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Hasbro- Star Wars Black Series: Kylo Ren.
As of the writing of this review, Star Wars: The Last Jedi came out 5 years ago and it's hard to put into words how much it splintered the Star Wars fandom. Yes there has always been a healthy debate as to what is considered good or bad Star Wars, but this did create a massive fault in the franchise and if I’m being honest, I’m still not sure if it is a good thing or bad thing, or rather if I like or dislike it. Now before I go too far, I want to note the following: I like Rian Johnson’s vision, the visuals are amazing and I support the idea that he put forward. I particularly liked the plot point that both the First Order and the Resistance are responsible for war profiteering and growing class issues throughout the galaxy as well as the idea that Rey was a nobody and there are many other force sensitive kids out there. For too long have we tied ourselves to the Skywalkers and this was a perfect time to free ourselves to grow from there. The things I don’t like are more nuanced and include the constant loss of life of the Resistance throughout the movie. Much like counting bullets of a hero’s machine gun, this is the opposite effect of “how many people do they have to kill before they are all deal: A bunch were killed off in the first space battle, then a steady stream of command ships were blown up in the chase and even more of the escape ships were taken out before the “HOLDO'' Maneuver was executed. I suppose that was part of the story and by the end the remaining resistance was able to fit on the Falcon, but with so many taken out, why do we even care? I don’t know, I guess it's clear that they want to echo Empire Strikes Back with the hopeless ending, but I just find it hard to believe the Resistance is that poorly run.
Anyways I could write for hours about this movie, but I think it is important as Star Wars fans to understand that not everything can be good, but some things can be great. Take those great things and enjoy them while not focusing on the bad because after all, it's not going anywhere.
Pros: In all honesty I WAS going to pass on this version of Kylo due to a combination of not liking him without his helmet (nothing against Adam Driver) and Black Series burn out, but I actually happy that I did as there is just something about this character. And despite the hate that the Last Jedi continues to get, Kylo was almost at his best here. The figure captures the overall look really well, has a good amount of articulation and I like that it comes with a lite and unlit saber. Also KUDOS to Hasbro for the softgoods cloak.
Cons: I got nothing: Kylo is a solid figure.
