Bruce Willis as an almost 70-year-old cop? Hey, it doesn't make sense, but it works. In Robert Rodriguez's film adaptation of Frank Miller's Sin City graphic novels, Willis tackles the role of Hartigan, a man on a mission who might just be the last good cop in Basin City. Meanwhile, NECA is tackling the task of bringing us action figures from this brilliant movie, and Hartigan landed in their first series.
Honor bound. A knight in blood-caked, grimy armor. Cop John Hartigan will sacrifice everything - his marriage, his job, his honor, his freedom, his dignity - all for the sake of a skinny little 11-year-old girl. Skinny little Nancy Callahan. He's got to keep Nancy alive. That's all that matters. That's all that matters.
Hartigan's sculpt is handled by NECA's golden child, Kyle Windrix, and unlike most toy companies, NECA gives him credit right on the package. And the credit is well-deserved. Some have complained that the stance causes Hartigan to lean to one side, but I think this adds to the dynamic look of the figure. His windblown tie is slung over the shoulder of his windblown jacket (which doesn't suffer the "gaping hole" problems of the jacket on the Marv figure), and his shirt and pants look as though they're plastered against his body by the force of the wind.
Even better, the former McFarlane sculptor has perfectly captured the likeness of Bruce Willis. Sand down the X-shaped scar on his forehead, and you'll have the perfect head for any number of Willis custom figures. The only limit is your imagination. Korben Dallas from The 5th Element, John McClane from the Die Hard flicks, Jimmy "The Tulip" Tudeski from The Whole Nine/Ten Yards... Alright, maybe not. The point is this likeness is really good, ok?
Like most of the figures in this line (with the exception of the Yellow Bastard), there are two versions of this figure: color and black-and-white. I opted for the latter, as I did with the Marv figure. Hartigan is much more monochrome than Marv in his paint scheme, and pretty much everything above the waist save for the tie is done in essentially the same shade of middle gray. It could really use some more contrast. The figure doesn't look bad by itself, but when displayed next to Marv, his paint job isn't nearly as visually striking. The paint is technically good though, with a decent wash and no bleeding on the small details like the eyes, belt buckle and tie pattern.
Above the waist, Hartigan features the same articulation as Marv: peg waist, wrists, and elbows, and balljointed shoulders and neck (although Hartigan's joint is at the bottom of his neck, whereas Marv's is where the neck meets the head). Below the waist, Hartigan gets no movement (kind of like the Yellow Bastard if you don't scream... eh heh). While you can't alter his overall position too much, you can get some nice poses with the shoulder and neck joints.
Hartigan gets two accessories: his revolver and a lead pipe. He holds both well, and can hold them both at the same time (unlike Marv). These are really all the accessories he needs, but it still feels a little light. Perhaps bases bearing the Sin City logo would have added some value to the figures. Still, what we do get is nicely done.
But none of the preceding review really makes a difference. When it comes down to whether or not you should purchase this figure, you really only need to know two things: It's Sin City, and it's a Bruce Willis figure. A really good Bruce Willis figure. Yippee kay-yay, mother#@$%!!!
Does Sin City make up for all the crap roles Bruce Willis has played? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.
|