As you may or may not know, I am a huge Halo fan. I have played every game, read most of the books, and even had a Master Chief action figure when I was younger. So in 2007, when I heard that Peter Jackson was getting involved with a live-action Halo film, I was beyond ecstatic. Unfortunately, as most of know, that ended up being shelved after agreements about the budget could not be made (it was not a complete loss, however, as we got District 9 out of this whole mess). After the film fiasco, many fans decided to give Halo a shot, making their own short films based on the Universe. The latest of these is a web series named “Helljumper”, which tells the story of and ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper). The first episode only just premiered on January 26, but here are my impressions so far:
“Helljumper” is, as stated above, a fan made series, and therefore does not have the budget of a major Hollywood blockbuster. This is apparent almost right off the bat, but I’ll get into that later. This episode (simply titled “Episode 1”) opens with an ODST dropping into a Covenant infested planet and finding a wounded comrade. After successfully fending off all Covenant forces in the area, the unnamed ODST tries to help his wounded brethren, but his comrade refuses his assistance. Instead, he explains what happened in his life to make him join the marines, and the events that unfolded once he did. The rest of the episode is the flashback of the wounded ODST, whose name we learn is Gage.
At first, I was skeptical about how such a low budget project could accomplish all the special effects that would be needed to bring the Halo universe to life. Were my fears justified? Yes, sort of. The only Covenant species we see in this episode are the Grunts, and the animation seems a bit…. Off. I can deal with the rather bland character models, as I was expecting as much from a fan film, but the way that they move has an artificial feeling to it. On the other hand, there are some very nice effects involving the drop pods (what ODSTs use to drop into the atmosphere, duh!), and the shields and holograms in the simulation room are top notch. There is also a beautiful shot of a city being decimated by Covenant ships. All in all, the special effects are passable, but I respect what they were able to with what little they had to work with. I just hope the Covenant doesn’t get extended amount of screen time in later episodes, otherwise it may look like we are watching a pre-visualization for a Pixar movie.
Next, we have the acting, which for the most part, is abysmal. Towards the beginning, Gage and his father have a heated exchange, which I imagine is meant to be viewed as tense and hint at their strained relationship, but I just could not get over how terrible the father’s delivery was. There is an unnamed staff sergeant training Gage after he joins the marines later, and once again, his delivery is just off. It isn’t all bad, though. Gage himself is actually pretty good, as is who I assume is his love interest. There is also Gage’s squad mate and friend, Mason Lee, who has an average performance. Again, this is all very typical of a fan film, so I won’t harp on it too much. I just hope future episodes focus on one or two characters that are actually decent at acting.
Now onto the writing. “Helljumper” moves at a lightning quick pace; it seems as soon as Gage joins the marines, he is immediately promoted to an ODST (who we learn are an elite group of soldiers) after just one successful training exercise. The dialogue has its ups and downs, but for the most part, leaves a lot to be desired. Lines like “We’ve made contact with an intelligent alien civilization, and they do not have the intention of being friends”, are cringe-worthy, and are not helped by the aforementioned shoddy acting. Sometimes, characters say something that is so obviously foreshadowing that it takes you out of the story. For example, right before the covenant are introduced, Gage’s presumed love interest asks him if it bothers him that they “hop around all these planets, and humans are the only intelligent life forms out there”. The actual story is still a mystery for the most part, as well. Remember, this episode is a flashback, and when we meet Gage at the beginning, he is seriously wounded. We don’t know if he is going to survive, and be the series’ protagonist, or if he will die, and the Trooper that found him will become the main focus.
On an extremely positive side of things, a noteworthy mention would have to be the music. Most, if not all of the music tracks, are original compositions, and they are absolutely fantastic. They really work well with what is being shown on screen, and portray both melancholy and a sense of grandeur at the appropriate moments. This aspect is by far one of the strongest aspects the series has going for it, and I definitely am looking forward to hearing more of these original compositions.
Fans of the Halo universe should feel right at home when watching this web series. Mentions of the planet Harvest and the Insurrectionists might be a bit confusing to newcomers, but are a nice nod to the fans that have been following Halo since Combat Evolved. One of the major distractions in a lot of fan made films is that the locations seem very out of place. For example, I once saw a Star Wars fan film that was very well made, but the setting was in a high school building that we were supposed to believe was an Imperial Star Destroyer (oh god, my inner nerd is showing). Fortunately, “Helljumper” does not repeat this mistake, as the crew did a very commendable job on finding locations that don’t feel out of place, and suit the whole mood of the episode quite nicely.
In conclusion, “Helljumper” has a lot of problems, but a lot of promise. As I mentioned before, I realize it is created by loving fans of the Halo universe with a minimal budget, so I can’t complain too much and must commend them on their dedication. I know this review may seem mostly negative, but there are certainly many great things in this episode, and I don’t mean to discourage potential viewers from watching it. If they tighten up the writing a bit, and weed out the terrible actors, they can have something extremely special on their hands. I am definitely looking forward to the next episode, and very interested to see where this story goes.
C+
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