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Meat and Potatoes; 5.0
Perks; 4.0
Homer Factor; 4.5
The figure is from the battle-scene at Helm's Deep, so it's a resculpted Aragorn in chain-mail with his sword and a dagger. The figure has multiple points of articulation and also features a 'sword-slashing' action.
Both the sword and the dagger have sheaths, the sword on the hip while the dagger's is on the small of the back.
And along comes LOTR. This cast is bigger then 'St. Elsewhere', multiple locales... and sooooooooo many possibilities to just BEAT THE FIGURES TO DEATH. Battle armor Frodo with crossbow firing action. Hmmmm... how about Sam with crawling-on-the-ground action? STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Whew. Ok, much better now. Fortunately, cooler heads, and I imagine the Tolkein Estate, prevailed. Ok, ok, there are still a TON of figures out there, but you aren't about to see 'Bilbo Baggins with net-launching action.' Why? BECAUSE HE DIDN'T SHOW UP IN THE MOVIE. Hurray for some sanity. Case in point, Helm's Deep Aragorn. Ok, ok, so it's a rather simple figure. Just the same, ToyBiz created a very well done figure with a minimum of gimmicks, and no 'Eowyn kissing action.'
The meat and potatoes are in line with the rest of the series; top notch. A nice surprise is Aragorn's profile doesn't have that horrible, pained look he had in his last figure. Bless you, oh anonymous sculptor. The details are amazing; the chain-mail, the drape of the leather jerkin, even the straps on his belt. Very, very nice work that recreates the character to the fullest. Articulation is also excellent.
Perks? Well, not much, but what's there is very cool. Unfortunately, in the Helm's Deep sequence, our intrepid king-to-be doesn't have a whole lot. Basically his sword, dagger, chain-mail, and that genrel look of 'oh boy... we're screwed.' Likewise, the figure doesn't come with many extras. BUT, it does come with a scabbard for both Aragorn's sword AND for his dagger, which is neatly tucked into the small of his back. Not a huge item, but I'm very glad the creators of Aragorn remembered he made very good use of the dagger in 'Fellowship' and 'Two Towers' as well. Oh, and one VERY nice change; Aragorn's sword is no longer floppy. Hey, stop snickering in the back!
Aragorn also has a 'sword-slashing' action. It's ok; you press his legs together and his waist twists and arms slash around. Fortunately, this little bit doesn't affect the figures over-all articulation too much. Whew.
Homer Factor? Yes, we've already got an Aragorn figure that already has a lot of stuff and is an excellent piece for your shelf. However, this figure also stands well on it's own. And besides, the piece strikes a VERY striking pose on your shelf. So there.
Over-all? Actually, even if you're NOT a completeist, you may want to get this figure. It's not a repaint, this is a completely new sculpt, so it's a completely new figure, as opposed to the same thing but just painted orange rather then mauve. In the end, this is a very good figure to have. No, it's not as out-standing as the other Aragorn figure, but that's due to the lack of accessories. This is still a great piece to have... and just leaves you WAITING FOR THE LAST FREAKING MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!