|
Okay, now that the Figure Subscription Service reviews are done, we can finally start on the movie toys. Hey, we promise you the best reviews, not the most timely.
Lady Jaye is a covert ops specialist and weapons expert
on the GI Joe team. Using her elite intelligence skills, she helps uncover an evil Cobra plot. She disguises herself in a daring mission to infiltrate the lair of the enemy to prove the terrifying truth!
Huh. Yes, that's an accurate miniature recap of what happened in the movie, but I never actually made that connection. Lady Jaye's specialty in the Real American Hero continuity was that she was a master of disguise, and Retaliation paid homage to that in a subtle, restrained way. That means she's already got a truer characterization than Scarlett did in the first movie with her "I cannot process this strange 'hyoo-mun' emotion you call love" routine - and that's before we even get into Lady Jaye's relationship with Flint. Just one more way Retaliation was better then Rise of Cobra.
Lady Jaye was played by Adrianne Palicki, the actress best known for dodging a bullet when the hippopotomus poop-windmill of a show that was David E. Kelley's Wonder Woman pilot proved the existence of God when NBC declined to pick it up. The toy's likeness is fairly close to the actress, certainly better than many of the first movie's.
Other than the head, the body is entirely reused. It originated as Renegades Scarlett, but it doesn't look like a re-release. In fact, it looks amazingly like the uniform she wore in the fateful mission where everything went wrong. Of course, a lot of that is due to the detailed desert camo pattern that's been printed on the figure. This is far from a colorful figure, running the gamut from brown to also brown, but the various shades all work together without making the figure look muddy (ironically enough). The camouflage isn't as blocky or distinct on this figure as it was on the first movie's desert team. She looks like a soldier.
Since the body is a re-use, the articulation hasn't been cut back. And that's great, becausse Renegades Scarlett had some awesome articulation! For the most part she moves like any other G3 Joe: balljointed head, torso and hips, swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows and ankles, swivel wrists and double-hinged knees; however, a few small changes make a big difference. Her chest joint is tucked under her armor, so it's not visible no matter how she's twisted or turned. And she's also got those nifty "pseudo-rocker" ankles that allow her feet to tilt to the sides and keep her steady in wild poses.
What's really impressive, though, is the assortment of accessories she comes with. To begin with, there are no stupid spring-loaded launchers or anything.
Yes, all the accessories are reused from other figures, but who cares? She has a bazooka and backpack full of shells, a Heckler & Koch MP7A1, an MP5K with a removable silencer, a heavily modifed M16, an FN SCAR, a machete, two knives, a small backpack and Lady Jaye's traditional "power javelin." What's really impressive about this huge complement of accessories -
other than the fact that it exists - is that half the stuff gets really complex paint apps. Yes, most of the pieces are just a plain grey, but the others are a mix of tan, black and brown that must have been super expensive to paint. But they look awesome!
There was a rumor, at Toy Fair 2012, that Lady Jaye was going to be a convention exclusive. Thankfully, that turned out to be not true, and the figure turned out to be excellent. She has none of the shortcomings that traditionally follow the movie figures, and is one of the best of the bunch.
-- 07/19/13
|
