Halo Legends (2010)

I wanted to but couldn't!

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

I must say, this was quite a surprise. About a decade ago, Halo: Combat Evolved revolutionized how games, specifically first-person shooters, should be played. What followed was a succession of sequels, each being better than the last one. Inevitably, a movie was not far away. With the possible live-action movie postponed by companies fighting over it, this anime was created help satisfy fans and keep them waiting for the live-action film. It does its job well.In a style similar to "Batman: Gotham Knight", Halo Legends consists of several action-packed episodes, each made by a different studio, having its own unique artwork/animation, and basically revealing a certain aspect of the Halo universe. The episodes are Origins Part 1 and 2 (history of the Halo universe), The Dual (how the Arbiter became a title of shame), Homecoming (the horror of the Spartan II program), Odd One Out (a ridiculous non-canon episode), Prototype (the first Spartan armor), The Babysitter (ODST-Spartan rivalry), and the Package (Master Chief and company go in to retrieve a heavily-guarded package).Odd One Out is the only flaw in this movie. Everything else is excellent. Beautiful animation, wonderful music, awesome action scenes, and great stories. This is as good as the games. Fans will most likely enjoy this and so will you. In the words of the Master Chief, "... we're just getting started," because soon enough the live action movie will arrive.

I will tell you about every episode and what it's all about. As a big fan of the series I found many things in almost every episode that made me pleased.First of all, I don't understand people who complain about Halo Legend's animation styles or anything related to the fact its animated. It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the movie itself, only that not all like animation in the first place.I've always loved the Halo series and I regard myself as a big fan. For a long time I waited for some kind of Halo-related movie that would tell me more about the Halo universe and its history, show Spartans kick some butt, introduce me to other Spartans than John-117 and reveal their mysterious origins and have some comedic relief. Well, that's what I got when I found Halo Legends.ORIGINS: I was pleased to learn about the history of Halo universe. Many "gaps" in my knowledge were filled in. Throghout time I've wondered what kind of weapons the Halos were, and I was satisfied to see it here. These episodes were informative and epic, thanks to familiar music from Halo series. And especially in the Origins II, Cortana is hot. Now that's what you call a bonus.THE DUEL: The artistic value of The Duel is enormous. At first it might feel a bit weird, but let me tell you: It gets better each second. The Duel introduces you more to the world of the Covenant and that there are very humane sides to elites. It also reveals why the "Arbiter" rank is so disgraced in the Halo series. Action's beyond my wildest dreams.HOMECOMING: I loved being introduced to how the Spartan soldiers are "made". There is Halo action, well-written tragic moments and, well, I don't have to wonder anymore why/how the Spartans are so "cold" soldiers and such war machines.ODD ONE OUT: This episode was very good. Not at all corny comedy, I was really amused! And about it being an "insult" to the series, that is just a bunch of B.S.. I'm not the kind of guy who sees a human in a fictional comedy jumping 20ft. in the air and gets angry like "that's not possible!". You just don't have to take it dead-serious. Spartan Thirteen thirty-seven is hilarious. I would like to see more of his adventures..PROTOTYPE: Kind of lame on the story, comes off to me as a cliché. Its cool to see some explosions and fast action, but it didn't feel as important or interesting as all the other fights with Spartans or ODST. Prototype didn't even tell anything about the Halo universe and feels out of place, but still can be enjoyed as a short action flick.BABYSITTER: This one tells about an ODST squad and a Spartan on a mission to assassinate a Covenant Prophet on a planet full of aliens. If that didn't catch your attention, nothing will. Good action, Spartan shows off and makes every Halo-fan smile and there's a unique twist at the end which I personally liked. It only raises the question what have the Spartans gone through?THE PACKAGE: I don't think anyone will deny, this is the best part of Halo Legends. Fantastic opening flight scene that puts the opening of Star Wars3 to shame, awesome explosions, beautiful "choreography" during fights, FPS, it's frigging HALO. Nothing really disappointed me as a big fan to the series. Halo Legends satisfied my hunger for knowledge about the Halo universe, Spartan action, cool death scenes, comedy and more.

7.5The first thing I want to say is that I'm a huge Halo fan. There are certainly bigger fans out there, but Halo is close to my heart, has been in my life for almost a decade, and any more Halo love in my life would make me really weird. I guess that's why they call it, "love", huh? Halo Legends is a collection of 8 animated shorts drawn and created by 6 different studios. Origins I & II - These are by far the best episodes of the bunch. Part 1 and 2 are different in their animation style. However, not only is the animation style excellent, with its simple edges, bright colors and very good use of lighting/tone. Origins sports, like most of the other episodes music ripped straight from the games. This, in conjunction with Cortana's narration and familiar voice, makes for a very fan-pleasing episode. According to the commentary, there is a lot of imagery here, such as what the forerunners look like, or what their world looks like, that is not canon and only exists in Cortana's imagination, if you will. Still, seeing these images and also seeing some of the Covenant's races in their primitive state is very exciting. If Halo fans were to get anything out of Halo Legends, it would be Origins.The Duel - This is my least favorite episode of the bunch. I usually don't like to criticize other people's work. A lot of the time, it is usually lack of rapport and/or misunderstanding that leads me to not enjoy or dislike a certain work. However, I found The Duel to be very boring. I also was not a huge fan of the artistic style, which happens to be the most unique one out of the bunch. I greatly enjoy seeing the back-story of the Covenant races, but I felt that this was an Elite take on Japanese samurai storytelling. The only thing worth noticing here is the style, which employs a filter of a sort to make everything look watercolored.Homecoming - Exactly what I expected out of Halo Legends. Although not my favorite, I would very easily recommend this one to someone. It is exactly as I expected, and it is actually pretty good. At first glance, it might seem to take place in a random anime-style universe. However, as soon as you see a Spartan, you know what's going on, and it actually makes sense.Odd One Out - One thing that differenciates traditional western animation from eastern animation is the tone. A lot of the western stuff is comedy. A lot of the eastern stuff is dramatic. Serious stuff. How many western, adult cartoons can you think of? How many eastern animated comedies can you think of, that are strictly for kids, and have minimal to no violence? Well, Odd One Out is such. I guess. There's fighting in it, for sure. But it's not done in a way that I would be afraid to show it to my kids. In fact, even the animated style resembles something that is kid-friendly. Some might be turned off by this, but to them I say, have you ever seen Red vs. Blue?Prototype - This is one that hooked me in from the start. From the cinematic title, to the stylish, atmospheric setting, and the melodramatic intro, I was convinced that this might be the best offering on the disc. However, it was, to my taste, permeated with action, and lots of explosions. Sounds good, right? Well, again, this is my taste. And I prefer gab over guts, any day. Still, it is a good episode. Highly recommended for those that love niche aspects of Japanese culture, such as mechs.The Babysitter - Like Homecoming, this is similar to what my expectations were going into Halo Legends. This one also happens to be my second favorite of the bunch. The Babysitter tells the story of a group of ODST's sent on a special mission: assassinate a Covenant Prophet. Wow, pretty crazy, huh? There's only one catch. A Spartan soldier is going to not only accompany them, but lead the whole operation. I won't say anything else, but given that these are short stories, averaging at about 15 minutes or so each episode, they did a good job. A good story was told, using a good art style. Many scenes were shown that ground you in the Halo universe, not to mention some very intense scenes.The Package - This is second runner up for least interesting episode in the package (the disc). This is the only episode that sports 3D animation. There is nothing wrong with this style of animation. The reason that I do not like it, is that it is all substance, and no style. What you basically have is a famous piece of Halo History, where the Master Chief and 4 other Spartans board a Covenant ship to rescue Dr. Halsey, the A.I. that Cortana is based on. It also includes the first encounter between the Arbiter and the Chief. (I am not sure if this bit is canon or not.) All it is, is essentially 5 Spartans literally running and gunning. I did my fair share of that in the games.Halo Legends is ultimately a mixed bag of works, all taking place directly in the Halo universe. Ultimately, I'd recommend Halo Legends to any hardcore Halo fan. If you hate anime, but love Halo... well, you might as well give it a shot. If you love anime, but don't like Halo, you might enjoy these short stories, but it would be better if you knew some back-story before going into it.

This is truly pathetic. Why make a movie from a milked game? Especially since they haven't even bothered to use real actors, oh no, they decided to make an anime film. Anime has to be the worst kind of film there is. Its bad enough they made the film, but they fact they made it in Anime shows that they can not do anything they originally planned to do. It is a truly terrible movie, even for Halo fans. If you are looking forward to this film, kill your excitement now so you are not let down while you watch it. Truly a terrible film at best. Why did Bungie even bother trying to milk the Halo franchise this far? It should have been left as a game. Save ourself the money and don't buy it.