Mr. Blonde

"Are you gonna bark all day, little doggie, or are you gonna bite?" They were four perfect strangers assembled to pull off the perfect crime. Their simple robbery explodes into a violent ambush. Realizing in the aftermath that one of them is a rat, no one can be trusted. Mr. Blonde was Reservoir Dogs' cool, calculating psychopath. His real name was Vic Vega, brother to Pulp Fiction's Vinnie (John Travolta). And despite having the largest reported body count in the film, Mr. Blonde was the only character never shown killing anyone on-screen. How's that for a contradiction! Despite just being four guys in black suits, the detail given to the Dogs is quite impressive: every part of every figure is unique. Though it would have meant cheaper production costs, nothing was reused. Each guy has his own pose and posture, wears his coat differently, and even has distinct shoes. That's pretty cool. Mr. Blonde's arms hang straighter at his sides, and if the fact that he rests part of his weight on his right toes is any indication, he's just starting to step forward. He needs to improve his posture, too - he's slouching. The figure stands more than 7" tall, and features 20 points of articulation: neck, shoulders, lower biceps, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, thighs, knees and shins. So Mr. Blonde may be able to look eye-to-eye with Freddy, but he's much more poseable. Another major difference between Mezco and McFarlane is the facial sculpt - knowing that they couldn't compete with McToys' almost fetishistic pride in an ultra-realistic likeness, Mezco opted for a caricature of the actor. You can still tell that this is Michael Madsen, even if he didn't sit down for a RealScan session. Finally, a Preston Lennox to go with Species' Eve and Patrick! All the Reservoir Dogs come with a rectangular base meant to be their section of the street scene - this one is "B2." Collect them all and you can plug them together for diorama goodness! If you don't want to use the big base and still can't get Mr. Blonde to stand, you can use the included disc. His removable sunglasses hook over his ears, and unlike the rest of the figures, he only gets one replacement hand: to make up for it, he not only has a pistol, but also his straight razor and a cup of soda from some fast food restaurant. Maybe it's a Jack Rabbit Slim's milkshake. Do they do carryout? The Reservoir Dogs figures are currently retailing for about $15, but I was lucked out and got mine for five bucks cheaper. At that price you can't pass them up, but even for normal price, I do recommend this figure to fans of the movie, but with one caveat: once you've got one of the Dogs, you'll want to get the rest of the pack. Mr. Blonde | Mr. Brown | Mr. White | Mr. Orange | Mr. Pink -- 09/12/02

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