Title: Halo Nightfall
Microsoft Studios
Director: Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
Writer: Paul T. Scheuring
Cast: Christina Chong, Christian Contreras,Luke Neal, Alexander Bhat, Jennie Gruner, Eric Kofi Abrefa, Alexis Rodney
Running Time: 98 min, Rated TV 14, Available on Blu-ray
Special Features: 35 min of behind the scenes footage, 17 min of second story extras

It is the 26th century on the colony world of Sedra that is 92% inhabited by humans. An alien race known as the Covenant has brought a biochemical virus to the planet and releases it among the public, which only kills humans.  It is up to Jameson Locke (Mike Colter), a legendary man hunter and agent with the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) and a few selected agents to ship themselves off to the piece of land that remains of the destroyed Halo and obliterate it. This bit of land houses the only material that was used in the biological attack.  With clashing egos and wavering courage, the soldiers must strive forward with their task at hand before they either get eaten by strange hive worms, or when sun rises and burns them all before they can successfully complete the mission.

The Good: The CG effects are well done. No cheap looking green screen auras which bug the crap out of me. Seriously, if you’re spending the money, make it look good. You don’t get an A for effort or participation trophies these days for shitty CG.

The Bad: The cast of the crew was so diverse, it was like the bus in Speed. Yes it’s cool to portray the future without race being an issue, but this was almost an in your face Benetton ad. Just Their extras were not the greatest. One guy was obviously insecure about taking his shirt off and you could clearly see him suck in. There wasn’t anything wrong with his body, but dude, c’mon. One woman with a stupid looking side bun that looks like a brain slug from Futurama is supposed to be affected by the alien virus. She hyperventilates and then gives a relaxed sigh; meanwhile the other affected are moaning in pain the whole time.  Where was her direction?  Part of the mission looks like it was very much inspired by Armageddon where one takes it upon himself to blow up the planet. The terrain of he planet and the interaction with the hive-worms are reminiscent of Pitch Black. There’s no real character development, so I couldn’t care for anyone.  They had some quirks to make them stand out a little bit, but they all just kind of blended together.

You have to be a fan of the game Halo to enjoy this film. I have never played Halo because I’m not a fan of first person shooter games. I got the gist of the plot, but I was otherwise lost.  All of the obvious references went right over my head.  If the plot of this film is like the plot of the games, I don’t get it’s appeal because it’s bland and boring. Apparently the main character Locke will be the main character in the upcoming Halo 5: Guardians. If that gets you excited, then congratulations, you’re in the target audience.

Acting: B
Story:D
Technical: A
Total Rating: C
Reviewed by JM Willis