Review: The Dark Knight: Movie Masters: Batman
One of the first figures I ever reviewed was the 6 inch Dark Knight Joker, by Mattel. Well, a year later the Dark Knight figures have gotten so absurdly cheap that I had to pick up some others. Today, I'm going to take a look at Batman, as played by Christian Bale.
Personally, I like Bale as Batman quite a lot; it's his suit I'm not crazy about. Having Batman dressed in what amounts to painted military body armor may make sense in from a logical perspective, but a logical Batman just doesn't make sense to me. That kind of sums up my critique of the movie, too: I loved the acting and the writing, but the design and esthetic felt off, like the producers were embarrassed they were making a Batman movie. Still, there's no denying the end product was a great picture. If you're so inclined, you can find my complete review of The Dark Knight over here.
Anyway, while I'm not a huge fan of the design, these dropped in price to a point where I couldn't pass one up. So, without further ado, lets take a look.
Personally, I like Bale as Batman quite a lot; it's his suit I'm not crazy about. Having Batman dressed in what amounts to painted military body armor may make sense in from a logical perspective, but a logical Batman just doesn't make sense to me. That kind of sums up my critique of the movie, too: I loved the acting and the writing, but the design and esthetic felt off, like the producers were embarrassed they were making a Batman movie. Still, there's no denying the end product was a great picture. If you're so inclined, you can find my complete review of The Dark Knight over here.
Anyway, while I'm not a huge fan of the design, these dropped in price to a point where I couldn't pass one up. So, without further ado, lets take a look.
Appearance and Construction: 8/10
I have to admit, this costume has started growing on me since I picked up the figure. Honestly, I think that's the result of some tinkering and creative interpretation on the part of Mattel's designers, who have really knocked this out of the park.
Without coming off as a caricature, they've done an amazing job capturing Christian Bale's likeness using nothing more than his mouth and chin. Frankly, that's not easy.
The eyes are professionally done, as well, with Batman peering up a bit. The effect works perfectly. The mask looks about as good as it can, considering the design they're duplicating isn't great. There are some mold lines along the sides of the mask, but they're not a big problem.
Moving down the costume, there's an impressive level of detail here. I mean, a REALLY impressive level of detail. There's a layered effect here, using textured pieces broken up by armored parts. Without using much paint, they've created an amazingly complicated figure. I'm particularly impressed by the shoulder pieces, which look great and cover the joints without having much effect on articulation. The belt is the same ridiculous color used in the movie, but, again, that reflects poorly on the film's designers and positively on the toy's.
The detail extends to the gloves, the back (even beneath the cape, and the bottom of the boots. Whoever sculpted this figure took their job seriously.
My one real complaint is with the cape. While it's not horrible, it's certainly not particularly inspired. I assume they used a thin, folded version to prevent it from interfering with the articulation. I appreciate that, but I'd have preferred a better solution.
I'm going with an eight here, but it's a high eight. If they'd used a better cape, it could easily have been a high nine instead.
Without coming off as a caricature, they've done an amazing job capturing Christian Bale's likeness using nothing more than his mouth and chin. Frankly, that's not easy.
The eyes are professionally done, as well, with Batman peering up a bit. The effect works perfectly. The mask looks about as good as it can, considering the design they're duplicating isn't great. There are some mold lines along the sides of the mask, but they're not a big problem.
Moving down the costume, there's an impressive level of detail here. I mean, a REALLY impressive level of detail. There's a layered effect here, using textured pieces broken up by armored parts. Without using much paint, they've created an amazingly complicated figure. I'm particularly impressed by the shoulder pieces, which look great and cover the joints without having much effect on articulation. The belt is the same ridiculous color used in the movie, but, again, that reflects poorly on the film's designers and positively on the toy's.
The detail extends to the gloves, the back (even beneath the cape, and the bottom of the boots. Whoever sculpted this figure took their job seriously.
My one real complaint is with the cape. While it's not horrible, it's certainly not particularly inspired. I assume they used a thin, folded version to prevent it from interfering with the articulation. I appreciate that, but I'd have preferred a better solution.
I'm going with an eight here, but it's a high eight. If they'd used a better cape, it could easily have been a high nine instead.
Packaging and Extras: -1
I don't have any real complaints about the packaging: it does its job, then it goes in the trash. Given how crowded my apartment's become, I consider it something of a plus that I don't regret tossing it:
Along with Batman you get a Batman mask, scaled to an eighteen inch figure. It's not bad, but it's not very useful, either. I guess if you have an eighteen inch figure lying around, you'll have more interest in this thing than I do. Frankly, I preferred the playing card that came with the Joker in this line: it might have been paper, but at least it was a replica.
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The only other thing you get is an evidence bag. Yeah. I can't think of ANY situation you'd want this thing around. The reason I'm hitting Batman with a deduction here is that he's missing any accessories. Where's the Batarang? The grapple gun? His hands are posed for gripping: where are the accessories? |
The mask just isn't enough to ignore the lack of any weapons or tools. I also would have liked an alternate, unmasked head sculpt, but they saved that for their chase figure. Good luck finding one of those....
Play and Display: +1
I'm going to go out on a limb and say this figure probably has greater range of motion than Bale had in the Bat-suit. Mattel, in my opinion, holds the crown when it comes to articulation. He's got a ball-jointed head and shoulders, cut biceps, wrists, and legs, pin knees, elbows, and ankles, a turning abdomen right above the belt, a large pin in his chest, and the waist joint that every single action figure should be made with.
Because of how uniform Batman's color scheme is, the joints aren't obtrusive. Those shoulder pieces help, too.
I complained under appearance that the cape didn't look great, but I've got some compliments here. It functions as an added point of balance, holding Batman up in some interesting poses. Using it to prop him up, you can pose him like he's starting or completing a jump. Pretty cool, if you ask me.
If you have some spare batarangs lying around, he can certainly hold them. I'm not sure why he doesn't come with any, but that's life. At the bottom of the review, I'm including a photo of him ready to knock a gun out of some punk's hand.
For great articulation and balance, I'm handing Batman a well-deserved bonus point.
Because of how uniform Batman's color scheme is, the joints aren't obtrusive. Those shoulder pieces help, too.
I complained under appearance that the cape didn't look great, but I've got some compliments here. It functions as an added point of balance, holding Batman up in some interesting poses. Using it to prop him up, you can pose him like he's starting or completing a jump. Pretty cool, if you ask me.
If you have some spare batarangs lying around, he can certainly hold them. I'm not sure why he doesn't come with any, but that's life. At the bottom of the review, I'm including a photo of him ready to knock a gun out of some punk's hand.
For great articulation and balance, I'm handing Batman a well-deserved bonus point.
Price Tag and Final Analysis: 8/10
This is a good figure, a really good figure, in fact. Is he worth thirteen bucks? Eh; probably not. But I got a couple figures at two for twelve, when Toys R Us was trying to unload them. Turns out, I should have waited a few days: he was available for three for twelve soon after.
The funny thing is, when the movie was out and everyone wanted one of these, they weren't around. Now, Toys R Us can't get rid of the things. If you want one, just keep your eyes open: I'm sure they'll be cheap again.
The funny thing is, when the movie was out and everyone wanted one of these, they weren't around. Now, Toys R Us can't get rid of the things. If you want one, just keep your eyes open: I'm sure they'll be cheap again.
Don't forget to stop by The Middle Room, where I rant about various issues pertaining to geeks. Here are a few more pictures, just because.
