Someone Up There Must Like Me....

Because I got Revenge of the Fallen Optimus Prime for free!!!



But that's not all. In addition to Prime, I also got...An RoTF Soundbug!













Well, I'm not sure what exactly it is yet, or what it does. But it's supposed to be some sort of speaker. And it has this giant sunction cup at the back that sticks it to any smooth surface. Neat!

As if that weren't enough, I also got a USB port hub--also in Revenge of the Fallen packaging!


And to top it all off, this nifty silver case contains a RoTF Umbrella! Wow!!!


I can only thank my wonderful wife-to-be, Melissa, who secretly entered a newspaper sms contest with the intention of surprising me if she won, and she did! Even she admitted not knowing what the eventual prizes would be.

So thanks, Dear! And thank God for making me a Transformers fan.

I'm doing a little dance of joy everytime I think of the Prime toy and Prime in the movie as well. Woohoo! :)

Transformers Fun Time: Anguish of the Fallen

Well, I saw Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, loved it, and would go watch it a second time.

Yup, it was that good. But just a few things you need to note if you haven't been to see it and are on the fence. I recommend it, for sure. :)

Here's what you need to know:

1. It's not Oscar material stuff, so leave your brain at the door and enjoy the ride. :)

2. When you're waching, don't go: "What? That wasn't in the original cartoon! It's all crap they made up!" Well, I can tell you for sure that there was a lot in the original Transformers mythology and history that was never in the 80s cartoon. It would've been too complicated for kids. It's all in the movie and all true, though. A visit to TFwiki.net will set you straight. It did for me. ;)

3. Enjoy the action, but listen to the dialogue! There's a lot to see in the movie but don't let that distract you from the witty one-liners and the excellent voice acting. I know it's tough to discern who's saying what when one robot is bashing/tearing/blowing apart another. But if you can do this, you'll find the movie makes good sense.

And finally, for those who've already seen Revenge of the Fallen, here's a little of what happens when Sideswipe is telling Henkei (G1) Optimus Prime about his part in the movie, and a shortchanged and disgruntled Sideways overhears them. So SPOILERS ahead. Enjoy!

Sideways!

Yep, that's who he is. How big a part does he play in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen? I have no idea--I haven't caught it yet.

But I will tonight! From what I heard, though, Sideways doesn't feature too prominently. Not that I would object. Given the choice of seeing more of the major characters vs the lesser ones like ol' Sideways here, I'd rather see some big names getting the screen time.

Hey, as long as ther toys are cool, right? :)

Check it out!

So he's a scheming little one. What of his stats, you ask?

A little below average, no?

After a little calculation, the average of all his scores is 4.625/10.

Let's hope the figure doesn't end up with a similar rating ;)








Well check out his articulation:

Backpack wings: hinge joints

Head: ball-jointed

Shoulder wings: ball joints!

Shoulders: ball joints as well.

Biceps: swivels.

Elbows: hinges

No hand articulation--but the right hand has a rotating buzz-saw

Waist: swivel
Hips: ball joints
Knees & Ankles: hinges

So, yes! This guy is super poseasble--but it seems he suffers the same fate as all movie Transformers: they have extraordinarily tiny feet!

For the love of God, Michael Bay! Couldn't you have designed Transformers with bigger feet? Anyone could tell you that a huge ass machine needs large feet to balance its massive, bulky, and surely ultra-heavy metal body!

So despite being able to pose like the he's on America's Next Top Model, Sideways can't balance to save his servos from being eliminated by Tyra. No being On Top for him. Not at all.

Well, the other problem I had was with the hand articulation, or rather, the lack of it. They way the hands were screwed on, you'd think Hasbro coudld've at least given Sideways some thumb movement.

As it is, whatever pose you put him in makes him look like he's unsure about whether to clench or open his fist.

It just makes him look that much less cool.











Hey, but here are some cool poses:

























See? If you can actually get him to stand he's an awesome figure. I mean, Look at the detail of his head (click on 'em, go "ahead". Get it? ;P):













Yeah, he's sure got some sweet light piping. It's actually translucent in the back of his head, but his eyes glow pale red. Cool. :)



















And of course, let's not forget his vehicle mode:


























See the front grille on Sideways in the first pic? Well, it's the key to his transformation.











Hit it once:

HIs chest piece in robot mode flips up!







Hit it a second time:

His wheels fold in to form his spine. The 2 wheels on his elbows (pictured here below the real ones) are actually fake and don't appear in his car mode!



Here's how I rate RoTF Sideways:

Show accuracy: 9/10 - I've not seen the movie, but from the stills and the concept art/designs, it looks pretty close. But why oh why the small feet? Oh why oh why oh why...

Poseability: 8.5/10 - Come on with the small feet already! Don't you guys think about actually putting the toy down after playing with it, Hasbro? Not everyone's a little kid! Some of us do like to pose our toys and take photos of them all day (or night) :P

I'd say the only other problem I might have besides the feet and hands is the shoulders. They're ball jointed but the shoulders wings tend to get in the way. Good thing they gave the wings ball joints too. :) Oh and yay for the waist swivel--those are rare and really make TFs come alive when they have them. 0.5 points ust for that! :)

Aesthetic: 9/10 - Great look, better than I initially thought he would be, what with the plastic looking red torso. It's got so much detail but no paint. The face is also just so finely detailed, but unlike the torso, it's been painted and highlighted way more than you'd expect in a deluxe class figure. Just take Sideswipe--his face has no highlighted detail other than the light piping.

Overall: 8.83/10 - The only reason he doesn't make a 9 is really just his feet. Their not even a feet, they're like, toes. But I love the way Sideways transforms and I just love a sleek looking car with a nice looking robot mode. Him and Sideswipe are the beginning, and the end, of my RoTF collection. They are good enough for me to want to get 'em despite not liking Bayformers at all.

Oh and guess what? Sideways is looking to fit in with the rest of the Transformers after his stint in Hollywood. :)

DC Universe Classic Superman Returns

Ok this week should be about Transformers, and Transformers only, but I wanted to do one last DC review before I let the robot fever hit.

So for my first ever DC Universe Classics 6" action figure review, I present to you Black Solar-regeneration Suit Superman!

Er...the suit is black. Not Superman. :P


That's right, mullet and all. Here's a little history about his costume.


This figure comes in a variant red and blue form, which is his regular costume, and has long hair as well.


Now I can understand this black suit version having long hair, what with the evil Cyborg Superman to take care of and all upon his return to life (in the comics), and his evil clone to dispatch in Superman: Doomsday (The animated movie).

I mean, he needs to save the world and doesn't have time for a haircut. Fine. But what about after? He uses his old costume again and resumes his identity as Clark Kent. Both have long hair, both look like middle-aged hippies, and both look a lot less cool than before. And it's a dead giveaway that both are the same person!






Hence, I got this black suited version 'cos it has a better excuse for the mullet than the variant.

























This Supes is exactly like his DC Superheroes version: they share the same mould for everything except the head. There's 21 points of articulation but his muscles seems less defined in this figure. It could also be that the DCSH version was considered by some to be too chiseled, so they gave him a more "relaxed" muscle tone.

Which brings me too my next problem with this version of Superman. His face:

Now how neutral is that expression? To the point that he looks dopey all the time. I prefer the DCSH expression to this one any time.

Ladies and gentlemen, on the left, Superman! ...And on the right, Dean Cain!

The more I look at Black Suit, the more he looks like he's asking to get punched in the face. :P

Here's how I rate him:

Aesthetic: 8.5 - He's your base DC Universe Classics figure painted black and given a long-haired dopey Supes head. But he's still decent to look at, with the bits of silver here and there on the suit. They could've given him the silver solar pads on the arms and legs, though. But I guess that would've required more than just painting, so it got cut to save costs.

Poseability: 9.0 - Only because the chest hinge and the wiast swivel are too loose (Well, on mine at least). Also, minus the cape, he can't do certain poses without having a hard time balancing. And with that expressionless face, whatever pose he's in gives the feel like he's lost in thought. All the time.

Overall: 8.75

Lesson learnt from DCUC figures: When it comes to Batman or Superman, don't get them from this line. They're just not as aesthetically pleasing as the DCSH versions. Better faces, better washes and better colours. You're golden if you can score one of those.

Here's Batman exploiting Superman's dopiness (If you didn't know about their ongoing feud, check out The Man who killed the Bat and A New Bat in Town, first!):