To tell you the truth... I'm not feeling it. The craft is very good... but overall, I'm not impressed. I never played Halo, so maybe that's why I wasn't blown away by this trailer ;)
Yeah, I agree. There's one image, ONE, that sticks with me: It's the nightmarish image of the man lifting the boy from his bed and 'replacing' him. That's a real stunner. The rest? I dunno. I was thinking, maybe it has to do with being familiar with the HALO cosmology, which I am not. But other than that, I do not feel that the trailer tells a compelling and empathy-evoking story — uh, or any real "story" at all. Hard to connect with. Is not going to make me a gamer.
But I do love the looks, and I appreciate Miller's talent. The RESET CONTENT website has his ad for "Injustice", which is simply fantastic. So, hell yeah, if they'd get a decent screenplay, I'd watch Miller do feature length any day.
Just to clarify ~ is this actually directed by Fincher? Or by Tim Miller, with Fincher as 'Exec Producer'? Agree with above, doesn't feel like Fincher to me. Plus, makes me feel very old and from a different planet ~ I aint a 'gamer'!
The trailer doesn't tell a compelling story? Come again?
Catherine Halsey and Lieutenant Jacob Keyes travel to meet John, a six-year-old boy. Dr. Halsey reveals to Keyes that John is one of 150 children who possess rare genetic markers making them suitable for conscription into the SPARTAN-II program, a secret experiment with the aim of creating super soldiers for the UNSC to quell rebellions. Seventy-five of the children are kidnapped by operatives of the Office of Naval Intelligence and replaced by clones engineered to die of natural causes shortly thereafter. From this point on, the recruits are known only by their first name and a three digit number. John-117 and the rest of the children are drilled and trained by Franklin Mendez; John demonstrates leadership of his fellow Spartans leading to his promotion to squad leader.
In 2525, the Spartans undergo a series of surgical enhancements which turn them into highly efficient super soldiers at the cost of crippling or killing more than half of the original seventy-five. The Spartans are also equipped with powerful MJOLNIR battle armor, designed to respond as quickly as the soldier's thoughts. John-117 is given the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer. The Spartans are highly successful, but they experience a priority shift after a collective of alien races known as the Covenant begin obliterating human colonies, declaring humanity's destruction as the will of the gods.
well too bad that's not in the trailer. what's in the trailer, maybe, is some scenes that reference this backstory. the story is only hinted at and if, like kevin mike, ff and myself, you'rnot familiar with it, the trailer tells you as much as nothing. doesnt work for me.
I have a sneaking suspicion that a halo movie wouldn't work. The 30 to 60 second spots for the halo products are always mind blowing but the moment they're over that 60 second window they kind of suck. what's cool about the 30 and 60 seconds spots is they always tease this grand world, this world that feels fresh and they tend to have an emotional hook. Joe Kosinski's "Starry Night" or "Deliver Hope" are great examples. Those spots gives a sense of this grand scale but the longer spots, like this one, they always--to my eyes--diminish that sense of scale and never seem to have that emotional hook. I am not a gamer in the least bit, the last game system I owned was a Sega Genesis so maybe that's why the first person perspective isn't compelling to me, just watching a bunch of stuff happen on screen without any rooting interest, without a compelling character, or a story just doesn't do it for me.
John 117 finds it compelling and he knows the backstory, that's sort of the problem with these games is that they become an insular world on their own and those out of the loop kind of just shrug their shoulders. Maybe I'm just too old for this stuff too. But then again, who is too old for a good compelling story.
To tell you the truth... I'm not feeling it. The craft is very good... but overall, I'm not impressed. I never played Halo, so maybe that's why I wasn't blown away by this trailer ;)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree. There's one image, ONE, that sticks with me: It's the nightmarish image of the man lifting the boy from his bed and 'replacing' him. That's a real stunner. The rest? I dunno. I was thinking, maybe it has to do with being familiar with the HALO cosmology, which I am not. But other than that, I do not feel that the trailer tells a compelling and empathy-evoking story — uh, or any real "story" at all. Hard to connect with. Is not going to make me a gamer.
ReplyDeleteBut I do love the looks, and I appreciate Miller's talent. The RESET CONTENT website has his ad for "Injustice", which is simply fantastic. So, hell yeah, if they'd get a decent screenplay, I'd watch Miller do feature length any day.
Just to clarify ~ is this actually directed by Fincher? Or by Tim Miller, with Fincher as 'Exec Producer'?
ReplyDeleteAgree with above, doesn't feel like Fincher to me. Plus, makes me feel very old and from a different planet ~ I aint a 'gamer'!
All the sources I have come across have reported (or later corrected themselves) that Fincher was producing, Miller directing.
DeleteAre you serious? The trailer is fapping amazing, has me one hundred percent down for this game. Absolutely love the surgery sequence....
ReplyDeleteThe trailer doesn't tell a compelling story? Come again?
ReplyDeleteCatherine Halsey and Lieutenant Jacob Keyes travel to meet John, a six-year-old boy. Dr. Halsey reveals to Keyes that John is one of 150 children who possess rare genetic markers making them suitable for conscription into the SPARTAN-II program, a secret experiment with the aim of creating super soldiers for the UNSC to quell rebellions. Seventy-five of the children are kidnapped by operatives of the Office of Naval Intelligence and replaced by clones engineered to die of natural causes shortly thereafter. From this point on, the recruits are known only by their first name and a three digit number. John-117 and the rest of the children are drilled and trained by Franklin Mendez; John demonstrates leadership of his fellow Spartans leading to his promotion to squad leader.
In 2525, the Spartans undergo a series of surgical enhancements which turn them into highly efficient super soldiers at the cost of crippling or killing more than half of the original seventy-five. The Spartans are also equipped with powerful MJOLNIR battle armor, designed to respond as quickly as the soldier's thoughts. John-117 is given the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer. The Spartans are highly successful, but they experience a priority shift after a collective of alien races known as the Covenant begin obliterating human colonies, declaring humanity's destruction as the will of the gods.
So this trailer is pretty amazing, actually.
well too bad that's not in the trailer. what's in the trailer, maybe, is some scenes that reference this backstory. the story is only hinted at and if, like kevin mike, ff and myself, you'rnot familiar with it, the trailer tells you as much as nothing. doesnt work for me.
DeleteExactly Ed :) When I heard that Fincher was attached to a "game trailer" project I was thinking that we will get something of this caliber:
Deletehttp://digitaldomain.com/projects/104
Now that is a freaking awesome trailer... and he was only a Creative Consultant on that one ;)
I have a sneaking suspicion that a halo movie wouldn't work. The 30 to 60 second spots for the halo products are always mind blowing but the moment they're over that 60 second window they kind of suck. what's cool about the 30 and 60 seconds spots is they always tease this grand world, this world that feels fresh and they tend to have an emotional hook. Joe Kosinski's "Starry Night" or "Deliver Hope" are great examples. Those spots gives a sense of this grand scale but the longer spots, like this one, they always--to my eyes--diminish that sense of scale and never seem to have that emotional hook. I am not a gamer in the least bit, the last game system I owned was a Sega Genesis so maybe that's why the first person perspective isn't compelling to me, just watching a bunch of stuff happen on screen without any rooting interest, without a compelling character, or a story just doesn't do it for me.
ReplyDeleteJohn 117 finds it compelling and he knows the backstory, that's sort of the problem with these games is that they become an insular world on their own and those out of the loop kind of just shrug their shoulders. Maybe I'm just too old for this stuff too. But then again, who is too old for a good compelling story.