One of the most popular video games becomes a full length movie for the first time. Now on Blu-ray and DVD the film Halo: Nightfall turns the video game into a space adventure with a live action cast that does it justice. Nicely directed and depicted with gamers in mind, the production uses just the right amount of CGI to give teens to twenties a top notch adventure. The beauty of this film is not a lot of research is needed to bring you up to snuff on the adventure because it’s all new. All the characters and locations are just entering the Halo Empire so there’s no need for catching up or have even played the video game. After you have seen the film check out special features on the Blu-ray and it will help you fill in the gaps and holes for non-gamers if necessary.
“Prolonged war between humanity and the fanatical alien alliance know as Covenant has ended with a tenuous treaty. Despite the ceasefire Earth’s outer colonies remain vulnerable to the Covenant’s covert intrusions. The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) has been tasked with counterintelligence to best the Covenant at their own game.”
It’s the 26th Century as the adventure starts showing a quick view of Colonel Aiken (Steven Waddington) of the Sedran Army and his daughter on the planet Sedra. Fast forward to Jameson Locke (Mike Colter) an Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) leader of a squad of soldiers tracking an alien in a forest on Sedra. Minutes later a Covenant craft drops off an Elite Zealot. He meets with the alien and receives a package. Locke’s men capture the alien and follow the Zealot to the city where the item he carries explodes killing many citizens.
Locke meets with Colonel Aiken and his team and determine that the bomb contained an element found of a segment of the Alfa Halo Ring that exploded many years ago. They spot a mining tug heading for the Ring segment. Aiken and Locke put together a team to intercept the tug on the segment and nuke the Ring.
The story goes on from there linking to a fight for survival on the Ring against a relentless alien life and the Ring’s dangerous atmosphere. Director Sergio Mimica-Gezzan keeps his film moving at a fast clip following the initial introduction of the mission and the characters. He provides special made armor, guns and a nuclear weapon for the team going to the Ring. A ship called Condor is used to transport the squad to their destination and provide a return to Sedra.
On the surface of the Ring he provides a treacherous terrain for the team of 10 to navigate, a limited time to complete their task, ravenous Lekgolos that attack anything with an electrical charge and the fact that they are marooned on the Ring after the Condor crashes. Their mission now includes them getting to the remaining part of the Condor and radio for help.
The acting by the whole cast is very good depicting their characters with a high degree of science fiction military believability. Mike Colter does a terrific job as the commander of the ONI. In tandem Steven Waddington gives us a character that was once a Spartan and now leads the Sedran Army as a tough chief. The two make the film work with a lot of energy in the compelling story.
BONUS FEATURES:
The following bonus features are on the Blu-ray Disc (DVD disk has nearly all of the extras).
“Beyond the Game- Expanding the Halo Universe” explains about the film including the segment of the Halo Ring that they have to land on. (3:51 min)
“Canon Fire- Developing the Story of Halo: Nightfall” creation of the characters and the storyline. (6:16 min)
“Old Dogs & New Tricks- The tech of Halo: Nightfall” shows among other things the Condor and how it is used to create the film. (3:55 min)
“Try to Keep Up- the Stunts of Halo: Nightfall” Nick Chopping the stunt coordinator goes over how they were carried out on the Halo Ring. (4:57 min)
“Heroes Evolved- Introducing Agent Locke” in addition to showing Locke’s development it goes over the locations where it was all shot. (5:54 min)
“Charter Evolving” Introduces the characters and actors who are in the film. Executive Producer Kiki Wolfkill, franchise developer Frank O’Connor and President of Scott Free Production David Locker talk about the film. (6:03 min)
“New Horizons- Forging the Worlds of Halo: Nightfall” here they explain the segment of the Halo Ring on which the mission takes place. (5:07 min)
Also you can “Unlock Over 45 Minutes of Second Story Extras, Including Highly Confidential ONI Eyes Transmissions To Discover More About Halo: Nightfall”
Halo: Nightfall has been rated TV-14 for the violence and Sci-fi elements that include some characters being devoured by the Lekgolos and some blood. Much like the Halo video games, the film is targeted to both teens and twenties who have played the series. Young children may find the film scary.
I like the story, the CGI, and the look of the film in HD. The Blu-ray shows nicely on an HD television, 16×9 preferably. The widescreen has an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 that shows the whole film without any loss on sides. The sound using either the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 on the Blu-ray or the Dolby Digital 5.1 on the DVD is very crisp and clear allowing dialogue to be heard and special sound effects to surround you.
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Steven Waddington, Mike Colter, Christina Chong, Christian Contreras, Luke Neal, Alexander Bhat, Jennie Gruner, Eric Kofi Abrefa, Alexis Rodney
Director: Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
MPAA Rating: TV-14
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-fi
Running Time: 1 hr.38 min
Original TV Release Date: 2014
Video Release Date: March 17, 2015
Language: English (also switchable to 17 other languages)
Format: Blu-ray/DVD
Audio: Blu-ray- DTS-HD 7.1, DVD- Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Widescreen Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Subtitles: English, English SDH and 17 additional languages
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: Microsoft Studios, 343 Industries
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
