Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn

• Directed by Stewart Hendler
• October 5, 2012 to November 2, 2012
• Based on the Halo game series
• YouTube

Unsure of his place, a UNSC cadet conquers his fears during a massive attack on his training site by a faction of the Covenant.

I really do like movies/short form limited series meant to market games. Just something about these overpriced extended commercials that often appeals to me. Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn is one of many marketing attempts masked as a movie though it was initially released as a series of 15-minute shorts. While I enjoy the look and presentation of the Halo games, I have done little with playing the actual games. I am, however, a bit of a sucker for science-fiction so I decided to give it a look.

Let’s start with things voiced by sincere fans. One of the complaints I have seen online concerning this is that it is doesn’t have very much action. Halo is a very rich world that is more than action. More broadly, even something based on an action game does not need action every second. Story needs to come first. Forward Unto Dawn is certainly not boring but unlike a videogame, it’s more of a drama designed to flesh out a character in Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn than it is to simply showcase the general series or aspects of a particular game.

What we get is a story about facing your fears and finding your path. The young Thomas Lasky (Thom Green) is training at the prestigious Corbulo Academy of Military Science filled largely with members of military families. He is there because of a distant mother, making his presence more of a social duty than a personal desire. Lasky, like all the cadet characters, matures through the struggle in the film. They leave their youth behind and grow to full adulthood while risking their personal safety to help others.

This film is a flashback and told largely from the perspective of the now adult Lasky during his youth. His heart isn’t in it and he’s bringing his squad down and they could all suffer because of his lack of interest. Does he step up to the challenge?

Going on off camera yet always present is a war with a group of insurrectionists. This is a conflict generating conflicting feelings. Lasky personifies one view by embracing the idea of negotiation over going to war. Other characters like Chyler Silva (Anna Popplewell), who spent her life surrounded by insurrectionist violence, take the opposing stance with many falling somewhere in-between.

Masam Holden (Michael Sullivan) is the resident hacker and has cobbled together footage that’s confusing to him since he can’t understand why UNSC soldiers are fighting side-by-side with insurrectionists. And its footage that has been suppressed for whatever reason. If you haven’t played halo, then I’m not going to tell you why but any middling fan knows the reason.

The story is heavy on the coming-of-age aspects. Most of the characters have had a pretty sheltered life of privilege because of their family’s social position. Some are feeling pressure to live up to high expectations while others are resentful for being forced into a life they really don’t want but because of society aren’t able to escape.

The production values are adequate. Not great but also not a disappointment. It comes up a little short in the presentation of some of the action scenes when Master Chief (voice of Alex Puccinelli/performance by Daniel Cudmore) must fight a clearly CGI opponent. The Covenant soldiers are CGI crafted so when Master Chief is wrestling with one he’s not really there wrestling with anything. That makes some of the movements of the characters unnatural looking. And that’s a nice way to put it. It does bring down a better-than-it-should-be film.

The costuming overall looks like it belongs in a Halo game. They didn’t try to reinvent the wheel but went with the template that they already had. And they did not cut costs to craft something that looked like it was found in the discount bin at Spirit Halloween.

I can’t say how Halo fans will receive Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. While I enjoyed, I’m not big into the games so I’m not emotionally invested in this. If you are a fan of science fiction I think you’ll find something to enjoy here, but it’s one of those things to proceed with a little caution. Videogame adaptions are not for everybody.