I'm not sure about Luke- I like the commtech body except the lack of wrist articulation, but I really don't like this head better than the commtech head. It's okay... but it's not amazing. The commtech head looks like Luke in ESB to me though, so it's not quite perfect for ANH either.

What really botehrs me about this head though, is that his lips seem to be brown- the same color as his hair. Why? Why not leave them skin tone? As it is he reminds me of my old mid '90s-era Bend-em's Luke.

I could swear I'd seen pictures of commtech Luke that didn't have the boot paint on the knees like in the comparison picture... but if they all do, then that is a good point of improvement on this new Luke. Actually, other than the lips the paint is good as a whole.

The accessories though... they seem to really make this figure. The poncho looks very nice, and I love that box- the pilot headset is a wonderful little touch, and the training ball thing is appreciated as well (although I would've liked a removeable one even better).

But the lightsabers aren't as cool as they could be; Obi Wan's should be removeable, and Luke's is kinda... simple. There's no paint, no hole, and it doesn't fit on his belt... I wouldn't complain about owning it but it's not the epitomy of awesomeness either. I would've liked to see an ignited saber or a removeable blade here, too- heck, just reprint the saber from Evolutions Anakin and it'd be cooler.

He looks kind of cool, but buying it isn't too high on my priorities list :/ R5, though, I'll be getting as soon as I can afford to I think.

If it's especially valuable, I think twice- and then I probably trade it off for a couple loose figures I'd rather have

I would never, ever consider opening a vintage figure. VOTC and VTSC on the other hand are so getting opened unless it's C3POS.

UGH figures... if it's a figure I really want, I'd open it- like if I found a UGH Fett- unless I could get a better deal via trading. I don't really respect hte UGH campaign that much, it seems like money-grubbing against collectors, plus I wouldn't mind having a silver stand or two in my display.

EU figures, while rare, I'd probably open unless I already have a loose one (I wouldn't be opening a Thrawn at this point) and have no real use for another (Luke might get opened).

Basically, if it's valuable and I don't need it, I won't open it... and if it's in certain categories (Vintage, crazy rare items, etc.) I still wouldn't open it, but every figure I own is currently opened now (though, the most valuable are probably VTSC Han, Grand Admiral Thrawn, and Captain Piett- I don't have anything that's really "rare.").

Yep, holding the opened card in my hand, it was not a freeze frame figure, but in fact has the shiny sticker. So hopefully not worth all that much, then, right? And as I said, the card was (well, still is of course) bent.

Hey! This R5 loks like his paintjob is better than R2, there are some details here that were blank n mine- like those bars on the third leg and the silver next to the "ankes." Glad to see that improved.

Though, the same smeared/streaked dirt seems to return here... oh well. I'm pretty happy with the looks of this figure overall

5. Veers body with new Tarkin, Motti and Piett heads.

I like that choice, but I'd rather see the earlier Saga Admiral Ozzel body used- better height and no indentions for the armor to clamp on, and- correct me if I'm wrong- I think the articulation was the same.

Three leg special? The last I heard he was a reprint of VOTC/TSC R2D2 with a new head and paintjob, which means articulation at the neck, top of the legs, and "ankles," with a removeable third leg. All three "feet" have wheels on the bottoms, and he's got this oh-so-groovy glued-on panel.

So, R5 is good for doing whatever R5 does in the movie as well as portraying other, similar droids, or just playing with or whatever... which is cool in my book, far better than "Launchpad" R5.

I would actually buy a couple Hans for customs if I couldn't get the same figure with a different head for $3 or more less on eBay at any given moment.

Yes, as I said, my view of rather a figure is rubbish is dependant on rather it did something wrong that was really uneccesary/easily avoided given the standards at the time. R5D4 could've been a nice, normal figure made in the same fashion as the first POTF2 R2D2, but no, for some reason he splits in half and fires this yellow plastic thing and has cannons on his legs. Thus, rubbish.

The POTF2s really didn't need to be buff, that was a marketing idea the same as action features and other intentional crud thrown in to "excite kids." But the buffness only periodically really killed the figures (Rebel Fleet Trooper), and some got away okay in spite of it (most Han Solos), at least at the time. The same can again be said of action features, which can totally ruin a figure (Saga Deluxe Slashing Anakin's faults, other than that headsculpt, can all be traced down to the action feature) or just be a mild impediment (Bespin Duel Luke is a good example).

People's standards are different, and a figure someone loves someone else might think is garbage, so this is just my view of what really makes a figure sucky. But too, the faults that plagued entire lines overall do make those figures less cool from a right-now standpoint; so it's a matter of certain lines/groups having universal/common flaws, but only some of them truly being bad figures for it when viewed in perspective.

Personally, I kind of like General Lando in a way, but I can't call him a good figure either.

Hmm... Palpatine was a little over the top I suppose, but for the most part it all really flowed to me, and I got this feeling of "Just as I expected" from him. Palpatine is a character to be despised in my book, so his disgustingness seemed appropriate a lot of the time.

Hadyn Christiansen is indeed amateurish, but he just seemed so much better in this movie than the previous that I didn't mind it here. His emotions and his manner seemed very accurate to what I was expecting, and you could see the mental battle he was going through. The way he became Vader felt like Vader was sort of a seperate entity, a seperate personality that began forming in AOTC with the sand people, and then grew. It wasn't really like Anakin became Vader insomuch as Anakin tried to fight for what he loved and instead found himself destroyed by Vader because he felt it was the only way to achieve what he was trying to do. Only afterwards did he get it, though...

The frankenstein-ish moving seemed about right for someone who was in incredible emotional and physical pain trying to storm out on a new pair of legs- it's surprising he didn't fall on his face actually. And his cry of "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO," while highly mockable in it's own way, was also actually a very emotional moment to me- you can say whatever you want about what he should've done, but I believe that in his position that's exactly what one would do. And I liked the way he was tearing apart everything around him through the force... and the way Palpatine just sort of chuckled, knowing that he'd gotten exactly what he wanted. Ugh.

The dialogue between Anakin and Padme in episode II was, IMO, painful. "I'm dying inside and it's all your fault!!!" Give me a break. But in Episode III they both acted appropriately, the right mix of love and pain, and most of what was said was short and to the point- very appropriate I think. I didn't hate any of their scenes here.

Episode III is not my favorite in the series, but I consider it just about perfect for what it was. My order of favorites is this:

ROTJ
ESB
ANH - ROTS (apples and oranges really)
AOTC
TPM

Frankly, I urge anybody who sees ROTS for the first time to, if they haven't in a while, resee ROTJ afterwards- it all really clicks that way I think, or it does for me at least.