Halo: Season One review by Bobby Blakey
When the video game franchise Halo debuted in 2001 with the game Halo: Combat Evolved it has been a monster hit. The character of Master Chief has become iconic and there have been tlks of some sort of live action version for years. In early 2022 the all-new live action series debuted on Paramount+ starring Natascha McElhone, Bookeem Woodbine, Shabana Azmi, Natasha Culzac and Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief.
Halo follows the epic story of humanity's struggle against the Covenant, an alien threat seeking to destroy the human world. As the infamous Master Chief uncovers the true ambitions of the Covenant, he realizes he must find a way to stop it once and for all.
While I did play some of the various games outside of the look of the aliens and Master Chief I was never fully invested in this universe. So heading into the show I had no reference other than those things to really know it if was matching any of the games at all. That being said when I decided to dive in I admit that the I was all in with the first episode, but then it kind of limped along for a bit.
Thankfully after a couple of it found its footing and I was all in. The story is simple enough and felt like something right out of the game world and its mission. I know there might be a big issue with some having Master Chief remove his helmet as I thought that was not something that happened in the game although I could be wrong. I actually was initially irritated by it as I looked at him like a Judge Dredd scenario, but actually ended up thinking it was a good choice to get more depth to the character.
Schreiber is great in the role bringing a stoic and tough persona to life that is slowly forced to struggle with emotions that makes him an interesting
character. The rest of the cast are good, but a lot of them get lost in generic characters that don’t stand out beyond just being here. The group playing the other SPARTAN soldiers were all awesome and really did a great job bringing the bad ass personas to life.
There is some great action throughout especially with Master Chief and the SPARTANs are involved. I really dug the aliens looks that is right out of the game, big and ready to wreak havoc. They even bring in a fun sequence showcasing the first person shooter nature of the game that will no doubt have fans smiling.
Yes there are some pacing issues and it takes a bit for it to really get going, but when it was done I was all in and hoping for more. Again I have no idea the accuracy to the game so understand if fans might have issues for those reasons, but for me it delivers a good sci0fi action series worthy of its name.
In addition to all 9 episodes of the seasons it offers up bonus content including numerous featurettes takeing fans behind bringing the game to life. Grab your copy of Halo: Season One when it hits 4K, Blu-ray and DVD on November 15th from Showtime, CBS and Paramount Home Entertainment.