Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn 4K 2012 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

Within the walls of the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) military academy, a group of cadets of noble birth are being trained to become the next generation of soldiers in the impending war between the UNCS and rebels on colonial planets. One of the cadets, Thomas Lasky, struggles internally, overcoming doubts about the war and fears of not living up to the high expectations of his command. By the time Lasky has come to terms with his role as future commander, a terrifying army of the Covenant Alliance invades the planet and turns the hero's familiar world upside down. Inspired by the exploits of Master Chief, Lasky must learn firsthand what it means to be a hero.

Review 4K Movie

If, as a gamer, you've never heard of the Halo game universe, don't feel bad. Released in 2001, the first installment of the franchise played a key role in the rise of the Xbox, Microsoft's first gaming console. And a decade later, firmly established in the game lineup on its successor Xbox 360, raising the main character, Master Chief, to the status of the mascot of the console. Therefore, the series reluctantly looked at the traditionally popular in domestic circles PC-market, and after the release with a three-year delay a failed port of Halo 2 in 2007, finally parted with a cozy tandem mouse and keyboard.

But in the Western market with a developed console sector the situation was quite the opposite. Proper marketing, followed by crazy circulation and accompanying fan productions expanded the popularity of Halo almost to the level of "Star Wars". Released in advance of Halo 4's release, the short film series Halo: Forward Unto Dawn is one such fan product, the result of a calculated piece of a massive PR campaign. The mini-series consists of 5 episodes of 15 minutes each, and recounts the memories of a member of the Infinity ship, Thomas Lasky. How these flashbacks compare with Halo 4 is revealed during the opening credits which vary in content from episode to episode. Master Chief (aka John-117) lies in anabiosis aboard the inactive ship Dawn, lost in the depths of space after the epic finale of Halo 3. On his way to the Dawn with a rescue mission, Lasky is mentally transported back to his days as a cadet at the United Nations Space Command Academy, where he first met "Master Chief" and with him the series' main gaming antagonists, the alien race of the Covenants.

If such details make your head boil like a kettle on the stove, then "Going to Dawn" is probably not for you. No explanations are given by the series in the expectation that the viewer himself is well versed in the nature and history of the popular gaming universe. But, paradoxically, this does not mean that fans are waiting for an immersion akin to a narcotic attack, which will not let go until the queue in the list of series comes to an end.

The fact is that the series is conventionally divided into two parts. The first is a kind of variation on the training center theme from "Starfleet," trying to resemble a training center for those who are not familiar with the series. It is completely devoid of dynamics, but full of desire to saturate the viewer with the inner workings of the characters, in order to create an intrigue to the "mysterious attack. The attack, however, marks the series' transition into the second part. In theory, it should force these immature cockroaches in the minds to stand at attention and with pathetic assertion make their way through one of the first lines of confrontation between the Earthlings and the Covenants. Well, and to help the extern get a diploma of a survivor of the landing troops on the rights of the hero of the series comes the "Master Chief" himself.

Here, hiding in hiding, is the problem - in practice, neither of the mechanisms works as they should. In doing so, both potential audiences are equally affected. With its high level of entry, the mini-series seems to hook the inexperienced viewer by explaining the unimportant details, but stubbornly ignores the answers to the more obvious and, importantly, necessary questions for the correct perception of further events. The "veterans" are left with faded acting, looking like animation in a video game from ten years ago, and feeling like a second-rate "Polish shooter" level AI. Of course, any empathy in such a situation is out of the question, and after the death of another cadet from the purple paws of the aliens you want to ask yourself the only question: "who was it anyway?

The unbalanced camera work also makes you uncomfortable. Unstable editing and poorly chosen angles now and then make the viewer feel like a blind observer, which is especially strongly, pardon the pun, catches the eye during the night shootings - flashes of fire and total darkness, everything. To understand at such moments who shoots who is a mystery. True, at times the authors, as if realizing the overkill, strenuously fall into the opposite extreme, namely the slo-mo mode. Only together with the slowing down of time, it slows down the consciousness, bringing drowsiness into the already drawn-out, "chewy" scenes.

The only thing to which there are no complaints, it is to the sustained aesthetics of Halo-style. The attributes beloved by millions of people are observed thoroughly - starting with weapons and ending with animation of purple aggressors - the screen shimmers with all shades of 10 million of invested green democrats. Well, all the joy is reinforced by good-quality special effects, which, taking into account the format of the series, look just great.

And so the series passes, Lasky returns to the command post of the Infinity ship, which will still follow "Dawn" to the first chapters of Halo 4. But it's a different story - bigger, brighter, and packed with features that once broke the boundaries of the shooter genre. Those who understand what it's about will also understand the beauty of the web series. It is comparable to a favorite tune that you suddenly hear on the radio. It seems like you know the lyrics and all the chords by heart, but to understand that the song exists outside your player is still nice. And so here, seeing the familiar game world dislocate into a 75-minute flashback prequel is no small reason for an avid fan to get to know a speck of history that Halo: Forward Unto Dawn carries with it. The rest of us, on the other hand, seem to have to admit that a seven-figure budget isn't always a guarantee of success.