Sound bite number #39... (Dialogue) We all know the Chief doesn't talk all that much in the game. But I hope they don't try and turn him into the typical badass anti-hero by having him spew out one liners that sound like they should be sound bites for a trailer. Same for any other important character.
RvB (Dialogue) One small thing they could add to the movie would be RvB. For example when there's a large fight scene, Johnson could call out to a marine for help or to alert him and call him "Tucker." A quick thing like this would make it a tad bit more enjoyable and memorable.
Sticking to the pre-machinima version of the game would be nice. Even though my wife is from Iowa!
CGI Overload (Computer Graphics) Every single enemy, landscape, scenery, and anything other than actors will be in CG on a green screen, and it will look hugely unrealistic.
Our illustrious producer has already shown that CGI can be done correctly, and WETA is the team (alongside ILM) to provide that realism. Yes, having a completely done CGI title would suck. We already paid for that.
Freefalling... (Scared of Realism) We know that that suit of armor can withstand an incredible amount of force and still protect the occupant. However, I would hate to see an ODST drop, some
thing go wrong with the capsule, and have him abandon it.
Images of clouds rushing by, flash to conversations with Cortana as she calculates trajectory and probability of success. More flashes of the ground rushing up, and MC simply states, "It has to work."
Flash to MC throwing out his arms, and grabbing at tree branches as he rushes towards the ground, to land both feet firm, with nothing more than a momentary pause before standing erect.
"Cortana...now tell me where those Covenant are!"
He is not Superman! That suit weighs so much that he would go half-way into solid rock, based on a 1000 foot free fall. We are often expected to believe that ridiculous circumstances mean that equally stupid fixes cure all.
Covenen7z0r3d (Dialogue) The marine who opens the door in 343 GS whispers under his breath while typing it in "Nothing can w1thstand my leet hacking skills."
singing grunts (Characters) They better not make the grunts sing, or wair goofy clothing, who would want another oompa-loompa like creature. It would be cool if the still screamed really loud when they got shot though.
Spartan 101 (Scenes from Hell) The Chief has a hugely grueling battle, and bleeding badly, has a half-hour long stare into his remaining enemy's (who is lying,bleeding on the floor. He sees convieniently emotional scenes of his life. Finally he stamps down on the enemies face, killing him. He stands for a while, silent tears dripping down his face. Then he tears of the helmet, turning out to be the Microsoft Paperclip! The ending credits are of him and Cortana riding of into the binary sunset.
Minigun musings (Weapons) A horrible cliche all on its own would be a character, any character, using a handheld Gatling gun. In reality, those things have a recoil that will knock you off your feet, and the amount of ammo needed to fire one even just 20 seconds be far too heavy and volumous to carry around, even or the Cheif. The warthogs minigun is fine, it's mounted onto a 3-4 ton vehicle, and has an ammo drum under it, but a scene where MC rips it from its bracing and runs around with it would be truly unrealistic.
Cry Me a River (Weepy melodrama) You all remember the day when you were playing Halo 1 and you saw what they did to Keyes? Well imagine this... As the scene starts we can hear Keyes groaning like he did in the game. MAster Cheif then yells "Hold on Keyes I'm coming!" Keyes then responds with the "Leave me" or soething along those lines. When the cheif eventually gets to Keyes and sees him infected we hear him utter a short "I'm sorry Keyes, I just wasn't fast enough" He thens yells "NOOO!!!" and punches Keyes chip out. Then we see Cheifs shoulders bob and he emit a short sob.
'innovative' use of scenery as a weapon (Scenes) The master chief has been disarmed and is in dire straits against a more powerful enemy. FEAR YOU NOT! For a precariously placed heavy object or other scenery plot hole allows him to barely escape the brink of death...because it's not like the Chief can fight hand to hand or has grenades with him or anything.
Hmmm...
As long as we don't see Nicole-ish moves that were discussed in books, but never seen in the game.
Some kind of comedic relief... (Comic Relief) ...that won't be funny. I can't say for sure but I get the bad feeling that sometime during the movie a grunt or marine voiced by Adam Sandler or Rob Schnieder will jump up and go "You can do it MC! Shoot his frekin' head off"
The serious choice needs to be made between campy comedy and comedic elements that lend benefit to the scene and overall story. Most of the truly, laugh your ass-off moments, in the game were beneficial and had a tendency to flow with the show. Everyone loves hearing a "Bob" talking back after MC dies, or points a sniper at a friendly head, but making that connection with movie watchers is a stretch at best.
Hudson's Lament (Characters) A lot of entries seem to complain about possible "space marine" clich?s. How quickly you all forget that the marines in Halo are supposed to be spoofs of these clich?s! We've got characters named Jenkins and Mendoza, two of the most clich?d soldier names, and Michelle Rodriguez does in fact play a hardass soldier babe. I'd be disappointed if she wasn't in the movie!
No, the biggest mistake the Halo movie could make is if it took itself too seriously. The marines are there for comic relief more than anything. That they're so effective in ground engagements while being a bunch of goofballs is part of their charm. There will be plenty of time for MC to play the stoic hero in the midst of alien zealots and flesh-chomping zombies. Let the marines have their fun.
I think there's a subtle difference though... in the game, the marines do indeed act bad-ass, with their poses, their attention to the objective, etc. The comic relief comes from their interaction with the MC as well as each other and the enemy, and of course their various funny deaths.
The problem is that if done poorly, they could indeed look like over-the-top caricatures. There has to be the right balance between buffoonery and the grim reality of war to make it entertaining and not such a groan-fest.
Guilty but no spark... (Characters) Guilty Spark, he's a key player, powerful, a little crazy but doesn't actually intervene himself, nor can he as a robotic eye that floats.
However what if the film allows him to slot into a 'body' and go stomping around like some deranged Forerunner ABC warrior or worse, like a Ripley mechanical loader.
He tries to kill the Chief only for Cortana to say:
'Get away from him you b*tch!'
Aliens for a new generation, ahhhh the fetid, decaying smell of a remake with a face lift.
