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Series: Planet of the Apes
Craftsmanship: 9.0 / 10 - Great head sculpt - The most quietly menacing simian that I've ever come across - Thirty points of articulation - Stability without the stand is lacking
Playability: 8.5 / 10 - Great compatibility with other 12" figures - Excellent accessories but be wary of the M-16 strap - Under very rough play the fabric jumpsuit it likely to fray
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Caesar (Planet of the Apes)
Not many action figures can convey a sense of quiet menace. Normally it's overt menace -- the figure is wild-eyed and covered gore -- that's displayed by an action figure. Caesar, with his glaring eyes falls in the first category.
The "danger" oozed b the figure can be attributed to a number of factors. First, he's a big ape with a human characteristics -- it's a trait that creates a sense of unease in my consciousness -- and wears "boots" that look like rubber gloves. Then there are the dual meat cleavers. When installed in his hands... it's damn creepy. Third, he totes around an M-16 assault rifle, which can be slung over his shoulder or put in hid hands. All this combined with a head sculpt that barely hides a suppressed rage worked together to create on of the most, if not the most, quietly menacing figures ever.
The head sculpt by Matt Falls is easily on par with the rest of the Planet of the Apes series. (And for good reason, he's done most of the sculpting of the Planet of the Apes series.) Admittedly, it's possible that the fur could have used more dithering to look even more realistic but on the whole it's a very good sculpt.
The green fabric jumpsuit is solidly stitched and assembled. It may be because most of the other 12" figures by Sideshow have featured multiple layers of clothing (like the Invisible Man or any of the Bond Figures) which presents an illusion of being easily ripped or torn that makes it seem like a one-piece is automatically more able to withstand wear and tear. This |
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assumption actually holds up -- after playing around with Caesar the clothing has yet to fray or tear (though my son has yet to get hold of it).
Like the other 12" features from Sideshow, Caesar features a body with a ton of articulation points (around 30). To really find all the articulation points you just need to experiment a bit.
While there's a ton of articulation the stability of the figure isn't great. It's possible to have him "free stand" but it's in an unexciting pose. I've always liked the display stands that Sideshow packs with their 12" figures and it comes in very handy with Caesar. When it comes right down to it, Caesar is really all about display anyway so maybe the instability isn't such a loss.
The box Caesar comes packed in is along the lines of Sideshow's other 12" figures -- it's a solidly constructed |
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box complete with movie stills and a complete recap of Caesar's early origins in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (for those of you that may not have followed the Planet of the Apes storyline). And like all the other boxes for 12" figures, I can't bring myself to turf the box -- it's just too nice! For serious collectors Caesar will never see the outside of his box. (Turn your back long enough and he may hack his way out.)
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If you don't liberate Caesar from his packaging you'll never get to appreciate all he has to offer in terms of playability. With a couple other Planet of the Apes figures, Caesar has very obvious potential for play and diorama setups, however, he's the right scale to combat your other 12" figures. (With two meat cleavers and a M-16 Caesar doing anything but combat would seem out of place.) Sci-fi action figure cross-overs have always been a favorite way to waste time and Caesar gives my yet another reason to dig my 12" Star Wars figures out of storage (or even better, go melee on Final Fantasy X's Tidus). Some caution should be exercised with |
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the accessories. They're larger than average so it's more difficult to lose them, however, the strap on the M-16 could be snapped under rough play. Caesar also comes packed with a "Armando's Old-Time Circus" leaflet but other than helping the figure (overall) remain true to the source material it's no good for play.
In the immortal, but lesser-known words, of Caesar himself and apropos of nothing, "Lousy human bastard!" It's the exact opposite emotion that snagging Caesar will illicit. Worth the dough for collectors and fans.
- Omni (March 13, 2006)
Related Action Figure Reviews: - Gorilla Soldier (Planet of the Apes) |
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