Review of Mola Ram - Indiana Jones Temple of Doom
Premium Format Statue

Introduction

Tonight's review is a combo act - I'll be taking the photos, while my nephew Guy Klender is doing the heavy lifting with the word smithing. I would like to note that I did not have time to steam Ram's robes, so the photos show him right out of the package, wrinkles and all. With a little steam, those go right away. Take it away, Guy!

When my neighbor informed me she had signed for a package I was unsure what I would be getting and was taken aback that Mola Ram had already arrived.  As we are know from earlier reviews I am a huge fan of the Indiana Jones franchise and this piece was something I made sure to order 14 second after it was available for pre-order.

Sideshow has done a great job with the Premium Format Indiana Jones figures and we can only hope they continue this line as well as filling in some large holes in the 12 inch figure line.  That would be Marion Ravenwood if your reading this Sideshow.  There are two versions, an exclusive and a regular version.  I am review the exclusive and if you can find it get it, but as it sold out fast even the regular version is a must have.  Enough of my fan-dom, off to the review.

Packaging - ***
The art for the box is directly from Lucasfilm marketing and set in stone so I can not knock Sideshow for the uninspired look but the photos they have added are very good, not as good as the ones you see here on MWCTOYS but I would rather they stick to making toys and not photographing them.  He is well packing inside and will surely be safe.  His different head and hand sculpts each have their own place as well as does the stand and his exclusive chalice.

Sculpting - ****
Congratulations Sideshow!   Amish Puri, he actor who played Mola Ram, has a very distinct look and they pulled it off here.  He has two head sculpts so we will talk about each one.  First lets discuss the one without the headpiece. Wow, that is a good looking bald man, and being a bald man myself I can say its nice to know that a little red stripe on the top there makes for a great evening look or maybe a wedding or bar mitzvah.  The facial expression on this sculpt is all around the eyes.  You can see at any moment his madness is going to boil over, from the opened mouth to the deep set eyes opened wide.

(See the madness in this picture - now you can have it in your own home.)

Most people will display him with the headdress but I am really glad they gave me this option.  Maybe I will change his look each week, or should I buy a second one?

Next is the sculpt with the headdress.  Wow, this is awesome.  

The mouth wide open with joy and triumph as his lifts the freshly pulled beating heart from his victims chest and raises it high above his head. The eyes are slightly less crazed, as though that’s possible...he did just pull someone’s heart from their chest.  They are more victorious, somehow closer to his evil plan coming into fruition.    

The skull of the animal now turned into a stylish hat is wonderful.  The shrunken head on the front with the long hair flowing backward drapes over nicely.  It even looks like bone, strident and dried out.  His eyes and mouth are wet looking.  

He also comes with 2 hands.  Each holds the bloody heart but one is covered in flames.  The flames are a translucent plastic that makes like shimmering fire when light hits it.   

The other is wetter with blood and it drips down his hands more.  Is it any wonder this is the film that made the PG-13 rating happen?  His right arm raised high above, the muscles of his arm tightened. His body is covered mostly by his flowing robe, but that doesn’t mean Sideshow didn’t give his some damn nice shoes.  

The base is made up of skulls and skin covered skulls - it is gruesome and fantastic.  He would be great on his own but this really sets it apart.  The Temple of Doom Indy is getting the same base style and they are a must have combo.  If you are lucky enough to get the exclusive with the chalice then look at how accurate it is. You may look at it and wonder how Mola Ram ever got any liquid in that thing as there is no hole, but that’s a question for Lucas and not Sideshow to answer.

Paint - ***1/2
There is a lot of flesh tone on Mola Ram and they did a great job on his face. I would have liked some more variation around his chest and arms but it's so little a thing to pick on as your going to be staring at that face and flaming heart.   

The chalice is gruesome great.  The remnants of skin on this as well as the ones on the base of the figure are wet and disturbing in their realism.  The red lines he has painted on his shoulders have a shimmer of newly applied body paint.  They hit the shadows of the face and the skulls and the bone on the headdress so well on this one you lose a good hour of your day once you open him and just stare at it. 

The head scupt without the headdress shows off his skull painting, a red stripe that gets wider as it goes back and is outlined in black.  What I liked was it didn’t look like paint as much as real body paint, something he would have made himself and applied for the ritual he was about to participate in.

Articulation - Bupkis
Oh, he doesn’t move but he will move you.  Those are some damn crazy eyes.

Accessories - Regular **; Exclusive ***
Two heads and two hands make for accessories in my book.  He also has is necklace of arrows and teeth on both versions but that chalice is one of the coolest accessories Sideshow has done on a PF since the blown up Vader head with Lukes head inside for its Degobah Luke.

Outfit - ***
Mola Ram had a simple robe but that is not always easy to do in fabric for a figure.  Getting it to lay right can be hard but they did it perfectly here.  The colors are great too.  The black looks like something done with handmade dyes in secret just as Mola Ram would have done.  The red is bright and draws the eye to it.  He as a sash that can either be left down, wrapped around is waist if you like, or what I like most, draping it over his left arm.  This way the red fabric really pops and your eye sees the left hand like the claw of a bird of prey.

Things to Watch Out For -
Any time you swap a head or hand out take care to put it in correctly so you do not crack the polystone, but this is pretty hard stuff so you should be fine.

Overall - ***1/2
As I mentioned before he has now become my favorite item in my Indy PF collection and when Indy himself arrives I will have an awesome bookend to this piece.  $300.00 has become the new norm in PF figure pricing and yes it is high but this is amazing quality and I have spent more on much, much worse.  The changing hand and heads as well as the fantastic base makes this one a must have. 

Photo Gallery of Film Stills for your comparison pleasure.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - Bupkis
Accessories - Regular **; Exclusive ***
Outfit - ***
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
The only other Indiana Jones PF released so far (that we've reviewed...) is the Raiders of the Lost Ark version of Indy. It's an outstanding statue, however!

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

Discussion:
Want to chat about this review?  Try out one of these terrific forums where I'll be discussing it!

Enjoyed this review? Be sure to head back to the main page to find thousands more just like it!