I grew up
watching the classic Universal horror movies (and lots of Hammer,
Corman and other great monster flicks from the 30's, 40's, 50's and
60's) on Saturday afternoons. In the Detroit area, it was Sir Graves
Ghastly that introduced us young impressionable types to these classics.
I'm not one of those snobs however, who believes that as much as I love
these movies, that they were perfect. If you're going to be honest,
you'll admit that there's room for improvement in many of them.
But whether the Wolfman is one of those that can be improved upon is
yet to be determined. It was the best work that Lon Chaney Jr. ever
did, and the effects still hold up reasonably well even 70 years later.
The great Bela Lugosi was on his game as well, and the tragic story it
created the concept of the 'wolf man' as we know it on film today.
So remaking it in a way that fans of the old film will appreciate and
that new viewers will also enjoy is quite a challenge. Benicio Del
Toro is an excellent choice for Larry Talbot, and with supporting roles
filled by Anthony Hopkins and Hugo Weaving, the potential is there.
We'll get to find out on February 12th when the film gets a wide
release.
Mezco picked up the movie license, and is doing a variety of figures.
The first out is the 7" Wolfman, which is available at some
Blockbusters right now (oddly enough) as well as at ToysRUs.com.
He runs about $15.
Packaging - ***
The package is fairly basic, much more basic than the usual work from
Mezco. I suspect that the licensor forced their hand here a bit,
limiting them.
The graphics are attractive
though, and the back of the package shows of the 12 inch figure and the
replica medallion as well.
Sculpting - ***1/2
We haven't seen the film yet, and in fact, we've seen very little of
the werewolf in trailers or stills. That makes it tough at this point
to determine how accurate this portrait is to the source material, but
I'm going to give Mezco the benefit of the doubt for now.
The
detailing is excellent, especially on the face and hair on the head.
The strands are thin and finely sculpted, with lots of wrinkles and
texture to the leathery appearing skin. Even the small teeth have good
definition, and the menacing snarl is a perfect expression.
I'm
not real keen on the hair cut, which reminds me of the Geico Cavemen.
It's like he's hairy, sure, but he's still well groomed.
The work
on the body hair isn't quite as detailed, especially on the chest. Some
of the hair that's poking out of the pant legs doesn't look as
realistic either, following the sharp cut line on the plastic clothing
too neatly. But these are fairly minor nits, only bringing down the
overall score in this category slightly.
The sculpted pose works
perfectly for the character, and the large paw-like feet can hold him
upright in many poses. He's scaled to fit in with other 7" lines, and
I'll be interested to see how he looks with the old Sideshow products
once I can finally get them back out of storage. Going from memory, it
looks like it's going to be a pretty decent match.
Paint - ***1/2
The majority of the paint work is solid, with clean lines and very
little slop.
The
teeth could be a little cleaner, but other small details look great,
like the eyes and long black nails. They've also done a nice job with
washes and dry brushing on the fur, bringing out some of the sculpted
detail.
Articulation - ***1/2
I was very surprised by the amount and quality of articulation here,
since most of it is very well hidden.
The
ball jointed neck works great, with a very wide range of movement and
plenty of tilt and turn potential. This one joint really allows you to
add a ton of personality and menace to otherwise bland poses.
There's
also ball jointed shoulders (peg/post style) that allow the arms good
mobility. There are cut joints at the elbows, knees, wrists and thighs,
which allow for a greater number of poses than you might assume.
There's also a ball joint at the waist, which is somewhat
restricted by the shirt.
Accessories - **
The one area that's a little disappointing is the Accessory category.
There's only one, the Talbot cane with the silver wolf's head handle.
It's scaled well, and the sculpted wolf's head looks great, but it's
not a particularly useful item for Larry in this form. A couple bloody
body parts (he must rip a few people apart in the film) would have been
more appreciated.
Fun Factor - ***1/2
If I were a ten year old kid, I'd love this guy. The articulation
allows for plenty of poses, he stands great on his own even with the
funky feet, and he's big enough to tower over most other figures.
Value - **1/2
At $15, you're getting a pretty average deal. Most figures in this size
at mass market (and you can get this guy as some 'mass' retailers) are
running right around this price.
Things to Watch Out For -
Silver bullets are always an issue, but otherwise he should be good to
go.
Overall
- ***1/2
I'm very torn about this movie. On the one hand, I'm very aware of how
unlikely it is that they'll be able to give us a great remake. On the
other, I really hope they succeed, taking all that was great about the
original and improving on the flaws.
Either
way, Mezco's figures look great. I'll be adding these to my Universal
monsters display, whether the movie bombs or not. I'm going to be
snagging the 12" version as well (with cloth shirt and vest), as well
as the medallion prop replica.
Now I need to go down to the HT
and watch my copy of the original again...
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