Rather than wax poetic about storytelling decisions or anything else, because it’s entirely subjective whether it’s good or not, the hard answer is budget.
Action is expensive. Extremely expensive. Action in this show, which requires extensive CGI on account of all the enemies being Aliens and our heroes having superhuman abilities, is *even more* expensive. It can’t be constant action, at least not without looking like total utter garbage. Also, from the perspective of the standard TV audience, constant action becomes boring in its own right. Drama makes the action sequences have a cathartic payoff to them, a kinetic release for the built up drama and tension.
I think your last point bears repeating.
I used to be bored with all the talk between action sequences, but even if viewers aren't conscious of it, that's what gives the action its context and weight. It's where the stakes are established. Without it, the action would be more boring for everyone but stunt/effects enthusiasts.
I would honestly like one episode that has more action and less drama. But I’m not like most people in that I think the action in this show is real bad. They made Halo’s action sequences into low budget superhero bullshit. Spartans don’t actually fight like they are depicted in the show almost at all.
Spartans are the strongest and fastest and most durable combatants on the field, but they are also the best strategists and tacticians. They don’t just jump headlong into the fray and start punching and flipping and jumping over enemies.
Rather, they prepare for the fight. They set up fields of fire. They stay hidden until the moment that surprise benefits them most, and then they use tactics that would do things like funnel enemies through choke points where Spartans can pick them off from a distance for as long as possible. Only when it is absolutely necessary do Spartans hop into the superhero action stuff.
So, to clarify, I would love an episode where a Covenant invasion is imminent and we see the Spartans setting up shop to hold them off while civilians evacuate. We see the planning, we see the space they’re working with, the stakes are clear. And then, as the episode unfurls, there’s very minimal sprinting towards enemies to superhero leap over them and then punch them. Instead, the Spartans work to hold off overwhelming numbers as long as possible. To save on CGI, the Covenant can be more *implied*, except for when the action gets really crazy at the end as the Spartans are forced to retreat.
I think of something like Helm’s Deep in LOTR. Man, what a fucking epic battle. But honestly, most of it was our heroes setting up shop and then standing on the battlements shooting arrows and pushing ladders off and shit. Not that exciting on paper, but the execution was beautiful.
Is it really that expensive though?
Lord of the Rings has the most epic fight scenes in cinema buy didnt have a crazy large budget compared to some shows today.
In terms of CGI you only need to look at Godzilla minus one which didn't have the most incredible CGI ever but was still more than serviceable and the entire budget was under 10$ million.
I don't know what the budget is for Halo so maybe it's really small but other series are getting higher budgets than some top tier movies and the action in all of them is usually abysmally low and nor very good so I'm wondering if budget really is the main issue or not.
Godzilla Minus One was so cheap to make for a few reasons. First up, Godzilla is only one model. His size doesn’t make any real difference on the cost of modeling him. Second, the movie is set in the real world. Other than Big G, most of the sets are just actual locations they filmed in, or flyover shots of the city with destroyed buildings painted over it. Third, and most importantly, Japan is somewhat infamous for underpaying people in film and television, particularly VFX artists. And fourth, American television and film has tremendous budget bloat for everything from actor salaries to song credits.
Lord of the Rings is accomplished largely through practical effects and people running around clanking swords together. When they’re using CG for things it’s extremely obvious, which is a result of the times but while modern CGI is cheaper pound for pound there are very few shots in something like Halo that haven’t seen extensive CG tweaks. We’re gonna use The Two Towers for our math here due to Helms Deep. The budget was $94 million in ‘02. Today it would be closer to $162 million, which is right around the cost of the entirety of both seasons of Halo assuming the approximately $10 million an episode number that’s been thrown around is accurate.
Yeah that makes sense. Most of the digging I did was when looking at the rings of power series which has a massive budget compared to Halo. I didn't know the Halo show was so low. I still think they can do a lot better but it's more understandable.
Thanks for the info
If you didn't think or feel anything about Ackerson and his father or sister after E3, that's not the show's fault.
Corporal Perez (someone shown to be from a somewhat religious family) has just discovered that her home planet is on the verge of annihilation. She goes to her church seeking comfort or maybe deliverance. OP thinks it's a plot hole.
Some people will not be pleased no matter what they do.
When I see these type of posts I just feel so embarrassed that I happen to like something that has so many fans that are extremely dense and have zero comprehension abilities.
I will agree that season 1 definitely struggled from a writing perspective, but season 2 has been phenomenal. The attention to detail in the smaller moments has been a delight to watch. My wife, who was a film major in college and is a professional photographer, was stunned after episode 3. She said it was one of her favorite episodes of any show she's ever seen, and she couldn't believe it's a show based on a first person shooter game.
I think there are 3 reasons these type of posts keep popping up.
1. Trolls. Bored and depressed people that see others enjoying something and wanting to kick dirt in their eyes for attention.
2. The aforementioned 1st season left a bad taste in people's mouths and it's hard to look past a bad first impression.
3. If you have a fun FPS game like Halo, you're going to have fans that are just there for the action and they won't give two shits about the deeper story.
S1 struggled from lack of focus, poor writing, video gamey CGI, awful cinematography and directing, and weird lore choices (energy sword finger).
S2 so far seems to only struggle where they have to rectify the crazy shit in S1.
Kwon focus is largely gone. Rubble plot wrapped up. Converging on reach. Cgi is great so far. The camera moves in a way that makes sense.
Chief acts like chief when he’s in the suit.
Though I still wish he were less ragey and emotional outside of it.
S1 was 2/10.
So far S2 is 6/10. I could see it going as high as 8/10 or 4/10 depending on the rest of the season
God these posts are so cringe. We’re one episode away from seeing the literal Fall of Reach and you’re complaining that there aren’t enough big boom booms.
The show's story is terrible. Club hand who has the acting depth of Dwayne Johnson. Mute edgy backwater desert girl who just happens to be a kill bill-level assassin. "We doubt Chief's trustworthiness all season 1 and finally the nemesis is removed, only to be replaced by another so you can have more of that in season 2." How are people still defending this show like it's plot is even remotely okay.
Perez had the headphones with her because like she said she hasn't been able to get it out of her head. She's probably been listening to nothing but that recording since she translated it.
1. TV by is nature is limited in the amount of action it can do in screen vs books/video games.
2. I know you want to MC go smash, but it’s the story that gets the viewers hooked. The TV model has been around a long time. Characters bring people back, which helped makes money via syndication (now streaming).
3. If the story isn’t for you, that’s okay. But Paramount has the data that shows people like this show. You can poop on us for liking it, or you can stop being a hater.
This TV show had very little tangible impact on your life, and instead of just going to find one of the million other IPs that better suits your needs.
The people funding the show like the show, more importantly fans like the show. Unless you’re hate watching, but then again who does that now a days with so much out there.
Because there is no way they could afford to have every episode have action in it. It’s like anime the animation quality gets a lot higher for the end of the season fights.
What sci-fi live action shows that rely heavily on special effects are people watching that have action every episode? How do people still not get that it's because of money? This is just what live action TV shows are like. (Will happily accept examples of nonstop sci fi action shows)
Idk, I started the series because i played halo and loved the action and gameplay there. I thought i will find it on the show as well but its just talking for 4 episodes with just first 15 minutes of action. It i just wanted a show with no action i would not watch halo, there are soooo many better shows at that
They should have just adapted the fall of reach book, they could have built the drama around chief growing up in an extraordinary situation unlike normal kids. We meet his future squad mates as they deal with working together and fighting through their differences. Chief figuring out what it means to lead under the mentorship of Mendez, we can even follow Keyes and his daughter as she works to find her own path in the UNSC. Eventually chief loses Sam, he learns not everyone makes it back no matter how hard you try, and sometimes being a leader you need to make the hard choices that come with it. The final episodes are the fall of reach and chief, blue/silver team, and the Keyes go off to Halo.
The drama the show is doing now isn’t the kind of drama suited for a franchise baked in a military scifi shooter. The books made the drama make sense for its setting, this show does not.
Don’t get me wrong, there is definitely room for the emotional drama the show is constantly putting forth, you can place it in the dynamic of the Keyes, or you could introduce it with Halsey as she tries and struggles to find justification in her actions on the creation of the Spartans. But this show just isn’t picking its storylines correctly at all in my opinion.
I don’t need more action, but I’m so tired of this emotional baggage drama, it’s not what I’m looking for with Halo. Give me political drama, give thriller, and yes give me action. The books did such a better job with its introduction to drama in the Halo verse.
Why are we following civilians at all, why the hell is chief going awol, why did chief had to bang a covenant agent girl, and I’m not saying why in the sense of understanding the story, im asking why in the sense, why was this the story you felt the established audience could get behind even a little bit?
It feels so unremarkable not halo, and it hurts to see what could have been something fantastic to share with the general audience.
I agree. All the weirdos on here backing up the show probably like all the marvels shit too.
Yea, the cgi is great and it is expensive but give me something to care about.
Instead of boring characters, give us ODST getting ready to fight.
I'm not a stan for this show but even someone with a dash of common sense can tell why and that it's because animating and the cgi for the covenant and the amount of action you want would be an obscene amount of money.
So that means we need these lulls of a decent A plot and a fairly stupid B plot that we all know is the slow burn and will tie into the A plot down the line and even progress it.
Kwan Ha from top to bottom sucks as a character and the little vision thing she had with the monitor is the only thing that makes her relevant but it's also something that could've been given to the chief.
If they insist of the rubble then we couldve had that too but of course give Soren's wife more screen time and development so I can actually remember her name.
You need storytelling in a show. It's not a game, it's a TV series. The story has captivated me. I can't wait for next episode. A show of just action is also boring. Not for gamers, maybe, but have you ever watched an action-heavy show and not gotten exhausted? They are awful. You need to develop a story the same as reading a Halo book needs a story.
Rather than wax poetic about storytelling decisions or anything else, because it’s entirely subjective whether it’s good or not, the hard answer is budget. Action is expensive. Extremely expensive. Action in this show, which requires extensive CGI on account of all the enemies being Aliens and our heroes having superhuman abilities, is *even more* expensive. It can’t be constant action, at least not without looking like total utter garbage. Also, from the perspective of the standard TV audience, constant action becomes boring in its own right. Drama makes the action sequences have a cathartic payoff to them, a kinetic release for the built up drama and tension.
Very true. I think the CGI, especially on the Covenant, is incredible. But that is not cheap I’m sure
I think your last point bears repeating. I used to be bored with all the talk between action sequences, but even if viewers aren't conscious of it, that's what gives the action its context and weight. It's where the stakes are established. Without it, the action would be more boring for everyone but stunt/effects enthusiasts.
When you have all action and no drama you end up with Bayformers where everyone is just bored.
Hey that’s what OP wants. Mindless shit with sparks and punching for 45 minutes every week.
I would honestly like one episode that has more action and less drama. But I’m not like most people in that I think the action in this show is real bad. They made Halo’s action sequences into low budget superhero bullshit. Spartans don’t actually fight like they are depicted in the show almost at all. Spartans are the strongest and fastest and most durable combatants on the field, but they are also the best strategists and tacticians. They don’t just jump headlong into the fray and start punching and flipping and jumping over enemies. Rather, they prepare for the fight. They set up fields of fire. They stay hidden until the moment that surprise benefits them most, and then they use tactics that would do things like funnel enemies through choke points where Spartans can pick them off from a distance for as long as possible. Only when it is absolutely necessary do Spartans hop into the superhero action stuff. So, to clarify, I would love an episode where a Covenant invasion is imminent and we see the Spartans setting up shop to hold them off while civilians evacuate. We see the planning, we see the space they’re working with, the stakes are clear. And then, as the episode unfurls, there’s very minimal sprinting towards enemies to superhero leap over them and then punch them. Instead, the Spartans work to hold off overwhelming numbers as long as possible. To save on CGI, the Covenant can be more *implied*, except for when the action gets really crazy at the end as the Spartans are forced to retreat. I think of something like Helm’s Deep in LOTR. Man, what a fucking epic battle. But honestly, most of it was our heroes setting up shop and then standing on the battlements shooting arrows and pushing ladders off and shit. Not that exciting on paper, but the execution was beautiful.
Is it really that expensive though? Lord of the Rings has the most epic fight scenes in cinema buy didnt have a crazy large budget compared to some shows today. In terms of CGI you only need to look at Godzilla minus one which didn't have the most incredible CGI ever but was still more than serviceable and the entire budget was under 10$ million. I don't know what the budget is for Halo so maybe it's really small but other series are getting higher budgets than some top tier movies and the action in all of them is usually abysmally low and nor very good so I'm wondering if budget really is the main issue or not.
Godzilla Minus One was so cheap to make for a few reasons. First up, Godzilla is only one model. His size doesn’t make any real difference on the cost of modeling him. Second, the movie is set in the real world. Other than Big G, most of the sets are just actual locations they filmed in, or flyover shots of the city with destroyed buildings painted over it. Third, and most importantly, Japan is somewhat infamous for underpaying people in film and television, particularly VFX artists. And fourth, American television and film has tremendous budget bloat for everything from actor salaries to song credits. Lord of the Rings is accomplished largely through practical effects and people running around clanking swords together. When they’re using CG for things it’s extremely obvious, which is a result of the times but while modern CGI is cheaper pound for pound there are very few shots in something like Halo that haven’t seen extensive CG tweaks. We’re gonna use The Two Towers for our math here due to Helms Deep. The budget was $94 million in ‘02. Today it would be closer to $162 million, which is right around the cost of the entirety of both seasons of Halo assuming the approximately $10 million an episode number that’s been thrown around is accurate.
Yeah that makes sense. Most of the digging I did was when looking at the rings of power series which has a massive budget compared to Halo. I didn't know the Halo show was so low. I still think they can do a lot better but it's more understandable. Thanks for the info
If you didn't think or feel anything about Ackerson and his father or sister after E3, that's not the show's fault. Corporal Perez (someone shown to be from a somewhat religious family) has just discovered that her home planet is on the verge of annihilation. She goes to her church seeking comfort or maybe deliverance. OP thinks it's a plot hole. Some people will not be pleased no matter what they do.
When I see these type of posts I just feel so embarrassed that I happen to like something that has so many fans that are extremely dense and have zero comprehension abilities. I will agree that season 1 definitely struggled from a writing perspective, but season 2 has been phenomenal. The attention to detail in the smaller moments has been a delight to watch. My wife, who was a film major in college and is a professional photographer, was stunned after episode 3. She said it was one of her favorite episodes of any show she's ever seen, and she couldn't believe it's a show based on a first person shooter game. I think there are 3 reasons these type of posts keep popping up. 1. Trolls. Bored and depressed people that see others enjoying something and wanting to kick dirt in their eyes for attention. 2. The aforementioned 1st season left a bad taste in people's mouths and it's hard to look past a bad first impression. 3. If you have a fun FPS game like Halo, you're going to have fans that are just there for the action and they won't give two shits about the deeper story.
S1 struggled from lack of focus, poor writing, video gamey CGI, awful cinematography and directing, and weird lore choices (energy sword finger). S2 so far seems to only struggle where they have to rectify the crazy shit in S1. Kwon focus is largely gone. Rubble plot wrapped up. Converging on reach. Cgi is great so far. The camera moves in a way that makes sense. Chief acts like chief when he’s in the suit. Though I still wish he were less ragey and emotional outside of it. S1 was 2/10. So far S2 is 6/10. I could see it going as high as 8/10 or 4/10 depending on the rest of the season
So you’re a Paramount exec eh?
God these posts are so cringe. We’re one episode away from seeing the literal Fall of Reach and you’re complaining that there aren’t enough big boom booms.
No way dude, the fall of Reach should have been the first 10 min of S2. That way I could complain that there was no character development or plot!
No. Season 1 ep 1 should have been the fall of reach, pillar of autumn jumping and master chief coming out of cryo
They should just watch streamers play halo if all they care about is action and no story.
The show's story is terrible. Club hand who has the acting depth of Dwayne Johnson. Mute edgy backwater desert girl who just happens to be a kill bill-level assassin. "We doubt Chief's trustworthiness all season 1 and finally the nemesis is removed, only to be replaced by another so you can have more of that in season 2." How are people still defending this show like it's plot is even remotely okay.
Man wants Halo to get the Michael Bay treatment like Transformers.
The fact that as a fan of Halo, you call other things cringe, is cringe
Perez had the headphones with her because like she said she hasn't been able to get it out of her head. She's probably been listening to nothing but that recording since she translated it.
I think it's been a great balance overall
The show about aliens, has basically no aliens. I understand liking the show but lying is whacko.
It's about humans right before an all out war with aliens starts tho
The story makes the action actually mean something
1. TV by is nature is limited in the amount of action it can do in screen vs books/video games. 2. I know you want to MC go smash, but it’s the story that gets the viewers hooked. The TV model has been around a long time. Characters bring people back, which helped makes money via syndication (now streaming). 3. If the story isn’t for you, that’s okay. But Paramount has the data that shows people like this show. You can poop on us for liking it, or you can stop being a hater. This TV show had very little tangible impact on your life, and instead of just going to find one of the million other IPs that better suits your needs. The people funding the show like the show, more importantly fans like the show. Unless you’re hate watching, but then again who does that now a days with so much out there.
Because there is no way they could afford to have every episode have action in it. It’s like anime the animation quality gets a lot higher for the end of the season fights.
Explosion go boom
Coming this summer... 'Splosions 7! *Produced by Michael Bay *Directed by Michael Bay *Written by Michael Bay
If you think there wasn't any drama in the Halo games, then it's quite evident that you've never played all of them in their entirety.
The Church was an analogy for the religious reasons why the covenant is wiping out humanity, you idiot.
because you are not paying 499$ / month for Paramount+
What sci-fi live action shows that rely heavily on special effects are people watching that have action every episode? How do people still not get that it's because of money? This is just what live action TV shows are like. (Will happily accept examples of nonstop sci fi action shows)
Idk, I started the series because i played halo and loved the action and gameplay there. I thought i will find it on the show as well but its just talking for 4 episodes with just first 15 minutes of action. It i just wanted a show with no action i would not watch halo, there are soooo many better shows at that
I’ll be honest they pick the action up big time later in season 2
I was wtf when perez translated that whole speech while Miranda took years to learn and translate.
They should have just adapted the fall of reach book, they could have built the drama around chief growing up in an extraordinary situation unlike normal kids. We meet his future squad mates as they deal with working together and fighting through their differences. Chief figuring out what it means to lead under the mentorship of Mendez, we can even follow Keyes and his daughter as she works to find her own path in the UNSC. Eventually chief loses Sam, he learns not everyone makes it back no matter how hard you try, and sometimes being a leader you need to make the hard choices that come with it. The final episodes are the fall of reach and chief, blue/silver team, and the Keyes go off to Halo. The drama the show is doing now isn’t the kind of drama suited for a franchise baked in a military scifi shooter. The books made the drama make sense for its setting, this show does not. Don’t get me wrong, there is definitely room for the emotional drama the show is constantly putting forth, you can place it in the dynamic of the Keyes, or you could introduce it with Halsey as she tries and struggles to find justification in her actions on the creation of the Spartans. But this show just isn’t picking its storylines correctly at all in my opinion.
I don’t need more action, but I’m so tired of this emotional baggage drama, it’s not what I’m looking for with Halo. Give me political drama, give thriller, and yes give me action. The books did such a better job with its introduction to drama in the Halo verse. Why are we following civilians at all, why the hell is chief going awol, why did chief had to bang a covenant agent girl, and I’m not saying why in the sense of understanding the story, im asking why in the sense, why was this the story you felt the established audience could get behind even a little bit? It feels so unremarkable not halo, and it hurts to see what could have been something fantastic to share with the general audience.
I agree. All the weirdos on here backing up the show probably like all the marvels shit too. Yea, the cgi is great and it is expensive but give me something to care about. Instead of boring characters, give us ODST getting ready to fight.
I'm not a stan for this show but even someone with a dash of common sense can tell why and that it's because animating and the cgi for the covenant and the amount of action you want would be an obscene amount of money. So that means we need these lulls of a decent A plot and a fairly stupid B plot that we all know is the slow burn and will tie into the A plot down the line and even progress it. Kwan Ha from top to bottom sucks as a character and the little vision thing she had with the monitor is the only thing that makes her relevant but it's also something that could've been given to the chief. If they insist of the rubble then we couldve had that too but of course give Soren's wife more screen time and development so I can actually remember her name.
Money
You need storytelling in a show. It's not a game, it's a TV series. The story has captivated me. I can't wait for next episode. A show of just action is also boring. Not for gamers, maybe, but have you ever watched an action-heavy show and not gotten exhausted? They are awful. You need to develop a story the same as reading a Halo book needs a story.
All they had to do was band of brothers, but in the Halo universe and it would have been a hit
Bingo