Premiering yesterday, Halo: Helljumper started off as any other typical web series would: a setup to how the series would run. Helljumper literally jettisoned directly to success, regardless of some audio engineering issues. To be honest, this won’t be the last episode that I’ll be watching, as SuperFastHD has me subbed.
Halo: Helljumper Official Trailer
When I first watched the trailer for the series about two months ago, I was skeptical because of a few visual aspects that weren’t completely polished to the standards of web series that use special effects. Honestly, it looked very similar, but grew from what was there and took off to create an interesting experience. To warn everyone who continues to read, there will be minor spoilers.
Halo is obviously a universe that has been presented many times over. The unique story options available for the production team were limited; they chose to create a story based on marines we’ve never encountered in the Halo universe through the games, books or animated short films. Tobias S. Buckell takes the typical drama of war and sets it up for a typical farm boy. Nothing too original thus far, except for the part that this farm boy doesn’t get the ending he thought he would.
The problem with most fiction is the fact that writers believe the protagonist must survive against all odds, when in real life that rarely ever happens. That’s where Buckell’s writing really kicks in; but I won’t spoil the first episode for you, as this is being written to entice those who may be skeptical (as I was originally). Don’t be; the story (and action in future episodes) should lead to a dramatic series that’ll make Machinima’s Mortal Kombat series look pathetic.
Source: Halo: Helljumper Official Trailer
As the visual design of the the first episode is aesthetically pleasing, I’m interested to see how the series will progress. Well-designed costumes and props show off the power of the small production team at hand. Some–though not all–of the cast and crew were mentioned in the episode’s page. For being a web series, the acting was out of this world. Not many web series get such a good production crew and cast, especially for a project that failed its fundraising attempt to have enough money to produce the film.
Unfortunately, that’s the first episode’s major flaw; they weren’t able to get enough money to shoot on proper locations that would have fit the particular shots. During one of the scenes, the cast and crew were forced to shoot on a traditional set of train tracks that would have been way out of date for the 26th century. That took away the emotion, as did the redubbed voice-over work. You can hear the quality of the below-par studio that actors were forced to record their lines in.
If the series receives proper funding, it could be one of the most entertaining pieces of science fiction being released as a series; both on TV and the Internet. Maybe if the series continues for a second season, they’ll get the proper funding that it deserves like The Guild did. For all those interested in new media or science fiction, you need to check out this series right now. Others should at least check out the trailer above to see if they find it interesting enough to check out the first episode, which you can watch below.
Halo: Helljumper: Episode 1
