Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn (2012)

Waste of time! The worst and dumbest movie of its kind, I really don't understand how could this pathetic piece of film be rated above 1! The film is mediocre in all aspects! Please don't do the mistake and watch it. Acting is irrelevant, special effects are ridiculous, scenario leads to nowhere, plot is meaningless. There is nothing in this film that can justify watching it. My wife and me are totally disappointed that we wasted our time watching this film, and we are left with regrets only!

Most of the action in this 2012 miniseries takes place in a futuristic military academy. The protagonists are trained to be good soldiers. Green and Popplewell give both decent performances, Zurer's part is too small to make an impact and Brewster proves she is not a good actress. The whole thing runs for 90 minutes and you can either watch it as a five-part miniseries or as an entire movie. The action is very cliché and has been done so many times. The male protagonist is the brother of a successful former soldier and fails to be as good as his brother. But only initially of course, as it is always in these films. When the going gets tough, i.e. humanity is attacked and lots of explosions happen, he proves to be as good (probably better) than his legendary brother. Near the end, everybody except our group of heroes is killed. Also done many times. I am not the greatest science fiction fan, but this movie lacked some originality to me. Or maybe you have to have played the games to really appreciate it. Which I have not, but also which this film could not inspire me to do. The film's director is not too known, but the writer has worked on "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" and, more recently, the very much hyped new television series "The Flash". I assume he has improved over the last couple years as "Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn" is a mostly forgettable effort. Not recommended.

I'm just going to say it, Halo is overrated. It can present some fun gameplay if you want to play with friends but in terms of story nothing about it screams anything other than video game, although I DID enjoy some of the anime so that was a surprise. But as a linear 80 minute movie? This could work, I mean I'm open to it if they flesh out more plot characters and... That's not even remotely what happens.We follow cadets in a training Academy for the army against the Covenant. Only they think they're going to fight terrorists which we don't know about and has never been in any other Halo game. As the characters which are barely established go through training one played by Tom "NOT-Freddy-Got-Fingered" Green questions orders, has a war hero mother who we never see and is allergic to some cryo-genetic fluid that's in tanks which the army uses. One day The Covenant attacks and They're caught completely off-guard as to what they are and where they came from and The Master Chief appears in record time to make his 5 minute cameo and then the movie's over.Okay, notice how many times I said things aren't established in any other Halo game or we are told as opposed to shown? There's a lot of that. I can't feel emotionally connected to characters who we know almost nothing about and what we do know comes in about halfway through at best, so half the movie is spent with me saying "What?, Who?, Why?, OKAY! TIME OUT! WHAT IS GOING ON!" I mean for what is simply "Human's Versus Aliens" this movie loses you very easily.I might dwell into the under-use of one of the most recognizable video game characters of all time However I have another complaint. Why does the academy keep the fact that they're fighting aliens secret. I mean how's that supposed to work? On Graduation Day does the person running the place say "Oh, by the way, we're fighting aliens in a losing war" Shouldn't Tom Green's character know this because he has a mother AND a dead brother in the exact war? I mean if they wanted to keep it a secret from non-soldiers (where are they again? In a game franchise over 10 years old I don't think I've seen anyone who isn't a soldier in them) then I'd be fine but these are people who are going to fight the war.At the end of the day this is like watching a YouTube fan film. You know, the ones which don't exactly follow the rules of film (I'll give credit even they're better at keeping to the rules then this does) but you know they're a fan of the games. Instead of watching one that's a few minutes this is one that's an hour and a half. There is some talent trying to pull through - I'll admit that but there is just a lot that I really don't like.

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.