Halo was the reason I asked for an Xbox over the PlayStation for Christmas as a child, and I have been a fan of the video game series and expanded Haloverse from the books and other related media since the initial release. That said, the series is in my opinion, subpar. At a glance it looks decent, the trailer was intriguing and it led me to giving the series a watch, but when you sit down to actually watch the first episode the little details and vibes the show starts with warrant the rating I decided to give it.
I know some folks will disagree with me and that’s okay, but for me both the special and practical effects are lacking, the casting feels off, and the plot is below average and altogether left me bored after the first 15 minutes of watching. The introduction of the Covenant showcasing the brutality of the Elites was the only redeeming quality of the first episode, it made the Covenant feel as though they were something to truly fear. I will say the Spartan armor did look good, but it wasn’t enough to capture my interest and the fact that a basic battle rifle was “XL” size to fit the Master Chief’s frame made some scenes proportionally silly to see on screen.
I understand this is an independent story set in the Haloverse, but too many liberties with the base franchise leads to a lackluster presentation. Seeing the Master Chief’s face was a bit of a let down as the game series expressly make an effort to not show his face, but I get it, give the actor his facetime in the limelight. For me, the perfect Halo series is a faceless, imposing juggernaut that is the Master Chief with Steve Downes voicing the character as he does in the games; think of it like James Earl Jones voicing Darth Vader. It just makes things feel right.
All-in-all the series is okay, nothing noteworthy or to be excited about. If it were to be placed on a scale ranging from horrible to amazing I’d place it somewhere between bad and okay. I intend to continue watching the series to see if it gets any better but I doubt it will, and for that I don’t mind placing the series lower down my watch list to get to it when I get to it. Lastly, if it doesn’t get renewed for a second season I wouldn’t be sad.