Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Halo: The Fall of Reach Blu-ray Movie Review

The franchise's origins are now within reach.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 16, 2015

2001's Xbox title Halo didn't create the first person shooter genre, it just refined and defined it. While its key predecessors -- Wolfenstein, Doom, and Goldeneye -- introduced players to, and popularized, the style, Halo took it several steps further thanks to several key factors, including the graphical power of the original Xbox console, sophisticated gameplay, and a fantastic and detailed narrative and character roster. Microsoft's signature franchise is magnitudes larger and more popular than anything rival Sony has managed to release, and certainly in the first-person shooter category (Sony's signature FPS is the excellent, but nowhere near as popular or in-depth, Killzone franchise). Now sprawling five games in the "Master Chief" saga and several spinoffs both of the first- and third-person varieties, the flagship franchise continues to define and dominate the Xbox platform, particularly where first-party titles are concerned. It's Halo's Master Chief character who is at the center of Halo: The Fall of Reach, an intriguing, digitally animated look at how a young boy named John became the most dominant one-man force in mankind's wars with alien species some 500 years in the future.

Blue team.

Halo: The Fall of Reach is based on the book of the same name by Eric Nylund. It tells the story of a young John 117, the human who would become the augmented "Master Chief." It begins with Lieutenant Keyes and Catherine Halsey scouting a young John at Elysium City, where he demonstrates several key attributes that accentuate his potential. He's taken to Planet Reach and conscripted into the Spartan II program. The story follows his growth from self-centered trainee to responsible leader. It looks at his work with fellow trainees, physical augmentation, man's first engagements with the mysterious Covenant, and the man who would be Master Chief's first mission wearing his suit and leadership of Blue Team.

Halo: The Fall of Reach tells a classic origins story, the tale of a maturing, molded hero who is seen here, in his youth, at least, without his signature helmet that's never removed in the game series. The film is a rather simple affair, short at 65 minutes, but satisfies as a general backdrop for the greater Halo universe and the Master Chief's story at that. Its biggest benefit is the rich and detailed history and expansive universe from which it draws its inspirations and core story details. The film introduces audiences to the basics but folds in plenty of locations, characters, and concepts from the Halo world, most of them well known and core, fundamental pieces of the video game narrative and gameplay but some some smaller fan service details, too. It's a little generic in the broadest sense, with hints of the film Soldier playing center to much of the story, but as a leaping-off point for a saga of one of the video game world's most beloved characters, there's enough here to satisfy longtime and casual Halo fans alike.

Technically, the film is modestly appealing if not a bit flat. Voice acting is passable across the board but, beyond a few familiar voices, never resonates. John, both as a six-year-old and later as a teenager, doesn't quite find much verbal punch or soulful depth. The character is shaped more by what is said rather than how it's said. When exploring the character's psyche as a maturing -- and modified -- soldier or dealing with loss on two levels and at two different times, there's never much sense of legitimacy to the comments. The movie works better on feel, but that feel isn't supported by state-of-the-art CGI. Fans expecting something along the lines of Halo 2's remastered cutscenes will be left disappointed. The animation looks like a cross between a painting and basic digital. Textures can leave faces stiff and backgrounds stilted, but core details like the Master Chief's suit, Covenant interiors, and space battles are fairly rich and pleasing. It's a bit clunky overall, but considering the 65-minute runtime and broader, rather than more intimate, story arcs, there's not a lot of room for complaint considering that the entire production feels constructed as a meat-and-potatoes sort rather than a fully realized world.

Halo: The Fall of Reach Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Halo: The Fall of Reach is a film that's not particularly cheery or colorful. Dull grays and dark blues dominate much of the movie. Splashes of color -- Chief's gold faceplate, some pastels on John's home world, and some fiery planets -- are about it. The image often takes on a somewhat surreal appearance, looking more like a digital painting and less like a traditionally smooth animated feature. Faces often look dirty but detail is presented with about as much as there is to find in the source. Clothing lines and textures, particularly heavier armor and attire, are nicely complex. Digital readouts are sharp, and various outer space objects like stars and projectiles are bright and well defined. Black levels can push to a washed out appearance. On the whole, however, and considering the unique source and necessary story color palette, the image looks quite nice. It's not this, but it looks good, all things considered.

Halo: The Fall of Reach Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Halo: The Fall of Reach features a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. No lossless option has been included. A good bit of detailed atmospherics open the movie on the barren rock landscape and on John's home world. On the ship, computer voices emanate from the rear. Dialogue reverberates nicely when the cadets are addressed in a cavernous location. Supportive environmental effects help shape a cafeteria scene and a chilly woodland outdoor sequence. Music is adequately clear and spaced. Action effects aren't stout but they're good enough. Gunfire pops with modest punch and a grenade blast near the end isn't all that impressively weighty. General dialogue delivery is fine, with natural center placement and no prioritization problems of note.

Halo: The Fall of Reach Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Halo: The Fall of Reach contains a concept art montage and two trailers.

• Take This Life Concept Art Featurette (1080p, 2:50): Concept art images set to song.
• Halo: The Fall of Reach Animated Series Announcement Trailer (1080p, 0:43).
• Halo: The Fall of Reach Animated Series Launch Trailer (1080p, 1:30).

Halo: The Fall of Reach Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As a sidebar sort of affair, a complimentary piece to the Halo universe, Halo: The Fall of Reach works well enough. It's not feature film quality in either look or feel, and it, technically, doesn't even stack up to the wonderful remaster work recently seen on some of the early Halo game cutscenes, but this movie makes for an interesting glimpse into the early life of the franchise's marquee character. Hopefully the future will see a proper live action Halo film franchise on the same scope and scale of Star Wars that will make use of the ideas presented here as a foundational building block and springboard for the first film. Hey, fans can dream, right? Microsoft Studios' Blu-ray release of Halo: The Fall of Reach features decent video and passable lossy audio. Supplements are sparse. Recommended, though Halo fans should be aware that this movie is also free, digitally, with the purchase of either one of the Halo 5 special editions.