Jeff Spradlin

This is a review of the first episode only. This would be getting much better reviews if people didn't come in with preconceived ideas. Approach this as an alternate universe, a reinterpretation, anything but the plot of a series of video games and books, comics, etc., and you're going to have a much better time. Plot: 3/5. They could make a shot for shot remake of the Halo franchise, but that would be rather boring and predictable, wouldn't it? I'm willing to give it another episode or two just to see what happens. Be curious, be willing to explore. Direction: 3/5. Halsey, Keyes, Padawhateversky, are all just kind of familiar placeholders, compelling in their own right, but not really matching the motivation of their in game/book characters. And that's ok, the characters really don't have that much going for them on the page. Halsey is driven, the Keyes are driven and dutiful, and this is fine to reinterpret. Halsey of the books and games wouldn't be this timid, you could easily argue. Lady stood up to an alien warlord *after* getting her arm cutoff and was still as fiery as ever. But still, in this episode Hasley is willing to use her Spartans to achieve her goals. Writing: 3.5/5. Takes some of the better ideas of the games and fleshes out what makes us human and whether these protectors are still able to be defined by those terms. The High Charity bits are interesting but we'll see. Graphics: 4.5/5. Someone said they looked like trash because of some slightly rough movements of the characters when CGI. It will likely not hold up there in a few years, they're right, but you have to be high to not think this is peak sci-fi action or expect better *handwaving* somewhere. Star Trek had Christmas Lights and Star Wars combined pieces of trash to make props, I think we can take some uncanny valley movements in one scene. Overall: 3.5 but round up to 4 to be generous. If you don't have anything else you want to watch and your SO is out for the night, cook up a pork chop and have a beer with it. Faint praise, but not terrible.