Halo Movie Would Have Lacked Faces

[airrazor7]

"But the movies have to have a character an audience can relate to" What is this, I mean Venusaur? I never understood this. When I view any type of media, I'm looking for an entertaining and engaging story; not to view a mirror of myself. Why can't a director craft an entertaining narrative from Halo? I don't need to relate to Master Chief, I just need him to do something awesome.

Instead of a story or protagonist reminding me of myself, I'd rather they inspire me to think and engage in life in ways I never considered before.

 

[RaNDM G]

It's a movie about a pretty cool guy who kills aleins and doesnt afraid of anything. The one thing it doesn't need is faces.

 

[bullet_sandw1ch]

Second time for thread connect fail today for you mister Tito and third for the site overall. You guys don't care anymore do you?

343 needs to drop the "No showing the Chief's face" thing. We know what he looks like. It was in the comics, and though only parts of his face were revealed at a time, we've seen all of it. The books have described it. There's no mystery. It's pointless at this point.

But if they give him a face he might be expected to give him...

*GASP*

a personality!

He has a personality. He's actually a rather conflicted character. Read the books and you'll understand. And yes, I know they should really have that personality translate to the games, but my point still stands.

Anyway, I'm not sure what to think here. I'm one of the rare few gamers who thought they'd already done videogame movies well with the Silent Hill and Resident Evil films - and that's about it. But, if any current videogame frnchise would translate well to the big screen, it's Nathan Drake and Uncharted. Reason being that it's basically a game version of an Indiana Jones film anyway, except without Nazis or Soviets, and actually good. It would be simple to make a film that's true to the games while still being prety much similar to the early Indy films - and even better if Nathan Fillion plays the lead. Metal Gear Solid, on the other hand, I have no views either way.

As for Halo, I'm currently reserving my judgement. I strongly believe that a Halo film would be amazing if they used the Jackson/Blomkamp collaboration that was originally attached, before they left to make District 9. That same sort of style would work for a Halo film too, but I'd want a new story that is different to the games, but still canon, and enough to introduce newcomers to the franchise while still being an eye-opener for long-time fans like myself as well - that would be a pretty tough feat to accomplish. That being said, the live-action trailers for ODST, Reach, and Halo 4, have all been amazing so far. With 'Forward Unto Dawn', the 90-minute series of short films being released on Halo Waypoint over the months leading up to Halo 4's release, we may yet see a pretty awesome film-substitute anyway, and if it goes well then possibly it would be enough to prompt a full movie later. But until I see it for myself (and I will, as I intend to pre-order the Limited Edition of the game), I won't be making judgement. Pros exist, and so do cons. That's all I'm saying.

could you actually sum up the books take on his personality? i really dont have much time, what with finals and all.

 

[Deadyawn]

Am I the only one who doesn't want movies based off games? Because they're kind of dumb from where I'm standing. The whole point of a game is that its interactive. Movies are not. What's the point of making a movie out of a game franchise when you could just make another game? Personally, I'd prefer to get another game than a movie.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

We've already had Uncharted films before, they were called Tomb Raider and Indiana Jones.

I'm not saying Halo is totally original, but they're just making silly excuses now it seems.

I wish they would give us a definitive answer as to whether or not a proper Halo film will ever be made.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

Am I the only one who doesn't want movies based off games? Because they're kind of dumb from where I'm standing. The whole point of a game is that its interactive. Movies are not. What's the point of making a movie out of a game franchise when you could just make another game? Personally, I'd prefer to get another game than a movie.

Being interactive isn't the whole point of a game, but the main point.

 

[LGC Pominator]

But if they give him a face he might be expected to give him...

*GASP*

a personality!

That was unwarranted, John has been incredibly well characterised both in the games and the expanded universe, the amount by which he emotes physically through body language and vocal changes when under stress is amazingly well done, the fact that this has been done throughout the series without relying on revealing his face for cutscenes is testament to the game directing skills of the Halo team (I really hope 343 can pull it off, what I have seen so far makes me hopeful)

The issue I have seen for the most part with attempts at bringing the Halo universe to movie form is simply the fact that the scope of the stories is rather too much for one film to cover even one of the more important campaigns in the universe appropriately, perhaps following Chief's stories may not be the best avenue.
As moviegoers will probably want a face to put to the characters in the story, a film following one of the other SPARTAN II teams in the early days of the first contact war, or even a film chronicling the events of the five years between the events of contact harvest and halo wars would be ideal.
Alternatively following the story of a SPARTAN II team like Grey team (of the cole protocol novel) would be amazing, they all had well defined characters and it would be fantastic to see them brought to life on screen.

In the meantime I am really looking forward to Forward unto Dawn, perhaps a small live action series may be the better route for halo live action, it worked for the Ice and Fire universe, and it isn't like the reference pool for halo material is going to dry up any time soon.

I honestly can't believe this many directors have chickened out so far, but I am kind of glad just because it means no one has managed to butcher my favourite franchise just yet.

 

[chadachada123]

This producer sounds like a complete idiot.

I'm glad he won't be taking charge for a Halo movie. He'd probably shit all over it if he thinks that Uncharted would make a good movie series while somehow distinguishing it from Indiana Jones/Tomb Raider.

Besides, it'd be far better to have no faces (or no recognizable faces) than to have someone that 'kinda sorta' looks like Nathan Drake play as him.

 

[Scow2]

343 needs to drop the "No showing the Chief's face" thing. We know what he looks like. It was in the comics, and though only parts of his face were revealed at a time, we've seen all of it. The books have described it. There's no mystery. It's pointless at this point.

Comics = Not Canon. Only the games are.

The only canon is the games. The chief has no face. He NEEDS no face. Underneath his helmet... is another helmet. You should know that by now.

 

[Simonoly]

A Halo movie would probably just turn out to be a po-faced Starship Troopers and we already had that with Battle LA. Plus the Uncharted series has nothing new to offer cinema, as the game itself is basically a homage to the greatest action movies we know. I honestly can't think of a single game series I'd like to see adapted to the big screen.

 

[Roboto]

For the record I do still enjoy coming here most of the time. Yes, I know they don't technically owe me anything, but it annoys me that service problems have become such an issue now (and they have, I don't get Fail Pony when it's on MY end trust me) when there doesn't seem to be a legitimate reason for it and I'm disappointed that the people running this site seem to be unaware of it. This place used to be so easy to navigate, threads and videos would show up WHEN they were posted and you wouldn't have to waste time trying to find them. Now with missing threads, dropped posts, the format change, the BANNED avatar and the deletion of all the videos of "the show that must not be named" it's hard not to get a vindictive vibe from this site some days.

Those captchas as well. Initially "to control spam" kinda got that, but then they started being things like "write 'I will buy a Toyota Camry' to post" and the ...ahhh....wait a minute.. vibe set in. Easier and less paintastic to not bother posting at all when it asks. I miss my old format where I could actually keep on top of all the content and not go swimming in it heh.

As far as Halo movie, those guys sound like all they want is something they can plug in to a movie script and rake in the millions. Any extraneous thought or motive is too much to consider and that is painful. Wouldn't want someone with that mindset touching it either.

 

[Beautiful End]

Aaaaaaaaand...whew! I avoided that small argument!

Anyway, I'll have to agree. As popular as Halo is, it wouldn't be a good movie. See, Master Chief can stay faceless (kinda) in the games and it wouldn't matter. This is quite common in games; YOU are meant to be that faceless person. It's you in the game. You're Master Chief. So in games, it's not a problem but an incentive. But as a movie? We're just watching the story of Master Chief. It sure as hell isn't you on the movie because you're there watching it. It could be anyone! Not only that but when you have faceless characters, they tend to go down the "Power Ranger" route. In other words, pantomime their way through the movie because they lack the ability to let their face do the talking. I hope this makes sense...

Now, while an Uncharted movie would be an Indiana Jones-like movie and MGS would be...just plain confusing to new audiences, they have potential. You have characters you can identify yourself with. The handsome rogue, the old, war veteran, its crazed half, half brother, etc. Not that Halo lacks those...for the most part. But still.

And yet! I don't wanna see any of those games become a movie. They'll just end up screwing it up somehow. We all know it.

 

[Korten12]

343 needs to drop the "No showing the Chief's face" thing. We know what he looks like. It was in the comics, and though only parts of his face were revealed at a time, we've seen all of it. The books have described it. There's no mystery. It's pointless at this point.

Comics = Not Canon. Only the games are.

The only canon is the games. The chief has no face. He NEEDS no face. Underneath his helmet... is another helmet. You should know that by now.

Yes they're. Comics, books, and such are all canon. (aside from a very small few) Hell CEA's terminals references Cryptum very often, and the main reason why the Elites are enemies in 4 is because of the events of Halo: Glasslands and the upcoming Thursday War.

 

[VoidWanderer]

I think it's adorable that people believe they can relate to a character with no actually discernable features other than the one suit of armour he seems to wear.

Let me put it this way, can you imagine an action movie being improved by not being able to relate to the emotions of the protagonist?

Would Alien be as scary if Ripley was in a full-bodied suit the entire time? Would you wince when you see John McClane sitting in the bathtub wincing at the large piece of galss in his foot?

For a movie to be truly successful, the protagonist needs to be relatable...

Unless it is being directed by Michael Bay, and given the military hardware and explosions, he'd be the perfect fit.

It's not like he needs a lot of plot in is movies.

 

[gigastrike]

So what if you can't show a face? Just make their armor reflect their personality like every other bit of Halo related material in existence.

 

[Eldritch Warlord]

I think it's adorable that people believe they can relate to a character with no actually discernable features other than the one suit of armour he seems to wear.

I don't see people claiming you can relate to Master Chief here. Just people claiming that he is a character and people claiming that Halo has people besides the Master Chief in it.

 

[BBboy20]

343 needs to drop the "No showing the Chief's face" thing. We know what he looks like. It was in the comics, and though only parts of his face were revealed at a time, we've seen all of it. The books have described it. There's no mystery. It's pointless at this point.

Maybe, but I think it still matters in still playing the old-tradition of immersing the player as 117.

Besides, has trying to invest a character without a visible face been done in film yet? Seems like a challenge to overcome.

 

[Lugbzurg]

No faces in Halo? Someone's never played a Halo game or even so much as watched a trailer.

Also, this is a problem, how?