I've never played Halo so I was going into this movie somewhat blind not knowing what to expect. It started out ordinary enough with young cadets in a military school introducing themselves and stating why they joined. Much to my surprise, the wide swath of kids (teens really) had varying reasons for joining that extended beyond blood lust or just seeing how cool it would be to kill. That, in itself, was a big notch of respectability in my eyes. I expected a lot of HOO RAH type speech and antics and I didn't see that.
Furthermore, I looked for the typical teen movie clichés, because these were teens after all. Although it wasn't a high school setting, I was looking for the ultra popular beauty queen, the muscle-headed jock, the dweeb and the supporting cast. Fortunately, those characters never appeared. Halo proved to be a deeper, layered, better thought out film than I expected. It could be considered slow, but I thought it was right on point. Very nicely done.
Furthermore, I looked for the typical teen movie clichés, because these were teens after all. Although it wasn't a high school setting, I was looking for the ultra popular beauty queen, the muscle-headed jock, the dweeb and the supporting cast. Fortunately, those characters never appeared. Halo proved to be a deeper, layered, better thought out film than I expected. It could be considered slow, but I thought it was right on point. Very nicely done.