not as good as all the hype

Good concept, poorly executed.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

I am the biggest Halo fan you can find out there I have read all the books, played all the games, and RvB is my lifeblood. This was the most terrible 2 hours of my life. I will give you a summary.Origins parts 1 and 2 (2/10 stars): This was all a bunch of Anti-war we should live in peace with people who want to kill us Propaganda. The first part was okay but the second part would not stop the Propaganda.The Babysitter (3/10) This was wasn't nearly as bad as the Origins but it was still pretty bad. The premise was a bunch of Helljumpers getting over there hatred of Spartans.The Duel (1/10) There is no words to describe how bad this one was. If you insist on renting this just skip this one.Homecoming (3/10) This was about how the Spartans were turned into Spartans. It was interesting but the Animation style and story telling was terrible.Prototype (6/10) Prototype is about a Sarge, who 3 years ago lost his entire Squad and is now dies holding the Covenant off to allow his squad to escape.Odd One Out 1/10 This is a parody short and not considered Canon thank goodness Just skip it there is nothing funny about this short.The Package (10/10) Finally the only good one of the group. The Package is about the Master Chief and 4 other Spartans securing a package from the Covenant. The entire episode is CGI and it is an Awesome battle. From space dogfights to firefights its worth RENTING this to just watch this one.So in Summary the only good one is the Package.

1) The Duel is by far the best, and only good short in this disaster. It explains the origins of the Arbiter, and why the rank was made what it was during the halo games. Personally, i loved the way it was written, how it all tied together, but the art style was off. The use of TOO MUCH Japanese art style made me think i was watching a samurai epic rather than some science fiction story. The Elites' armor were TOO influenced by the Japanese samurai armor, and it took away some of the feel for the elites' own culture. But besides that, this short is watchable and enjoyable.2) Origins is an origin story narrated by Cortana, explaining how the Halo universe came to be. I like how the animators included views of Forerunner technology and ships, and i love the way the combat skins looked. But that's as far as it goes. Don't get me wrong, this short has all its information in the right place, i just think it may have mistakenly shown us information in a different way. For example, when Cortana is narrating how the Flood returned to attack the covenant and the Humans, it showed all races fighting the Flood. This may not be entirely accurate, but the way it showed them makes it seem as if brutes, elites, humans and all others set aside their differences for the sake of fighting a greater enemy (and they all lived happily ever after). Besides that, there's not really nothing wrong with this short, except that you can read this on wikipedia rather than shell out a few bucks for it.3) The Package. I won't deny it, its fun. Its pretty damn awesome to see the spartans kick major Covenant donkey (bad pun, i know) on their own turf, but i must point out a few flaws. Arthur and Solomon, for example, died TOO damned easily. They're supposed to be spartans, the ultimate fighting machine, and they died stupidly, with Solomon charging recklessly into the inside of a Covenant cruiser only to suffer a stupid death thanks to a Covenant anti-matter charge. Where was all the military discipline? I know that time was short, but ALL soldiers are trained to work as part of a team. If your team loses, you lose, and that's something that apparently Solomon wasn't taking into consideration though. On the other hand, Arthur's 'death' wasn't visible, and it opens up a few possible stories, such as a capture and escape from Covenant space. I'd like that. 4) Homecoming. Again, where's all the discipline? Spartans are shown here to be (and i'm paraphrasing another reviewer around here) angsty teens. I know that they still hadn't had their first glimpse of battle, but why suicide? These people were trained to be the ultimate fighting machines (redundancy, i know) and some of them just killed themselves when they found out that they'd been replaced with clones. I get it, its traumatizing, but i think that if you take some things into consideration the story is entirely impossible. Most, if not all of the Spartan-II candidates were taken from the early age of 6. A child's mind is so suggestive at that age that with proper conditioning, the UNSC would've made them forget entirely about their parents and whatnot. More importantly, while i know that going back to your estranged parents only to find out that you were replaced with a clone is not exactly a happy thought, its not enough grounds for suicide. Suicide (and i say it as a person who once considered it) is a gradual thing, not something sudden. On a side note, why is Ralph-303 a marine? If he received the augmentations, the training, and the discipline, why did he not remain a spartan? Was it because of the escape? But in that case, then technically Daisy-023 should have been kicked out of the S-II program and made a normal marine as well. Oh and just to put the cherry on this, there were only 150 Spartan-II candidates, with 75 being chosen for the actual program. Why 303? Why is this short deliberately wiping its opening at the end of the alimentary canal through which solid waste matter leaves the body with our beloved canon?5) The Babysitter. This one had *so* much potential. It is the story of an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper squadron (ODST; Helljumpers) sent behind enemy lines to assassinate a Prophet. But wait, there's a twist! They have a Spartan. Now, all of you who are familiar with the Halo mythos know that ODSTs and S-IIs have a fierce rivalry, ever since John-117 (the Master Chief) killed three of them in a training fight. So, where is all this rivalry? Instead, we're stuck with this kid, O'Brian, who whines like the pre-pubescent teen he is, griping about how the Spartan SAVES HIS LIFE ABOUT 3 TIMES. This could've essentially been one of the best of the shorts, instead it plays out like that filler episode in anime, where they throw a bunch of clip shows together that adds nothing to the overall storyline. Again, on a side note, why doesn't Cal-141 ever talk to the other members of the squad? Is she suffering from PTVD, as Lucy-B091? Or did the producers want to hide the fact that there are also women serving in the front lines? Because i know women serving in Iraq right now.6) Prototype. There's nothing really wrong with this short, except that it doesn't add a damn thing to the story. Like most of the compilation as a whole.7) Odd One Out. Didn't happen, disregard it.As a whole, there's not really that many things that are wrong with Halo Legends. I do think though, that they could've made it a whole lot better.

7.5The first thing I want to say is that I'm a huge Halo fan. There are certainly bigger fans out there, but Halo is close to my heart, has been in my life for almost a decade, and any more Halo love in my life would make me really weird. I guess that's why they call it, "love", huh? Halo Legends is a collection of 8 animated shorts drawn and created by 6 different studios. Origins I & II - These are by far the best episodes of the bunch. Part 1 and 2 are different in their animation style. However, not only is the animation style excellent, with its simple edges, bright colors and very good use of lighting/tone. Origins sports, like most of the other episodes music ripped straight from the games. This, in conjunction with Cortana's narration and familiar voice, makes for a very fan-pleasing episode. According to the commentary, there is a lot of imagery here, such as what the forerunners look like, or what their world looks like, that is not canon and only exists in Cortana's imagination, if you will. Still, seeing these images and also seeing some of the Covenant's races in their primitive state is very exciting. If Halo fans were to get anything out of Halo Legends, it would be Origins.The Duel - This is my least favorite episode of the bunch. I usually don't like to criticize other people's work. A lot of the time, it is usually lack of rapport and/or misunderstanding that leads me to not enjoy or dislike a certain work. However, I found The Duel to be very boring. I also was not a huge fan of the artistic style, which happens to be the most unique one out of the bunch. I greatly enjoy seeing the back-story of the Covenant races, but I felt that this was an Elite take on Japanese samurai storytelling. The only thing worth noticing here is the style, which employs a filter of a sort to make everything look watercolored.Homecoming - Exactly what I expected out of Halo Legends. Although not my favorite, I would very easily recommend this one to someone. It is exactly as I expected, and it is actually pretty good. At first glance, it might seem to take place in a random anime-style universe. However, as soon as you see a Spartan, you know what's going on, and it actually makes sense.Odd One Out - One thing that differenciates traditional western animation from eastern animation is the tone. A lot of the western stuff is comedy. A lot of the eastern stuff is dramatic. Serious stuff. How many western, adult cartoons can you think of? How many eastern animated comedies can you think of, that are strictly for kids, and have minimal to no violence? Well, Odd One Out is such. I guess. There's fighting in it, for sure. But it's not done in a way that I would be afraid to show it to my kids. In fact, even the animated style resembles something that is kid-friendly. Some might be turned off by this, but to them I say, have you ever seen Red vs. Blue?Prototype - This is one that hooked me in from the start. From the cinematic title, to the stylish, atmospheric setting, and the melodramatic intro, I was convinced that this might be the best offering on the disc. However, it was, to my taste, permeated with action, and lots of explosions. Sounds good, right? Well, again, this is my taste. And I prefer gab over guts, any day. Still, it is a good episode. Highly recommended for those that love niche aspects of Japanese culture, such as mechs.The Babysitter - Like Homecoming, this is similar to what my expectations were going into Halo Legends. This one also happens to be my second favorite of the bunch. The Babysitter tells the story of a group of ODST's sent on a special mission: assassinate a Covenant Prophet. Wow, pretty crazy, huh? There's only one catch. A Spartan soldier is going to not only accompany them, but lead the whole operation. I won't say anything else, but given that these are short stories, averaging at about 15 minutes or so each episode, they did a good job. A good story was told, using a good art style. Many scenes were shown that ground you in the Halo universe, not to mention some very intense scenes.The Package - This is second runner up for least interesting episode in the package (the disc). This is the only episode that sports 3D animation. There is nothing wrong with this style of animation. The reason that I do not like it, is that it is all substance, and no style. What you basically have is a famous piece of Halo History, where the Master Chief and 4 other Spartans board a Covenant ship to rescue Dr. Halsey, the A.I. that Cortana is based on. It also includes the first encounter between the Arbiter and the Chief. (I am not sure if this bit is canon or not.) All it is, is essentially 5 Spartans literally running and gunning. I did my fair share of that in the games.Halo Legends is ultimately a mixed bag of works, all taking place directly in the Halo universe. Ultimately, I'd recommend Halo Legends to any hardcore Halo fan. If you hate anime, but love Halo... well, you might as well give it a shot. If you love anime, but don't like Halo, you might enjoy these short stories, but it would be better if you knew some back-story before going into it.

Let me list off my favorite segments from this movie. 1. Prototype The grittiest of the shorts, and it contains one of the coolest powered-armor suits you'll ever see. Ever. Has the best animation quality, best set up, and a touching reminder of what being human is all about. 2. Origins (pt. I-II) Cortana going through the whole history of humanity, the forerunners, and the covenant. Some great animation and touching story work really makes this one a joy to watch. 3. Odd One Out As somebody who grew up on Dragonball Z (and still love it) I loved this bit. Its slapstick humor, its character designs, its spartan character 1337 (hell yeah!) and how over the top hilarious the fight with Pluton, the genetically modified Brute, is! 4. The Duel Loved the art style, loved the setting, the music. Didn't love how human the elites were portrayed. Though the scene with the arbiter against dozens of elites and hunters was pretty damn amazing. 5. Homecoming I just didn't feel for the main character in this one. I've read Fall of Reach, and think that they made the "horrific experiments" waaay too tame. Only at the end was I feeling any emotion for the character. 6. The Package Visually pretty amazing CG work, but the dialogue was pretty horrific and the one-liners were pretty grating. 7. The Babysitter This one was just boring, visually and thematically.