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Introduction
When I heard they were making an Avatar movie, I was thrilled! My son and I have watched the show since the beginning, and it's one of the best story driven cartoons
on American television.
Yep, you know where this is going. This isn't THAT Avatar. No, there is an Avatar: The Last Airbender movie being done, but it's helmed by that M. Night guy who has the
inverse relationship between his ego and his talent. I can only cross my fingers and hope that since this time it's not his own material, he won't destroy it.
No, the Avatar movie getting all the hype is James Cameron's new film. Cameron has set the bar high for himself, and various claims that this movie will redefine the medium as we know it have been bantered about. Unfortunately, early appearances are reminding most folks of two other recent movies. The designs, especially the characters,
look an awful lot like Delgo (with drop ships from Aliens), and the plot, involving humans who have used up all our resources and are now looking to take over a distant
planet inhabited by a sweet, noble race, sounds an awful lot like Battle for Terra to me.
But until the film is on the big screen, we won't know for sure. The movie hits on December 18th, but a few of the many toys that will be coming out in conjunction are
already hitting.
I'm looking at the Movie Masters version of the main character, Jake Sully. This is the marine that is altered to live on Terra, er, Pandora. He's now in a new form,
that of the Na'vi, the indigenous aliens. There's two other figures in the MM line that are on the back of the package - Colonel Miles Quaritch and Neytiri. When Mattel
debuted this line up, the Sully they showed for the 'deluxe' line (which I assume is these Movie Masters figures) was wearing human clothes. We'll have to see if we
eventually get that version as well.
These run $15 - $20 depending on the retailer.
Packaging - ***
I'm a big fan of blue, so you can bet I like these packages. They are hard for the MOCers to store, with the weirdly shaped bubble, but that's designed to call
attention on the pegs.
Sculpting - ***
For a six inch scale action figure (he actually stands almost 6 3/4", fitting in well with the recent ladies from the Queen's
Council), the sculpt detailing is quite good. There's fine strands in the hair, crosshatching and texturing on the whip and loincloth, and the adornments
have sculpted surfaces. The right gauntlet is particularly well done with its bumpy surface.
The hands are sculpted to work with the included spear, and he stands great on his own. As I said, there's nothing technically wrong here, and the amount of detail work is quite high for this size and style of action figure.
I did take some off though for likeness. I can only go based on the brief preview I've seen, as well as the card art, but something isn't quite right here. The hair is off a bit (can you say 'poofy'?), as well as the nose (which is too evenly broad, instead of starting out very broad and getting narrower), ears (they need to be pointier and higher on the head) and eyes (where the pupils are too large and don't appear amphibian enough). I suspect they were working off a fairly early CGI version of the character, and by the time the film was completed, he'd changed enough to notice, but not enough to care.
It's not a huge deal at this point, since we won't see the movie for months, but when we look back on this figure, I fear he won't be the best representation of the on screen character.
Paint - ***1/2
This is certainly better than mass market quality, with clean cut lines, consistent coverage, and almost no slop to be seen.
The watery Abe Sapienish pattern on his body is cleanly done, but not in such a repetitively consistent way as to scream 'manufactured'. Instead, it has the appearance of an actual skin pattern, with differing sizes, shapes and formations.
Articulation - ***1/2
One of the goals of the Movie Masters line is to produce better articulated figures. They've done that here, with quite a few more joints than we'd typically see from
Mattel.
The ball jointed neck doesn't work as well as it should, and that's probably the fault of a short peg inside the neck. It turns just fine, but you could get that out of a cut joint. There's very little tilt action going on here.
However, every other joint works extremely well. The pin/post ball joints at the shoulders, complete with swivel joint on the bicep, have a terrific range of movement, and work in conjunction with the pin elbows and cut wrists to give you plenty of arm pose potential.
The legs have the unique Mattel double swivel sort of hip joint, similar to what we've seen with DC Universe Classics and masters of the Universe Classics. The work great, and are very tight.
The legs also have a cut thigh joint, critical since the hips can't rotate. There's also a pin joint at the knee and ankle.
The waist is another cut joint, and he sports the now familiar ab-crunch chest. All of these joints were tight, and I had no trouble getting him into a pose and he had no trouble keeping it.
A couple improvements would have netted the full four stars. Obviously, the neck joint needed to exploit it's bally nature a bit more, but adding in rocker ankles would have also gone a long way. Since this figure can very easily take all kinds of deep and unusual stances, the rocker joint would have allowed the feet to stay flat on the floor, really complimenting the look.
He could also use a joint on the tail, but that's not a major issue. You won't be able to do anything dynamic with that skinny appendage, but at least it's sculpted in an all around pose that doesn't get in the way. In fact, in certain stances, you can use it to help him keep his balance.
Accessories - ***
The figure comes with two accessories, which is a tad light for this price point.
EDIT: Blanka was nice enough to drop me a line to tell me that the handle I thought belonged to a whip like weapon around his neck is actually a small knife in a sheath! I tugged VERY hard on the handle, and sure enough it popped out! That makes three accessories, and I bumped this score slightly because of it.
His weapon of choice is clearly a spear. I have to say that if this is the kind of offense they have, they can kiss their noble blue tails goodbye.
The spear sports a good sculpt and paint, and fits nicely in his hands. It comes a bit bent out of the package, but you can straighten it with a hot water/cold water treatment.
There's also a base that has a peg for him to stand on. It is made from a translucent plastic, and I'm betting the color and shape are somehow related to the storyline of the film. This same base is also the 'key' for your iTag experience - more on that in the next section. You could also wrap a string through the 'eyes' at the top and wear it like a badge.
Computer Feature - Unknown
Maybe it's just me, but I've tried from two different computers in two different locations, and the web site www.avataritag.com
is not yet up and running.
In theory, it sounds pretty cool. You log in to the website, and get your webcam working. Then hold the included base up in front of the camera, so the site can 'see' it, and you are given access to a 3 dimensional version of Jake that you control in a virtual Pandora world.
It's an interesting way to ensure you've bought the figure (or know someone that has who is willing to let you borrow the little stand) to get access, but until the site goes live, there's no way to tell if the experience adds anything to the play value.
I'm hopeful though, because I've been waiting for someone to recognize that action figures and video games are both the same play experience (role play) just approached from a slightly different angle. Finding a way to marry them is an interesting idea, but the online aspect has to be as good or better than other alternatives out there to make it a success.
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Something is wrong with the universe when Mattel's best toys - not collectibles, but TOYS - are all in 'collectible' adult oriented lines. This guy is a great toy, with
nice sculpts and paint and sturdy well designed articulation. Like the MOTUC and DCUC lines, Mattel is doing their best work for the adult market, and kids are missing
out.
Value - **1/2
At $15, you're pretty much paying the current going rate for a 'collectors' figure, which is the focus of the Movie Masters line. A couple more accessories at this
price would be nice, but without seeing the movie, I have no idea what would have made sense.
Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. This is probably a better toy than the toys they'll be selling at Toys R Us in conjunction with the release.
Overall - ***1/2
I'm pleasantly surprised by this figure. When I saw the figures at Comic-Con, I was underwhelmed to say the least. Looking an awful lot like previous movies, there
didn't seem to be much to set them apart. However, these Movie Masters just might be the definitive versions, and Mattel has put some money and effort into them.
I also have to admit that I'm happy to see Mattel sticking behind the Movie Masters concept, even if it's with a film I'm still feeling ambivalent toward.
I'll be reviewing more of the figures as we get closer to the film's release date, and at some point I'll be able to properly assess the functionality and value of the iTag system. Until then, it remains the big unknown.
Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - ***
Computer Feature - Unknown
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***1/2
Where to Buy
I have no clue what the plans for the Movie Masters versions of these figures are. I know you'll see plenty of the 'kids' line at every major store, but if these Movie
Masters are anything like the Dark Knight versions, seeing them at retail might be tricky, at least in the beginning.
Related Links -
None yet, but you can expect plenty more Avatar reviews in the coming weeks!
You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.
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This product was provided for the review by the manufacturer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.
