Halo Legends

From the beginning, I knew the end – that I would leave the Moving Picture Company in Soho on the third of February after seeing ‘Halo Legends’ on the big screen with a great big smile on my face. I wondered if the lovely team from Premier PR, who were hosting the viewing had been warned by our Ed, Dan, that there was a high chance that I would clap my hands and kick my legs or girly squeal while watching. Turned out it didn’t matter, I was on my best behavior that night (just in case the Chief showed up… he didn’t). Now before you read on, if you hadn’t guessed, I have a bit of a thing for Halo; we’ve had our ups and downs, but ultimately, there’s such a strong attachment there that it makes it near impossible for me to be anything but optimistic about anything to do with the series. So… with my admissions of Halo love, shameless self-promotion and cheesy taglines out of the way, here’s the info:

Halo Legends is the product of five of the world’s leading anime studios – Bones, STUDIO4°C, Production I.G, Casio Entertainment and Toei Animation and is a compilation of seven short animated films, set in the Halo universe, each ranging from ten to twenty minutes long.  Untold stories and unknown personalities are revealed to the viewer in 90 minutes of vibrant and engaging animation.

Halo Legends is far from being an hour and a half of seeing the big man himself, Master Chief, bounce around the screen beating down Grunts with a plasma pistol. The cheese is still there but it’s not overwhelming. These episodes paint a darker, harsher universe than those who’ve only played the games will have experienced. Spartans, ODSTs and marines; victory and defeat, love and death. This is war, and it’s not pretty, it’s brutal, bloody and vicious.

If you’re a fan of the Halo saga, Legends is well worth a watch. It kicks off with ‘Origins’ a two part episode that briefs the history of the universe from the very beginning, so those who know nothing of the lore can be brought up to speed. As a fan, seeing the timeline I’d only ever read completely unfold in front of my eyes for the first time was rather exciting. Hearing Cortana’s melancholy voice narrating the chronicle of events while ‘Unforgotten’ played out to the carnage of a battle scene made the hairs on the back on my neck stand up and maybe, just maybe, brought a slight hint of a tear to my eye… shush! The film continues with a range of adventures, each as different as the last including dramatic and intense tales of Elites and the Spartan Training program; nicely broken up with a parody revolving around the comical ‘Spartan 1337’ in the middle and finished off with a more light-hearted, fast-paced CGI episode  in which the Chief does what he does best – kicks Covenant ass!

Halo Legends – Available on Blu-Ray, DVD, On Demand and Download from 16/2/2010