One reader, Scott M., responded to my Five Reasons a Halo Movie Will Suck article with the following detailed, well-reasoned email.  

Have you actually played the games? You don't think that any of your reasons on why the film would "suck" could actually be expanded on and made into a more narrative way for a feature film, then how they are presented or developed in the participatory way that a game requires?

1. All Movies Based on Videogames Invariably Suck

Video games are such a relatively new medium to tap into for film adaptations, it should be understandable that there are growing pains. It sucks for fans to see a beloved game's story and characters ignored or taken out of context. Sadly in the film industry, it is more important to make money and cash in on a fan base, then to stay true to the source material or build on it. With out the proper respect we are going to keep getting clunkers. Hopefully with a film like 300 doing so well and studios hopefully realizing that maybe if we hire the right people who also love the subject and stay true to what it is that they bought the film rights to, then maybe we will start to see great video game movies. But saying that the film will suck because it's based on a video game is very narrow minded and way too broad of an assumption (that seems more of a reason given by some 15 year old internet forum troll, rocking Mom's basement, than an author of a ReelzChannel article, I was expecting a better reason when I clicked on the link). It would be like saying before the Lord of the Ring films came out that all fantasy films suck, because you saw one to many "fantasy" films like Peter McNichol's Dragonslayer or Willow.

2. Master Chief is a Lame Protagonist

Again have you not played the story portions of the game? All mediums of fiction have larger than life characters that talk softly and carry a big stick. His actions and what he stands for and what he is willing to do to save humanity speaks for him, but when he does talk it is important and builds more character development then all the roles Josh Hartnett has played combined. Plus if you didn't notice the games are called Halo not Master Chief, yes he is the main character, but he is not the only character. You have Cortana, Miranda Keyes, her father Captain Jacob Keyes, Sergeant Johnson, Lord Hood and a small team of UNSC soldiers always by Master Chiefs side adding depth and humanity to this "super-soldier" and his journey.

You must have been in that camp that also felt or thought that bringing Spider-Man to the big screen wasn't going to work since he is in a mask all the time and how in the world is the actor playing him going to well you know ... act? Sam Raimi wanted to make Spider-Man's mask have see through eyes, so we could see the actor and the fans cried out in pain, so what was left to do? Tobey Maguire ripped that mask off every chance he could to show us his acting and that hasn't been lambasted by critics and fans alike at all. Funny thing, I never once heard people complaining during those scenes that he had the mask on, not a single peep of "I cant relate". Then we have Darth Vader, although not a hero, I never once felt, "you know I really cant understand or feel anything for this character because I cant see his face," and I don't think anyone else felt that way either. So as a reason why the film would suck ... I don't think that would be a factor.

3. Weak Villains

You neglected that the real threat in the game are the Halo rings and what they hold; the Flood and what controls them Gravemind, the true villain in the game. "The Covenant are more annoying than they are scary" ... I guess you could say that from a game play point of view or a summary of who the Covenant are that you read, but there are main antagonists within the Covenant that drive these "coalition of alien races" the High Prophets and they are very malicious in their zealotry.

4. Who the Hell is Neill Blomkamp?

Who the hell was George Lucas, who the hell was Peter Jackson (outside of indie fans who couldn't get enough of Heavenly Creatures) and who the hell was this Steven Spielberg and why is HE directing the beloved Peter Benchley novel Jaws?!

5. Microsoft Looms

Really? Really?! How come Microsoft didn't have their hands on Halo 2 after Halo 1 was such a success and make sure it was developed as a T rated game, so that it would sell better to the highly sought after under 18 year olds? Wow, and you are actually comparing a pc operating system's development and release, to the making of a film?

I am a little surprised at how one sided your take on this is and why you didn't give your two cents on why you think Halo "could" make a good film or what needs to be done with video game adaptations in general, because they are going to continue to be made.

I think I have to go back to my comment on expecting more from a ReelzChannel article than just a typical "fan-boy flame war" type forum post.

- Scott M

Cinephile, Gamer and quite the ReelzChannel fan.