CNN
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“Halo” isn’t the primary videogame to grow to be a film or TV present, and it actually received’t be the final. However the collection faces a formidable problem crafting a Paramount+ present across the contours of the sport, one which it seeks to grasp largely by slapping collectively items of established properties – a little bit “RoboCop” right here, a little bit of “Starship Troopers” there, and a complete lot of “The Mandalorian.”
That’s not essentially all unhealthy, and the collection typically seems to be splashy, though the motion is closely frontloaded within the first of the episodes previewed. However nor does it really feel particular or distinctive, and whereas dedicated gamers may welcome seeing this world fleshed out, the spinoff touches can’t assist however make the entire train really feel generic, exhibiting plenty of {hardware} however not a lot inventive spark.
Set in 2552, the collection opens with the denizens of the planet Madrigal preventing for independence from Earth, earlier than they’re attacked by ugly and murderous alien invaders. The battle seems to be fully misplaced till the intervention by a unit of Spartans, super-soldiers mentioned to be price 100 Marines every, later described by Earth’s resident mad scientist (Natascha McElhone) as “enhanced and educated for one goal: To combat for us.”
The mission brings the Spartan chief, Grasp Chief John 117 (“The Wire’s” Pablo Schreiber), into contact with an odd artifact that dangers jolting him out of his fastidiously programmed stupor. He additionally rescues a younger woman, Kwan (Yerin Ha), creating the stop-if-you’ve-heard-this-before framework of an armored warrior defending a susceptible minor that he squires throughout the galaxy.
There’s a bit extra to it than that, together with glimpses of The Covenant, an alien command heart that resembles an enormous floating mushroom. The producers (a protracted roster that features Steven Spielberg) additionally incorporate a nod to what’s come earlier than by casting “2001: A House Odyssey” star Keir Dullea in a supporting function, as Grasp Chief returns to his house planet, Attain, and a brand new set of forms and challenges.
“Halo” has gone by way of a collection of inventive contortions by way of the years – together with plans for a film, then a collection, and enter from completely different showrunners – earlier than touchdown at Paramount+, and that historical past seems evident within the hodgepodge nature of the enterprise. Basically, the streaming service’s guess is that a few of these thousands and thousands of gamers will probably be curious sufficient to test it out – an affordable assumption based mostly on the viability of ideas like “Tomb Raider” and the latest “Uncharted,” if hardly a certain factor.
At one level, somebody marvels that the alien object in Grasp Chief’s possession is “like nothing I’ve ever seen.” But the principle drawback with “Halo” is that in the event you’re in any respect acquainted with the films talked about above and their ilk, it truly looks like bits and items of every part you’ve ever seen, simply wrapped up in shiny new armor.
“Halo” premieres March 24 on Paramount+.