For years, Halo fans have been eagerly awaiting a movie-adaptation of the Halo franchise. A Halo movie was almost made by Peter Jackson and Neill Blomkamp several years ago, but the project ultimately fell through. This led Microsoft to decide to make its own live-action Halo movie, one that would have no ties to Hollywood and therefore would not be released in theaters. Thus, Microsoft and 343 Industries created Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn (FUD).
To promote the release of Halo 4 in November 2012, Microsoft spent about $10 million to create a live-action web series which would be a prequel of sorts to the video game. While Microsoft funded and had final approval of the project, 343 Industries actually produced and filmed it. FUD debuted online in five episodic parts; one part was released each Friday in the five weeks leading up to Halo 4’s release. Then, on the fourth of December, Microsoft released FUD as a feature-length special edition film on Blu-ray and DVD. The special edition includes 15 minutes of extra footage, as well as over an hour of bonus features.
FUD takes place before the rest of the Halo franchise, making it a prequel to all the Halo games. However, it shows the origins of one of the main characters in Halo 4. The story centers on Thomas Lasky, a cadet who is training to fight human insurrectionists at the Corbulo Academy of Military Science. While his fellow cadets have no qualms killing the “innies,” as the insurrectionists are called, Lasky is conflicted about whether this war is necessary. While he is struggling to fit in with the other cadets, the Academy comes under assault from a massive alien force of unknown origin. Just as Lasky and his companions are surrounded, they find help from a mythic, armored super-soldier known as the Master Chief. While fighting desperately for survival, Lasky must accept the role fate has given him and decide what it means to be a hero.
The story of Halo 4: FUD is one of heart-wrenching emotion set within an epic struggle for survival. The first half of the movie centers on Lasky’s training and provides a nice introduction to the live-action Halo universe, especially for those who have never played a Halo game, like my mom. The second half of the movie contains much of the movie’s action and an impressive amount of drama as well. The main character, Thomas Lasky, is pivotal to FUD’s success. Lasky (played by Tom Green) is a very likable and well-acted character who flawlessly carries the movie, and his development as a character is very natural.
Though he is only in the second half of the movie, Master Chief (played by Daniel Cudmore) is brought to life perfectly and is absolutely incredible in this live-action movie. The vast majority of the scenes with Master Chief are not CGI; Legacy Effects, the company who made Iron Man’s suit and did many special effects in The Avengers, Avatar, and The Hunger Games, took Master Chief’s appearance from the games and created a life-size suit of armor which is awe-inspiring on-screen. Legacy also did FUD’s CGI visual effects (most notably the aliens), which is especially impressive when considering that the budget for the movie was very low compared to most Hollywood sci-fi movies.
Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn is the live-action Halo movie fans have been waiting for. It may not be based on any of the existing games, but the fact that it is a prequel to the entire Halo franchise means that even non-gamers can enjoy this movie. My mom never plays video games, yet FUD is one of her all-time favorite movies because it has great action, intense drama, and a fantastic story. If you are a Halo fan and you haven’t seen FUD, “you need to see it;” it is well worth the money, especially on Blu-ray, as the quality is top-notch (you’ll understand the quote when you watch the movie). I highly recommend this movie to any non-gamer who enjoys drama and/or sci-fi action; it is easily the best drama/sci-fi movie I’ve ever seen.
