The Mini Directory Home     News Reviews     The List NYTS     Links Ramblin' Man   Gallery						Roy's Toys Shelf
Neo , Lobby Scene  - The Matrix, Series One, McFarlane Toys Meat and Potatoes; 4.0 Perks; 5.0 Homer Factor; 4.0					Description; 'The Matrix', McFarlane style. The figure is approximately 5" tall and reproduces the sumersault pose from the Lobby Shoot-out perfectly, although at the loss of any articulation. New comes with a diorama that captures the look of the entire shoot-out, as well as an assault rifle and a pair of pistols.
	I remember the first time hearing about 'The Matrix' and reading a VERY vague preview article in 'Entertainment Weekly' which made references to hackers, terrorists, and basically went 'Ya know, we have no freaking idea what this movie is about.'  Many years later, we finally understand the meaning of 'The Matrix', that there really is no spoon, and you'll never look at red and blue gel-caps again.  The second act of the trilogy has come and gone, and as we try and figure out how things end (So is the 'real world' part of the Matrix too?) and EAGERLY await 'Revolutions', fans everywhere must find little things to keep them sane... hence ACTION FIGURES!!!!  When McFarlane Toys announced they had the license for the movies, ALL THREE OF THEM, 90% of my heart bounced for joy; super sculpts, LOTS of accessories, and soooooooooooooo many figures.  Sure, N2 Toys made some stellar figures for the movie.  Still, this is McFarlane here!  Well, the problem is that THIS IS MCFARLANE TOYS!  Um, remember Lotus?  HELLO!   And frankly, and I've mentioned before, McFarlane Toys can either be toy nirvana... or toy hell.  Take your pick.  So here we are, with the 'flag-ship' figure of 'The Matrix' line, Neo, The One.  So IS the figure The One?   Folks... some days.... you just cannot win... Meat and potatoes is where every McFarlane figure does this Jeckyll and Hyde of some great, some just PLAIN FREAKING AWEFUL.  The great is the sculpt.  The scene is from the very John Woo lobby scene, specifically the moment when Neo does that great cart-wheel, snags the M-16 off the floor with one hands, and comes up firing.  GREAT scene.  The sculpt captures it perfectly; the flying cape, splayed legs, ripples in the shirt and pants, the works.  The right hand even has a steel peg in it so you can stick it into the stand and have the figure remain stable.  The only thing that bothers me is the head-sculpt looks kinda like Ben Stiller with shades.  Maybe it just me. Now, the ARTICULATION.  Oh boy... basically, there is none.  The arms move up and down... sort of.  Enough for you to adjust the pose and balance the figure while it's doing and the waist swivels.  That's it.  No recreating the butt-kicking fight with Agent Smith in the sub-way station.  No changing poses for other cool display possibilities.  That's it.  AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Ok... I'm better now.  The perks, fortunately, kick some serious booty.  Neo comes with a diorama that recreates the shattered, bullet-ridden marble of the lobby in amazing detail.  There are shell-casings on the 'ground', you can see the steel bars in the busted chucks of concrete, McFarlane Toys has even added little plastic 'clouds' on the wall.  Oh, almost forgot the M-16 and two pistols the figure comes with, and one of the pistols fits in a shoulder holster on the figure.  Whoa, great stuff.  Homer factor?  Well, it started out GREAT.  Come on, this is one of THE premiere toy creators on this planet, busting out their wares for one of THE movie experiences of the last decade.  What isn't there to look forward to? Well, unfortunately, this fell short of what could have been greatness.  Now, if you could care less about playability and want a butt-kicking STATUE on your desk, you definitely want this.   This kinda work usually costs about $80 and over, so you won't be disappointed.  However, I'm a toy collector.  No, I'm not going with the snotty 'action figure collector', I'm a TOY collector.   And unfortunately, this piece falls way short in that respect.