategy and far less about politics and character drama.
How about Silver team? Do they do anything? Why are they there? No flashbacks to bring them into the story or align us with Chief, they're just sort of inside UNSC plot device.
The nazi iconism with executions, supposed Innie villian and all that is just shit I don't care about or want to see in Halo.
Messing with Cortana being the first general AI instead of them just being part of the established universe...roll my eyes more.
Honestly I can see what was cut together in the trailer and what has been shown in Ep1 VS Ep2 and it gives you an idea of how much is in the trailer for showing the "good bits" out of the whole season. It feels like it's going to be light on per episode. I'm fairly open minded but I have to say I'm feeling pretty gutted about following a franchise for two decades and really fuck all continuity in terms of the 343 handled games and this show giving you a sense of story progress or eventfulness. It just rubs the wrong way. I want to know about Blue Team, I want to relive their best hits, I want to see them push through the war, I want to see Chief on his own, I want interesting mysterious technology, unravelling cosmic forces, insane odds, the sheer will to win, turning the tides with advancements and strategy that Halsey of old did so well.
At the end of the day I can enjoy the show on what it stands out on its own for. It does not mean I'm not mourning, yet again, what I consider a missed opportunity of what could have been. By comparison to Nylund books or Halo 1-3 we're basically at the end of the first act and the big thing will be Cortana coming onboard in Ep3, the games had a lot more in terms of what occurs in Act 1. Hell why didn't they open with CE's famous cracking of Chief's cryo case and escaping to land on a Halo? What a fucking Ep1 that would have been. Introduce Chief, Halo, Keyes, various Covie enemies, action, setup for stories etc. Ah fuck.
Episode 3 hopefully really picks up the pace, action and events. The show is pretty lacklustre thus far in terms of what has been in the games and books; irrespective of silver universe or not.
CE ACT 1 - Pillar of Autumn, Arriving on Halo, Truth and Reconciliation, part of The Silent Cartograhper.
Halo 2 ACT 1 - The Heretic (Story of Arbiter and affects of CE), The Armoury, Cairo Station, Outskirts
Without even going to the brilliance of Nylund's written work on John and Cortana being paired and training as well a Spartan training and development. By comparison the show has really done very little in terms of its first act.
Angry Joe says it well, 40mins in and you wouldn't even know you're watching Halo.
EDIT: Also where the fuck is Johnson? WTF? How do we not have a space battle after 2 episodes?
I was just annoyed they took Master Chiefs helmet off in the very first episode. To me thast a bigger sin than any story changes or ignoring the game material. Master Chief is not someone that shows emotions.
I was just annoyed they took Master Chiefs helmet off in the very first episode. To me thast a bigger sin than any story changes or ignoring the game material. Master Chief is not someone that shows emotions.
Mine cart ride segment.. in space.. leading to an insane asylum.. wow.
Also, blonde chick stripping naked out of nowhere. Maybe they will show Master Chief's ass in a later episode?
Episode 2. What makes me rage is the fact that Master Chief never has his fucking helmet on, not even in a place where people want to shoo him. He had it on for like 10 seconds this episode and then he's out of it again wtf. I'm starting to think this guy listened to Pedro Pascal complain about it in The Mandalorian or something.
The cuts between scenes are dumb as shit too. We see chief flying away and in the next scene he's in custody. I'm guessing he had a talk with the other Spartans but they'll show that later or something... And that cart ride into space, if that cart falls down, how can it hook to a wire without falling into the wire first? I hate this show so much but most of it is because of the wasted potential and the terrible directing.
I went into this after seeing some news of it not abiding by lore or the story so far or whatever, so viewed it as it’s own stand alone project completely cut off from the rest.
Viewing it like that, as a sci-fi tv show even after having played through all the multiple times I was still impressed.
The violence
CGI 50/50 some is the best I’ve seen in a tv show some is I’m not sure what’s going on. But at the end of a day people need to remember it’s a tv show and still looks better than blockbuster movies a decade ago.
Story, interesting enough.
Planet variation
At the end of the day as viewing as a new sci-fi show with an actual budget that we desperately need more on I’m more impressed than I thought I was going to be.
Switch off, forget the games, try and enjoy.
Edit, forgot the set and physical piece building they did massive
Episode 2. What makes me rage is the fact that Master Chief never has his fucking helmet on, not even in a place where people want to shoo him. He had it on for like 10 seconds this episode and then he's out of it again wtf. I'm starting to think this guy listened to Pedro Pascal complain about it in The Mandalorian or something.
That's basically it.
It's not a Halo show. It's basically some new sci fi show with a Halo skin on it.
It's like if you took The Expanse with the exact same script but just made one of the girls blue and one of the guys a Krogan and then called it a Mass Effect show.
He doesn't just take his Helmet off, he's not even wearing the armor for half the episode lol
That's basically it.
It's not a Halo show. It's basically some new sci fi show with a Halo skin on it.
It's like if you took The Expanse with the exact same script but just made one of the girls blue and one of the guys a Krogan and then called it a Mass Effect show.
I know right ? I enjoyed it more than I thought I would and I rewatched the 2nd episode. I understand why they removed his helmet now. I justed didn't like the way they did it and there are some other things I hated about the show too.
I'm really enjoying the show. I know they've changed a lot from the game, and I'm ok with it. I feel like with adaptations it is one of those damned if you do or damned if you don't situations. If you follow the story of the book/game 100% exactly then it can be really hard to fill out a bunch of seasons, but you can't get to far away from the lore either. If I'm just watching this as a sci-fi show though it's pretty decent, aside from some of the shitty CGI. This is definitely not just a cheap Scyfi channel show, and is definitely better than the newer Star Trek series so far. I'm assuming there will be more action in future episodes just based on the trailers, but that second episode was a lot of exposition
Nah, by the time they got the mark IV armour, they could take it off themselves in minutes, Chief even takes his off before a meeting in one of the novels.
In halo 4 they show the spartan - IVs using a kind of machine that can quickly remove or place all the armour parts; only very early versions of the armour needed a lot of people.
I know right ? I enjoyed it more than I thought I would and I rewatched the 2nd episode. I understand why they removed his helmet now. I justed didn't like the way they did it and there are some other things I hated about the show too.
My strategy is to basically go in only holding strongly only onto the very core basics of the Halo universe.
1 - What is a Halo? (and I'm totally open to there being more mysteries to what they are than what we know currently based on our experiences with the games and other forms of media)
2 - What does a Halo do?
3 - Who is Cortana?
4 - Who is Dr. Catherine Halsey?
5 - Who is the Master Chief
6 - What is a Spartan?
7 - What is the Spartan Program?
8 - What is the Covenant?
9 - What is the UNSC?
10 - What is the current state of relations or level of trust between non-UNSC friendly parts of humanity?
Those are the only things I'm holding firmly to and I'm open to there being twists in parts. With those in mind and being willing to accept change that's how I find my enjoyment with this TV show. Because if I know going in that I'm going to hold it to every minor or subtle detail, I will never allow myself even the most minor bit of enjoyment.
The Miranda Keyes hologram scene was my shark jump moment.
Is she supposed to be a noteworthy general or an introverted high school freshman? Casting directors around the country have been kidnapped I'm sure of it.
Nah, by the time they got the mark IV armour, they could take it off themselves in minutes, Chief even takes his off before a meeting in one of the novels.
In halo 4 they show the spartan - IVs using a kind of machine that can quickly remove or place all the armour parts; only very early versions of the armour needed a lot of people.
Considering that they’ve never been to a Halo yet in this show, he should be wearing Mark V or Mark IV as he didn’t get Mark VI until after destroying the first ring. I totally understand changing a few things around, but for fuck sake this show fucked everything up down to the last detail.
Second episode was alright, seems like there could be some interesting threads. It’s kinda crazy how all over the place the VFX have been…some examples of it being just terribad, but the prophets and some of the space shots look great. I’ll keep watching
After this episode it's official. This show is a hit. This episode was this show's proper coming out party in my view. The production quality, the story, everything is getting turned up a notch. Cortana's appearance has been a game changer. Jen Taylor is knocking it out of the damn park with her performance! Halsey's actress could be one of the very best examples of casting ever. It doesn't get much better.
Mackee's character grew on me massively in this episode also. This to me felt like almost the proper start of the show. It took the previous two episodes to set all this up, but it's officially here. Microsoft and Paramount should be very happy with what they have here, and I'm starting to understand why this show has already been greenlit for a second season.
Anyone who felt this wouldn't work as a TV Series, this is the episode that shuts all of that down. They know what they're doing.
Good episode but again pretty slow in terms of action or actual progress. No soldier battle, no space battle and not even an eventful training run to test Cortana and Chief before being in the field.
I enjoyed this episode more than the first two but you have to wonder by comparison to the books and games why this is lacking in some departments.
I really don't need to see Chief getting in touch with his feelings over and over. Equally I really don't care for Kwan's story arc at all either.
The Hunter worms were cool but again you need a lobotomy to not have shot the Covie chick in the head right away. You have time to yell it's a trap but not headshot her? The captain even had his pistol at the ready.
Hollywood is for this evil A.I narrative. And any project with a good A.I will never get approved. So Cortanna can control masterchief and spy on his every actions now ?
Never cited Xbox nor Microsoft but "play" that Is the italian colloquial abbreviation of PlayStation
