‘Halo: The Fall of Reach’ VOD Review
Stars: Jen Taylor, Steve Downes, Michelle Lukes, Brittany Uomoleale, Travis Willingham | Directed by Ian Kirby
This new animated series is adapted from the original book, Halo: The Fall of Reach, and follows the youth and shaping of Spartan 117, The Master Chief…
Halo – say that word to any gamer (and even a few non-gamers) and they will know what you’re talking about. It’s huge. As a flagship title, it dominated my teenage Xbox years and I am sure many of my friends remember how appalling I was (and still am) at the first person sci-fi shooter which defined a generation. Of course there have been books, comics, spin-offs of the series, and The Fall of Reach is the latest animated film to come out.
Following the story of the first book, Halo: The Fall of Reach looks at the back-story of the Master Chief, how he was created, his childhood, and also the formation of Blue Team. I’ve never read the book (although after watching this film I might check it out) so it was an interesting glimpse into the life of the man in the green suit.
I think the main thing bringing this film down is the animation. I remember Halo 3 looking better than this, and that was released a while ago (although nostalgia goggles might colour my memories). The action scenes, incredibly important in an action film, are rigid and poorly done. Every movement is clunky and shots that are meant to get the blood pumping always fall short. They look fake. Along with that, the faces of the characters look strange, flat and emotionless. Sometimes, I even struggled to tell characters apart. Story aside, this ruined the whole thing for me.
That being said, the story isn’t the worst. I think for hardcore, lore-hungry fans of the series, it is a really interesting back-story. Then again, hardcore, lore-hungry fans of the series have probably already read the book. At the end of the day, if I had a choice between reading the book and this animated film, I would probably go for the written version. No better animation than your imagination eh? Of course, if you get the Halo 5 premium addition you get this for free so you might as well watch it, but buying it as a standalone? I might think twice.
**½ 2.5/5
Halo: The Fall of Reach is available on Blu-ray, DVD and VOD now. Check out a clip below:
