1/6 Hot Toys - MMS 320 - Star Wars Ep.VII - Kylo Ren

[Centrocal]

 

[SchmittyJames]

This thing is beautiful... Here are some quick shots before I had to leave, I'll post more VERY soon.

The hood IS stitched to his tunic, but with some exacto-knife skills, I was able to remove it with no problem.

 

[Darkseed]

This thing is beautiful....

one of the best HT SW figures thus far regardless what one may think of the character

 

[Wor-Gar]

For the record, I loved Kylo Ren as a character. I had reservations going in, but both the excellent writing and Driver's incredible performance sold the character as a believable, damaged villain. Walking the line between whiny brat and tortured soul is extremely difficult to do, both for the actor and the scribe.

Absolutely no offense meant, but anyone that casually dismisses Kylo as a character may not have a firm grasp of pathos, writing, or development. To have this fearsome villain who at first one might assume is a generic baddie, and slowly see the cracks in his mask and psyche adds an incredible amount of depth and refreshing heart to a character that has his face obscured for most of his screen time. At his very core, he is being torn apart by two very distinct legacies of the dark and the light, which is something many people can relate to. His tantrums were superb. That he is feared both for his power and instability is great as it lends itself well to both humorous and serious moments.

He is different and, perhaps, different than what some may have wanted or expected. However, the lineage is clearly there. Well balanced in the subtlest of ways, if you stop and think about it.

I understand these comparisons to Vader are inevitable, if unnecessary. Were he just a complete clone of Vader, people would complain it's more of the same. Frankly, it would also be a bit boring and would not work as well in an energetic, emotion and character driven plot. Some would've been happy with a near silent and flat but visually arresting spectacle like Darth Maul, but that's not what this movie or Star Wars as a whole needs now.

Darth Vader is Darth Vader, and deserves more than to have his character retread cheaply. Now we have a new villain for a new trilogy, who has Vader in his blood and wants to be like him. More importantly, wants to be seen as being like him. This, too, is something a lot of people should be able to relate to. The irony being that he's more like his grandfather than he realizes - just Anakin, not Vader. He is everything Anakin should've been had Lucas been a better writer and director.

Driver did his legacy proud in TFA and I for one can't wait to see how the character develops in VIII and IX.

Beautifully put.

Hope the internet crowd can read this much in one sitting.

 

[subzro]

For the record, I loved Kylo Ren as a character. I had reservations going in, but both the excellent writing and Driver's incredible performance sold the character as a believable, damaged villain. Walking the line between whiny brat and tortured soul is extremely difficult to do, both for the actor and the scribe.

Absolutely no offense meant, but anyone that casually dismisses Kylo as a character may not have a firm grasp of pathos, writing, or development. To have this fearsome villain who at first one might assume is a generic baddie, and slowly see the cracks in his mask and psyche adds an incredible amount of depth and refreshing heart to a character that has his face obscured for most of his screen time. At his very core, he is being torn apart by two very distinct legacies of the dark and the light, which is something many people can relate to. His tantrums were superb. That he is feared both for his power and instability is great as it lends itself well to both humorous and serious moments.

He is different and, perhaps, different than what some may have wanted or expected. However, the lineage is clearly there. Well balanced in the subtlest of ways, if you stop and think about it.

I understand these comparisons to Vader are inevitable, if unnecessary. Were he just a complete clone of Vader, people would complain it's more of the same. Frankly, it would also be a bit boring and would not work as well in an energetic, emotion and character driven plot. Some would've been happy with a near silent and flat but visually arresting spectacle like Darth Maul, but that's not what this movie or Star Wars as a whole needs now.

Darth Vader is Darth Vader, and deserves more than to have his character retread cheaply. Now we have a new villain for a new trilogy, who has Vader in his blood and wants to be like him. More importantly, wants to be seen as being like him. This, too, is something a lot of people should be able to relate to. The irony being that he's more like his grandfather than he realizes - just Anakin, not Vader. He is everything Anakin should've been had Lucas been a better writer and director.

Driver did his legacy proud in TFA and I for one can't wait to see how the character develops in VIII and IX.

100% agree

 

[Centrocal]

This thing is beautiful... Here are some quick shots before I had to leave, I'll post more VERY soon.

The hood IS stitched to his tunic, but with some exacto-knife skills, I was able to remove it with no problem.

Thanks so much for posting this shot

 

[vuuduu]

Excellent post MyenShi!

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[Life_m2000]

For the record, I loved Kylo Ren as a character. I had reservations going in, but both the excellent writing and Driver's incredible performance sold the character as a believable, damaged villain. Walking the line between whiny brat and tortured soul is extremely difficult to do, both for the actor and the scribe.

Absolutely no offense meant, but anyone that casually dismisses Kylo as a character may not have a firm grasp of pathos, writing, or development. To have this fearsome villain who at first one might assume is a generic baddie, and slowly see the cracks in his mask and psyche adds an incredible amount of depth and refreshing heart to a character that has his face obscured for most of his screen time. At his very core, he is being torn apart by two very distinct legacies of the dark and the light, which is something many people can relate to. His tantrums were superb. That he is feared both for his power and instability is great as it lends itself well to both humorous and serious moments.

He is different and, perhaps, different than what some may have wanted or expected. However, the lineage is clearly there. Well balanced in the subtlest of ways, if you stop and think about it.

I understand these comparisons to Vader are inevitable, if unnecessary. Were he just a complete clone of Vader, people would complain it's more of the same. Frankly, it would also be a bit boring and would not work as well in an energetic, emotion and character driven plot. Some would've been happy with a near silent and flat but visually arresting spectacle like Darth Maul, but that's not what this movie or Star Wars as a whole needs now.

Darth Vader is Darth Vader, and deserves more than to have his character retread cheaply. Now we have a new villain for a new trilogy, who has Vader in his blood and wants to be like him. More importantly, wants to be seen as being like him. This, too, is something a lot of people should be able to relate to. The irony being that he's more like his grandfather than he realizes - just Anakin, not Vader. He is everything Anakin should've been had Lucas been a better writer and director.

Driver did his legacy proud in TFA and I for one can't wait to see how the character develops in VIII and IX.

I 100% agree

 

[Cocoboloboy]

For the record, I loved Kylo Ren as a character. I had reservations going in, but both the excellent writing and Driver's incredible performance sold the character as a believable, damaged villain. Walking the line between whiny brat and tortured soul is extremely difficult to do, both for the actor and the scribe.

Absolutely no offense meant, but anyone that casually dismisses Kylo as a character may not have a firm grasp of pathos, writing, or development. To have this fearsome villain who at first one might assume is a generic baddie, and slowly see the cracks in his mask and psyche adds an incredible amount of depth and refreshing heart to a character that has his face obscured for most of his screen time. At his very core, he is being torn apart by two very distinct legacies of the dark and the light, which is something many people can relate to. His tantrums were superb. That he is feared both for his power and instability is great as it lends itself well to both humorous and serious moments.

He is different and, perhaps, different than what some may have wanted or expected. However, the lineage is clearly there. Well balanced in the subtlest of ways, if you stop and think about it.

I understand these comparisons to Vader are inevitable, if unnecessary. Were he just a complete clone of Vader, people would complain it's more of the same. Frankly, it would also be a bit boring and would not work as well in an energetic, emotion and character driven plot. Some would've been happy with a near silent and flat but visually arresting spectacle like Darth Maul, but that's not what this movie or Star Wars as a whole needs now.

Darth Vader is Darth Vader, and deserves more than to have his character retread cheaply. Now we have a new villain for a new trilogy, who has Vader in his blood and wants to be like him. More importantly, wants to be seen as being like him. This, too, is something a lot of people should be able to relate to. The irony being that he's more like his grandfather than he realizes - just Anakin, not Vader. He is everything Anakin should've been had Lucas been a better writer and director.

Driver did his legacy proud in TFA and I for one can't wait to see how the character develops in VIII and IX.

Exactly.

Somebody paste this on the first post of this and the TFA movie thread.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Does Kylo's 'laser sword' NOT light up evenly through to the tip?

 

[SchmittyJames]

Nope, it's the only fault of the figure... (besides no Driver sculpt) it's brightest at the bottom then dies down at the tip.

 

[Khev]

Beautifully put.

Hope the internet crowd can read this much in one sitting.

Depends on the site. Here? Not so much. Here any character who emotes is "emo" and whiny and uncool. But people who know films, who know good drama and good characterization like our friend MyenShi above do indeed "get" how layered and fantastic of a villain we just got with Kylo Ren.

I'm blown away by what Abrams accomplished with both new characters and old favorites in TFA.

1. In making Kylo the disgraced offspring of Han and Leia he came up with a completely organic reason for why Han would go back to smuggling and Leia back to organizing military strikes. Its *so* natural for people to fall back on a previous "comfort hobby" or lifestyle after a profound tragedy. As a recent divorcee I know this all too well. And before TFA I kind of assumed that Han and Leia married, she learned the ways of the Force from Luke, maybe became a Master herself, while Han would be her ceremonial peacetime "escort" or something. Not very "Han-like" compared to the OT but a seemingly natural manifestation of "happily ever after" after ROTJ. I wouldn't have found fault with the characters being presented that way yet at the same time I can't say I was really looking forward to it.

But no, thanks to Kylo we have a completely valid reason for Han and Leia to be *doing what we want them to do.* And they had to suffer to get there. So not only do we get all the fun fanboy smuggler/ general stuff out of the current Han and Leia but they actually become even more sympathetic figures in the process.

2. Kylo. With his internal conflict, age, and abilities we get a version of Anakin that we *should* have gotten in the prequels but didn't. Somehow his tantrums are genuinely funny but in an "oh ****" kind of way. How the heck did they pull that off? But they did. Hell I'm conflicted in that I really wanted Chewie to shoot the bastard in the face, Rey to cut him up into tiny pieces but at the same time for the sake of Han's memory and Leia, well, I kind of want him redeemed. I'm simultaneously uncomfortable with Kylo but undeniably invested in him. I'm eagerly anticipating whatever he does next.

 

[chobits55]

This thing is beautiful... Here are some quick shots before I had to leave, I'll post more VERY soon.

The hood IS stitched to his tunic, but with some exacto-knife skills, I was able to remove it with no problem.

Wow. What level of exacto-knife skills is needed? I'm interested.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Rambler]

Yeah, that looks pretty good without the hood. Just need a driver sculpt and you then have final battle ren.

 

[SchmittyJames]

Wow. What level of exacto-knife skills is needed? I'm interested.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Very low. On each shoulder and chest there are two pieces of fabric that can be cut. After they are cut, you just need to remove any loose strings. Very simple.

 

[mrdbios]

I didn't quite know what to expect from Kylo going in to the movie. I came out of it really appreciating the character, and feeling like he will be a worthy villain for the upcoming films. My wife and I (and she really doesn't get that much into most movies) even had a great conversation about him and his actions. I'm excited to see what he does in the next two movies.

I did order the figure, and am anxiously awaiting him to start shipping from SSC. I was trying to stay away from TFA 1/6, but now I'm in and couldn't be more excited!

 

[ZE_501]

The first time I saw it I thought it was abysmal, worst thing I'd ever seen. Decided to give it another shot the other night. Still hate it but I tried to just focus on the few things I did like about it like rey. You basically have to turn your brain off and put your nostalgia goggles on and then it becomes not the worst thing ever. The movie caters to the lowest common denominator and I was very disappointed.

Sooo...what you're saying is...you didn't like it?

 

[Matt S]

Anyone actually feel he wasn't quite evil enough? Adam Driver did a helluva job!

 

[wadeit0ut]

I love the look on his face when he shouts traitor at Finn right before they fight. It took a lava bath to get that amount of anger/expression out of Anakin.

Anyone actually feel he wasn't quite evil enough? Adam Driver did a helluva job!

You aren't supposed to find him completely evil. That's kind of the point. He has actual family he knows of out in the world. Different from the other Darkside villains we are use to. The first actual Dark Jedi.

 

[SNIKT1950]

Depends on the site. Here? Not so much. Here any character who emotes is "emo" and whiny and uncool.

That's the vast majority of the internet in a nutshell. Logic is rare in the online world.