6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
When the Covenant threatens mankind's greatest stronghold, Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber) and his elite team of Spartans embark on an epic journey to find the Halo and ensure humanity's survival...or guarantee their destruction. Also starring Charlie Murphy (Peaky Blinders), Natascha McElhone (The Crown), Bokeem Woodbine (Fargo), and featuring Jen Taylor (voice of Cortana in the Halo video game series).
Starring: Pablo Schreiber, Shabana Azmi, Natasha Culzac, Olive Gray, Yerin HaAction | 100% |
Sci-Fi | 78% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.00:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.00:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: Dolby Digital 5.1
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Blu-ray Disc
Four-disc set (4 BDs)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Halo's first season got a lot right, but it also got some things wrong. One of the things it got right was, well, just getting made. The Halo video game franchise has been a staple of the Xbox consoles for decades, and by now it has built an incredibly large and sprawling mythos born of more than a few games, and mostly very good games at that. Though a first-person shooter at heart, the franchise has really been a standard bearer of narrative excellence as well on the video game side of the Sci-Fi ledger, and really there's not much out there, TV, film, or game, that can match it for depth and breadth of its fictional universe. So, it was a long-awaited arrival for season one, and while imperfect, it offered a wonderful live action glimpse into the heretofore digital, and playable, world of its video games. Season two makes some small tweaks and a few big adjustments while also digging even more deeply into franchise mythology to offer the best, yet sadly also the final, season for what should have been an epic TV production but that never did quite capture the imagination in the same way the video games did and continue to do.
The 1080p picture presentation is rock solid. The digital shoot translates very well to Blu-ray and in 2024 the image is just about everything fans would expect. It's marred by only sporadic issues like black crush, banding, and compression artifacts...these are largely few and far between and give way to what is a handsome, crisp, and just about perfectly defined Blu-ray image. Details are sharp and precise. Clarity is excellent, even in some lower light elements (look at a space battle and a dank and spartan prison in the opening minutes of the season's final episode for examples). In good light, the image really shines, offering terrific definition to all of the critical Halo elements, like the Spartan suits, guns, and alien ship corridors and control panels. Colors are stable and rich, again at times held back by some of the darker and more bleak production design elements, but again in good light the palette is appreciably full and rich. Black levels hold steady and solid, white balance pleases, and skin tones look solid, though again can be influenced by location lighting. Overall, this is a very good Blu-ray from Paramount.
Paramount brings Halo: Season Two to Blu-ray with a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Though fans might rightly miss the fuller back and top range that an Atmos track would have provided -- and seemed like a no-brainer for an action Sci-Fi show like Halo -- this 5.1 track is every bit as high yield, clear, and precise as fans would expect from this lossless configuration. Music is full bodied, aggressive, and balanced, with fine front stage balance and a quality sense of surround wrap. Action follows suit, offering prominent front center, left, and right content at balanced volume, supported by what is frequently a frenzy of exact surround activity that flows well as both discrete and free flowing content. Music and action alike are supported by potent, yet not overbearing, bass that gives necessary weight, depth, and punch to all content. Mild surround and atmospheric elements, often in alien locations, offer brilliantly defined and instantly immersive engagement into the various environments in the Halo universe. Unsurprisingly, dialogue is grounded in the center, well prioritized, and nicely defined, with good depth and lifelike clarity; it never sounds tinny or flat.
This Blu-ray release of Halo: Season Two contains extras on all four discs, highlighted by recaps of all eight episodes. No DVD or digital
copies are included with purchase. This release does ship with a slipcover.
Disc One:
Halo's second season is it final. Perhaps the franchise will be resurrected for a feature film someday, or another shot at a TV series, but for better or for worse here is the last season, which along with season one hit a lot of high points but in many ways barely scratched the surface of everything Halo has in its mythos. It's good, and it stands as one of the better video game adaptations out there, but the show is also very good proof that sometimes, some concepts just work best in one medium rather than another. Sadly, the series ends with many more places to go, more things to do, and more characters to explore, but, alas, c'est la vie. Regardless, the Blu-ray looks and sounds great, and the season is packed with extras. Well worth a look!
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