Search - Halo Legends (Two-Disc Special Edition) on DVD

Some Solid Sections, Others Not So Great

Siklootd | Santa Fe, NM | 03/12/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Halo Legends is a film that follows in the footsteps of the Batman: Gotham Knight film that was recently released. It is a compilation of sub-stories created within an overall film, but with each sub-story or section being created by a different artist. This can create a great viewing experience, seeing how it allows the viewer to see different artists' rendering of beloved characters such as Batman and Master Chief. Did Halo Legends pull it off as well as Batman: Gotham Knight did? Not really. It had some excellent sections, while others left a lot to be desired.



Halo Legends is a compilation of seven short stories, created by various artists throughout the anime/cartoon world. Some of these sections are done beautifully, truly resembling the anime that the original creator is associated with, but with a Halo twist thrown in.



-Origins: Origins is a great way to open up the film. These sections talk about the Forerunners who originally fought off the Flood upon their initial invasion of the galaxy. The Forerunners had no choice but to create a final resort weapon, known as Halo, that would wipe out the entire galaxy. Before doing so, the Forerunners had collected data of specimens from the entire galaxy. These specimen would multiply once the Flood was no longer in existence, allowing the galaxy to once again re-populate itself to its former state.



-The Duel: Produced by Mituhisa Ishikawa, best known for his work on the Ghost in the Shell films as well as Immortal Grand Prix, this section feels out of place. The art style resembles a painting, except that it moves. Whenever the visuals are stationary, this art style looks amazing, resembling something one may find in a museum. However, upon each motion that the characters take, it feels "awkward" almost as if it shouldn't be moving at all. This may be because the visuals appear fuzzy due to the design of the characters, making it difficult at times to view what is actually occurring. This section follows the fight between the Arbiter and his fellow covenant, and the brutal slaying of his wife at the hands of an Elite. This was all in an attempt to betray the Arbiter, all set up by one of the Prophets.



-Homecoming: Directed by Koji Sawai, best known for his work on anime titles such as Wolf's Rain and .Hack, this section follows the story of the process of Spartan creation. The corporation responsible for the creation of Spartans, kidnapped children, cloned them, and put them through intense training, leaving them mentally scarred. Upon escaping and returning home, one female Spartan finds out the truth about her creation and must find a way to cope with it. Other Spartans who met their clones committed suicide, but the female protagonist is able to proceed with her missions, until the end of the story where she meets a grim fate in the midst of combat.



-Odd One Out: Created by Daisuke Nishio, animator for both Dragonball and Dragonball Z, this section feels exactly like these series as well. It follows the tale of a Spartan dropped off on a planet left to fight a Covenant opponent on his own. He gets the assistance from two human teenagers who are capable of flying, and pulling trees out of the ground, ala DBZ. The Spartan even ditches his traditional heavy artillery guns in favor of hand to hand combat, all the while acting goofy, true to Dragonball fashion. The enemy even at one point "powers up" reminiscent of Dragonball Z. Daisuke truly added to Halo Legends what he is used to doing with anime.



-Prototype: Created by Shinji Aramaki, the character designer for series such as Gundam, the Prototype section feels exactly like a Gundam episode. Utilizing giant Mechs, thrusters, and explosions associated with the Gundam series, Prototype is non-stop action. It follows the tale of a commander of marine team, named Ghost. Ghost received his nickname due to his constant lack of emotions. He has been assigned with the responsibility of destroying the prototype mech suit. He instead uses the suit to fight off the enemy Covenant long enough for his squad to retreat, before self destructing. A great section, and my personal favorite of the entire film, possibly due to the fact that I am a huge Gundam fan.



-The Babysitter: Eiko Tanaka, creator of animes such as Beyond and Kiki's Deliver Service, was the lead producer on this segment. It follows a team of Drop Shock Troopers who are assigned to kill a Prophet of the Covenant, from a distance of two miles away. In order to assist with the assassination assignment, the team is lead by a Spartan. The Spartan becomes side-tracked from the mission due to the constant screw ups of the Drop Shock Troopers, who constantly rely on the Spartan for saving. Until the end, when the Spartan is attacked and must leave the assassination shot to one of the most arrogant of the Troopers. Upon learning the truth about the Spartan, the whole squad quickly feels like they are to blame for its death.



-The Package: The Package is a fully 3D rendered segment that is visually stunning. At times the story switches to a first person view, and it feels as if it is truly a videogame during these sections. It follows Master Chief as he and his squadron try to rescue a scientist from the grasp of the Covenant. Truly remarkable animation, and a nice balance of story and action make this a great segment.



Overall, the film has its ups and downs. Sections such as The Package, The Prototype, and The Babysitter are top notch, adding enough action, story, and art style to truly satisfy fans. However, sections such as The Duel feel too awkward and out of place. It's interesting to see each segment and see how each artist throws in their own art style that utilize for their own shows for this film. This gives each segment the personality to match its director/producer and add a layer of familiarity to each story. An overall great film that is a must buy for fans of Halo, or fans of anime, such as myself."

Thematically a Mixed Bag

Leotol Stoy | 04/24/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Several other reviewers have gone through and related their thoughts on each of the shorts contained in Halo: Legends. This is certainly a valid method, and helpful to the practical buyer who simply wishes to get a general idea of whether or not the product suits him/her. I would like to take a different approach. I will divide the episodes into thematically similar groupings, and analyze them from that standpoint.



Origins, parts I and II, is historical. It is essentially a condensed version of the history of the Halo Universe.



Odd One Out is an attempt at comedy, plain and simple. Whether you as the viewer find it humorous or not will likely depend on your...sense of humor. Not being averse to the Japanese penchant for the ridiculous, I did find portions of it to be funny, though it's not comedic genius in the least.



The Package, and The Duel are both what I would consider to be action-oriented shorts, and in that way will likely appeal more to the fanbase of the Halo Series than any of the others. The Package fills this role far better than The Duel, as The Duel contains many canonical errors that will bother serious fans of the series (from kimono-clad Elites to the number of mandibles). The Package best captures the feel of frenetic action that has embodied the Halo Series from the first game. In it, a team of Spartans attacks a Covenant fleet in order to recover a...well...package. The short uses a CG-animation hybrid style (this is the only short to do so), which also lends the short more of a Western feel than the other shorts in general.



The final three episodes: "The Babysitter," "Homecoming," and "The Prototype" fall into what I would call heroic tragedy. For serious fans of Halo, particularly ones who care about the canon, these episodes will likely elicit some of the most visceral reactions. There is a serious disregard for realism in these episodes, from the teddy bear keychain accessory hanging from the Spartan's armor (or maybe her rifle?) in "Homecoming," to the Gundam-inspired mecha suit in "The Prototype." However, in spite of these obvious problems, I found these episodes the most compelling.



What we often forget in the context of the Halo Universe, especially because the games are so action-centered (and feature a character capable of annihilating hundreds upon hundreds of the alien enemy without suffering so much as a scratch), is that the war between the Humans and the Covenant has been in progress for twenty-seven years by the time of the events in Halo 3 - and Humanity has been losing...badly. These three episodes capture how thoroughly Humanity lost the war by exposing us to the level of sacrifice that was so commonplace throughout it - and which seems so needless in the light of the fact that the Covenant killed billions upon billions of people whenever they glassed a planet. The heroism displayed by the protagonists in each of these three episodes is thus all the more tragic because we must ask, inevitably, whether their sacrifices even mattered.



So who would I recommend Halo: Legends to? Anime fans, for one. The shorts are experimental in nature, but retain the essence of Japanese storytelling, which emphasizes emotion over realism. Coming from a nation that has not engaged in a real war (no, sending token SDF forces to combat zones does not count) in over sixty years, the lack of what we in the U.S. would consider "realistic" dialogue between soldiers, or "realistic" combat techniques is understandable. However, many of those in the audience will not be so forgiving. So the real question for those wishing to purchase Halo: Legends is: can you set aside your desire for realism and a Western storyline for ten minutes at a time while each short episode runs its course? If the answer is yes, then you will probably enjoy Halo: Legends. If not, then don't bother, it's not worth your time.

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