Halo. Ever since it came out, it has engaged audiences around the world with not only its addictive gameplay, but also with its exciting story, lovable characters, and expansive universe. Attempts at a big screen live-action movie have been tried but are so far halted and rightfully so given that film adaptations of games generally have a poor track record. In the mean time, we've had a few small screen films/series to keep us entertained. "Halo Legends" was a superb film composed of different action-packed anime-styled shorts that expanded on the lore of Halo. "Forward Unto Dawn" had a laid-back tone that might bore some people were it not for both decent character development, nicely-done effects, and some really great action in the last quarter. Then along comes "Nightfall", which had potential considering Ridley Scott's role in making it, but BOY did it become the first official dud on the cinematic part of the franchise. Why? Well, you'll see since the spoiler warning is warranted.
Plot: On the planet of Sedra, an Elite terrorist sets off a device that kills several civilians. The device is powered by a newly discovered element, which Agent Locke and his team have traced back to one of the remains of the first Halo ring, now orbiting dangerously close to a sun. With some assistance from a few local Sedrans, including former SPARTAN Aiken, the team lands on the Halo fragment to destroy the deposit of the new element. However, things quickly go wrong when swarms of Lekgolo/Hunter worms attack and damage their ship, attracted by the energy signature of their equipment. With only hours left before the deadly heat of the sun comes up and the Hunter swarms closing in on them, the members of the Locke's group will be forced to make some difficult choices.
This web series had potential. The initial set-up is intriguing and the effects and social commentary are pretty good. I especially love how menacing the Hunter worms were. Having played the games, I've seen first-hand how tough the Hunters can be but to see them swarm like this and even going as far as to try and trick the soldiers by appearing as one of them in the distance was a genuine surprise and made them scary. We also get the pleasure of seeing a member of an all-new alien race called Yonhets, humanoids with gill-like structures on their heads. Agent Locke, a playable character in Halo 5, is introduced in this series and we see who he was before his hunt for Master Chief. These are the only few positives I have found in this otherwise piece of crap.
After the first two fifths of this show, it all goes downhill from here. Most of the characters are just boring, even the ones the audience is supposed to care for. They express very little emotion beyond brooding, desperation, and later insanity, which I get given the grim situation but they were pretty much like this even before the freakin' mission. It was blatantly obvious would was gonna betray one another, who gets to die, and who gets to live. I especially hate this one guy named Michael Horrigan, who was a complete arrogant @$$hole right from the start, caring little about anyone and stabbing everyone in the back. He becomes so infuriating that I'm glad he becomes Hunter chow. Locke and Aiken are the most tolerable characters and yet, despite being introduced to them, we still know little about them (ex. why did Aiken quit the SPARTAN program?). "Forward Unto Dawn" at least showed where Lasky came from and developed his character.
Despite the initial swagger of effects and a chase scene on Sedra, most of that is traded for dull landscapes and green screen effects once the mission on the Halo fragment starts. Ridley Scott usually knows how to bring a sense of isolation while still enthralling us with the look of his desert-canyon environments in films like "Alien" and "Prometheus", but here the environments did little to impress. For a franchise that markets itself primarily on action, very little action actually happens in this series. Barely a few shots were fired at the Hunter worms, even at the climax where the crazy people naturally should be fighting them. "Forward Unto Dawn" had a much lower budget and yet it still delivered some great action scenes, but "Nightfall" was so much more interested in being a survival story that it might as well not be connected to Halo. There's not even a climactic fight scene between Locke/Aiken and Michael, clichéd as it would been, but it would still show some action going on in this bore-fest. $10,000,000 and this is what we get? Forget this! Also, the soundtrack is completely forgettable.
Where did Ridley Scott go wrong? Not doing the Halo franchise any justice, that's what. A good start to the story, creepy aliens, and some nice designs were hampered by wasted effects, dull characters, predictable plot points, no memorable music, and overall boring tone. Even non-fans will find this piece of crap a bad series overall. Don't give "Nightfall" a second thought and just pass up on this. You will be spared 90 minutes of your life.
Plot: On the planet of Sedra, an Elite terrorist sets off a device that kills several civilians. The device is powered by a newly discovered element, which Agent Locke and his team have traced back to one of the remains of the first Halo ring, now orbiting dangerously close to a sun. With some assistance from a few local Sedrans, including former SPARTAN Aiken, the team lands on the Halo fragment to destroy the deposit of the new element. However, things quickly go wrong when swarms of Lekgolo/Hunter worms attack and damage their ship, attracted by the energy signature of their equipment. With only hours left before the deadly heat of the sun comes up and the Hunter swarms closing in on them, the members of the Locke's group will be forced to make some difficult choices.
This web series had potential. The initial set-up is intriguing and the effects and social commentary are pretty good. I especially love how menacing the Hunter worms were. Having played the games, I've seen first-hand how tough the Hunters can be but to see them swarm like this and even going as far as to try and trick the soldiers by appearing as one of them in the distance was a genuine surprise and made them scary. We also get the pleasure of seeing a member of an all-new alien race called Yonhets, humanoids with gill-like structures on their heads. Agent Locke, a playable character in Halo 5, is introduced in this series and we see who he was before his hunt for Master Chief. These are the only few positives I have found in this otherwise piece of crap.
After the first two fifths of this show, it all goes downhill from here. Most of the characters are just boring, even the ones the audience is supposed to care for. They express very little emotion beyond brooding, desperation, and later insanity, which I get given the grim situation but they were pretty much like this even before the freakin' mission. It was blatantly obvious would was gonna betray one another, who gets to die, and who gets to live. I especially hate this one guy named Michael Horrigan, who was a complete arrogant @$$hole right from the start, caring little about anyone and stabbing everyone in the back. He becomes so infuriating that I'm glad he becomes Hunter chow. Locke and Aiken are the most tolerable characters and yet, despite being introduced to them, we still know little about them (ex. why did Aiken quit the SPARTAN program?). "Forward Unto Dawn" at least showed where Lasky came from and developed his character.
Despite the initial swagger of effects and a chase scene on Sedra, most of that is traded for dull landscapes and green screen effects once the mission on the Halo fragment starts. Ridley Scott usually knows how to bring a sense of isolation while still enthralling us with the look of his desert-canyon environments in films like "Alien" and "Prometheus", but here the environments did little to impress. For a franchise that markets itself primarily on action, very little action actually happens in this series. Barely a few shots were fired at the Hunter worms, even at the climax where the crazy people naturally should be fighting them. "Forward Unto Dawn" had a much lower budget and yet it still delivered some great action scenes, but "Nightfall" was so much more interested in being a survival story that it might as well not be connected to Halo. There's not even a climactic fight scene between Locke/Aiken and Michael, clichéd as it would been, but it would still show some action going on in this bore-fest. $10,000,000 and this is what we get? Forget this! Also, the soundtrack is completely forgettable.
Where did Ridley Scott go wrong? Not doing the Halo franchise any justice, that's what. A good start to the story, creepy aliens, and some nice designs were hampered by wasted effects, dull characters, predictable plot points, no memorable music, and overall boring tone. Even non-fans will find this piece of crap a bad series overall. Don't give "Nightfall" a second thought and just pass up on this. You will be spared 90 minutes of your life.