Halo: TV Review

Derivative and disappointingly dull, the much-heralded Halo TV series comes thudding down to TV screens with nary a whimper.

While the game's eternal popularity persists (20 million alone played Halo Infinite the last game to launch on the XBox), the arrival of MasterChief on TV seems unlikely to attract anyone outside of its core fan base, painting a worrying picture for any potential future.

As the series' premiere begins, it's off the to the far-flung world of Madrgial, a planet on the outer edges of the UNSC-run alliance. A sand world with seemingly no redeeming features, the inhabitants live in suspicion of the Spartans, a war-like race of soldiers owned by the UNSC who enforce their iron will.

But when Madrigal is suddenly invaded by the Covenant's forces, the inhabitants find themselves forced to rely on MasterChief to oust the marauding forces and save the day. However, the Spartans are only focused on what the Covenant's doing on Madrigal, and all bar one of Madrigal's populace is wiped out.

When the one survivor Kwan (Yerin Ha) follows MasterChief as he investigates an artefact the Covenant had found, she finds herself in need of his protection. He, in turn, by handling the artefact is given glimpses into his own past, and begins to question his allegiances to the UNSC. Vowing to protect Kwan, suddenly MasterChief finds himself on a new mission - and with new enemies he once thought he could trust.

It's not that Halo is bad, it's more that it follows a very familiar route, and in its pilot episode, offers scant reason for anyone other than fanboys to continue to tune in.

From the Dune-like world of Madrigal that could be Tattooine, to the Mandalorian and Leon-esque "protect my charge" plot, most of what you'll see in Halo has been done before. And in some examples, done infinitely better.

For fans of the game, there's a thrill to be had to see the iconic weapons and hardware brought realistically to life. With the blue crackles of the laser swords burning through bodies, the production has worked hard to ensure there's a reverence which is needed.

But thanks to reams of exposition masquerading as dialogue and reports back to MasterChief's HQ, the pilot episode comes thuddingly to a halt, with any kind of early action replaced by Farscape-esque creatures and the usual mix of conspiracies and hidden agendas.

The Spartans themselves are a relatively formless bunch, with MasterChief aka John barely offering much emotion or depth outside of a typically military grunt and a run-and-gun series of sequences that are ripped from the games. Pity Pablo Schreiber who early on has little to do, and yet somehow doesn't manage to achieve or convey any of the depth of his Mandalorian equivalent.

Complete with some ropey CGI, some rote action sequences and some appalling jump cuts or action, the whole first episode of Halo is lacking a polish that would be worthy of further viewer commitment.

It's hard to shake the feeling that Halo the TV series has already lost its sheen early on and will struggle to stick the landing. Newcomers to the franchise will wonder what the fuss is about, and will hardly receive a massive reward for any investment of their time.

For fans of the game, there's maybe a perverse pleasure in seeing their beloved hero brought to life - but there's little possibility that the series will be heralded as a classic.

Halo is streaming now on TVNZ OnDemand, with new episodes released on Thursdays.