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Halo: Nightfall

Halo: Nightfall

Following on from Forward Unto Dawn comes another live-action offering set in the Halo universe.

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One of the key characters that we'll see more of in Halo 5: Guardians is Jameson Locke, an ONI agent who's becoming increasingly embroiled in the Halo narrative. He's the star of the show in this web series turned live-action feature, and for collectors it's now available on Blu-ray DVD.

Halo: Nightfall is set during the fractious peacetime between Humanity and the Covenant. We'll not delve into the plot points too much for fear of spoilers, but the main thrust of it is that there's an attack on a human colony, and the deadly weapon at the centre of it originates from a piece of the Halo ring destroyed by Master Chief.

Locke and his ONI (that's the Office of Naval Intelligence) squad are at the vanguard of the action when the weapon is first unleashed, and thus it's up to them and a complementary force of local soldiers to head out into deep space to the section of Halo ring identified as the source of the weapon.

It's during these first scenes that we're most intrigued. Here we meet Aiken (Steven Waddington), a soldier with a mysterious past, who goes on to play an important role in later events. Sadly neither Aiken's back story nor the politics surrounding the initial attack are explored in any real depth, instead the action takes us off to a new location.

Despite being only a solitary section of the ring, the Halo shard is still huge, and it's parked outside a giant star. The day cycle is very short, and when exposed to the sunlight its proximity to the star means it's a deathtrap. Thus the team sent to investigate it can only visit when it's basking in darkness. Hence the "Nightfall" part of the title.

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What we're treated to along the way is a somewhat generic story that's unable to get the pulse racing except for in a couple of scenes that prove exception to the rule. The plot twists are so clearly signposted that there's very little in the way of suspense; you're given the information needed to comfortably predict most things a few minutes before they happen.

The characters are largely two-dimensional, and we're under no illusions as to whom we're supposed to dislike. There's just no subtlety to the majority of the character work, and this only feeds into the predictability that plagues this film/series. After a promising start that's more akin to Forward Unto Dawn (which, we have to say, we preferred over this), these new characters are thrown into a story that's more creature feature than anything else, and given the night setting and the events that transpire, it'd be easiest to compare this to the first Riddick movie, Pitch Black.

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There are still some watchable set pieces in there, but nothing that'll stir much in the way of emotion from the audience. There's a couple of interesting elements that feed into ideas plucked from the Halo universe, and even ideas that are bent to fit around the narrative don't feel horribly out of place, but even the good bits have the life sucked out of them by the predictability of the story.

There's some solid camera work and the special effects aren't awful; but there's nothing groundbreaking going on. A couple of shots are memorably framed, especially towards the end, but the location where most of the action takes place (it was filmed in Iceland) is very bland and grey - it fits the concept, but it's not very inspiring. The cast are clearly doing their best to breathe some life into the barren landscape, but not all of them are up to scratch and the script doesn't offer much in the way of help.

One plus is the performance of Mike Colter in the role of Commander Locke (Waddington's was another reasonably assured performance). It'll not win any Oscars, granted, but at least there was the odd enigmatic glare to layer in some mystery and flesh out his character. We're looking forward to finding out more about him and his place in the wider Halo fiction when Halo 5: Guardians lands later this year. We'd have also liked to have known more about Aiken, but alas it wasn't to be.

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Bonus Features

The bonus features are interesting, and Halo fans will likely take some enjoyment from finding out more about the shoot, the characters, and some of the design decisions that informed this film. Most interesting was the discussion regarding the expansion of the lore, and this film's place within the wider fiction. If anything, it wouldn't have hurt to have had more of this.

Included are several short documentaries that detail the story, how it was put together, with notable 343i personnel such as Frank O'Conner and Kiki Wolfkill on hand to offer insight. There's also interviews with the cast and crew, and we're offered some anecdotal details regarding the shoot, which took place in Iceland which is of course very cold, with the team having to pretend that they were actually somewhere very hot.

Perhaps the standout feature is a series vignettes that go into more detail regarding various characters on the proximity of the main story. We get a bit of background on some of the key players, but there's also a series of talking head-style scenes whereby new characters elaborate on factors that play into the overall narrative. For example, there's scenes that explore the planet where the story starts, Sedra, starting with the arrival on the ONI team and the planet's failure to protect their borders, through to the fallout of the weapon that's unleashed near the start.

The quality of the content of the "Second Story" extras is variable (writing and performance), but it does add some value to the overall package, and there's a couple of shorts that genuinely bring something to the fiction, whether that be detail or emotional investment. There's also a lot of them, and the range of themes included is broad. If you're the kind of fan who likes to soak up everything, then these vignettes are certainly worth a watch.

However, beyond the obvious lure of the Halo IP and some interesting bonus features, there's not a huge number of reasons to invest in this edition of Halo: Nightfall. This is a film imbued with little in the way of nuance, there's very few unexpected twists and turns, and it's lumbered with a script that'll give leave you with blunt trauma. The performances are largely run of the mill, and while there's moments of redemption in amongst the action, you'd have to be a big Halo fan for this to be an essential purchase, especially considering you can watch the whole thing for free elsewhere.

Halo: Nightfall
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05 Gamereactor UK
5 / 10
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+ Some interesting bonus features and shorts, a bit more background on Locke, good use of Halo lore. - Predictable in places, some shallow characters, underwhelming script.
overall score
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Halo: Nightfall

MOVIE REVIEW. Written by Mike Holmes

Following on from Forward Unto Dawn comes another live-action offering set in the Halo universe.



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