Halo, the video game has become a sci-fi series full of humanity

Halo

It took over 15 years for a video game saga beloved and sold all over the world like Halo to land on the screen: after attempts by masters such as Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg (who is executive producer here anyway), a serial transposition has finally arrived, produced from the streaming Paramount + and available in Italy from 24 March on Sky and Now. The series, written by Kyle Willen and Steven Kane, obviously shares the general context of the futuristic shooter game but also tries to arrive at a new narrative approach: the setting is that of the Earth of the 26th century, in which the United Nations Space Command ( Unsc) must face on the one hand the independence settlers of territories such as Madrigal and on the other the threat of an alliance of alien races called the Covenant.

In a plot that is somewhat reminiscent of the different Star Trek series already produced by Paramount +, here the action is multiplied in a mosaic that brings together intergalactic intrigues, mysterious prophecies and above all protagonists who try to escape their pre-determined destiny. This is obviously seen in the trajectory of the protagonist, that Master Chief so well known to the players who is played here by Pablo Schreiber. He leads a team of Spartans, genetically engineered super-soldiers, infallible, emotionless warriors. Master Chief, however, will have to rediscover them when he meets the very young Kwan Ha (Yerin Ha), daughter of the resistance leader in Madrigal. Interviewed by sportsgaming.win, Schreiber said that for him this is "a very personal story, that of a super soldier who discovers his humanity, and I think this can also touch spectators who are not fans of the videogame".

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For the actor the universal themes of the game and the series match ("hope in humanity, a sense of unity, and then obviously the effects of war on society and individuals"), although obviously the difficulties of transposing a universe as rich as that of Halo are not few, even when many adaptations, especially to the cinema, have displeased everyone, both the general public and the fans of the first hour: "Ever since I was taken in the part I knew how much this universe and especially this character meant to people and therefore I have always had a great sense of responsibility. Putting that armor on me is the experience of life, ”he confides:“ I think the problem with many video game film adaptations is that they only have 90 minutes to introduce all the characters and contexts, it's a very limited storytelling. Instead with all the mythology that has been created in Halo in recent years, the series manages to reproduce the imaginative and narrative richness of this world. ”

The first episodes of the series are enough to set the tone for what we will see: the system is rather traditional, if not derivative, with human-alien clashes, space chases and the usual political-science fiction plots. Yet you immediately notice a solidity, an attention to every detail and also the ambition to tell something that can expand considerably in unexpected directions. Perhaps fans of the original saga will not be entirely satisfied with the many liberties that the script has taken, yet this production perhaps wants to have a decidedly different breath: “How do we make Halo real? Seeing it in a virtual key is one thing, but our goal was to turn it into something concrete, so that anyone could relate to it, "executive producer Kiki Wolfkill told us.

Adrienn Szabo / Paramount + Among the characters taken from the game but who take on an even more complex characterization here is certainly doctor Catherine Halsey, played by Natascha McElhone, or the scientist who created and monitors the Spartans. Despite the interference of Admiral Parangosky (Shabana Azmi ), Halsey wants to continue his experiments on Cortana, the artificial intelligence so dear to gamers but which here leads to something more complex and if we want disturbing, bordering on human cloning and the manipulation of consciences: "Halo has always had a lots of female characters and Halsey is perhaps the most multifaceted character, Natasha McElhone is perfect in bringing out all her nuances, especially or when it is necessary to understand how much the end justifies the means ". The ambiguity of the characters, who are never totally positive or negative, is a very interesting aspect, which says how ambitious the narrative we want to do here is too (a second season has already been announced, so the plans of the script are definitely in the long term).

Ultimately Halo is a decidedly contemporary sci-fi series, made with all the trappings: diversified and international cast, big budgets, extraordinary special effects, a narrative universe ready to offer from every on the references and ideas side (interesting is also the character of the fugitive ally Sorren, played by Bokeem Woodbine, and previously only present in the spin-off novel Halo: Evolutions). Planet-to-planet journeys, spacecraft failing, struggles between conflicting factions, even aliens with merciless plans for conquest, and amulets carrying extraordinary powers are certainly nothing new, but this series has on his side not only being able to play on a precise imaginary but also being able to evolve in solid and unexpected ways.

A metaphor for this is the Master Chief 's iconic armor. Schreiber talks about it like a second skin: "It takes many hours to get into it, but the problem itself is not the weight, it's that really all movements are limited", he says, referring to a fateful moment tied to his helmet. . Here, the helmet that the Spartans never take off (a bit like the warriors of The Mandalorian) will mark a turning point in the first episodes that is a further hook for the curiosity of the spectators. Even in its breaking expectations even in a well-established context, exploiting unprecedented visual and emotional firepower, Halo is pure television science fiction on steroids, even if the games remain something else.