Movie Starscream (Voyager)

Robot Mode: To get the obvious out of the way first, Movie Starscream looks almost nothing like any of his predecessors. If there is any old-school robot he resembles, it is G2 Dreadwing. A large, broad, almost sumo-like robot with a massive chest, short legs, and giant missile launchers for arms, Starscream comes across as a massive war machine with no sense of finesse. Posability is quite good, even though the knee joints on my figure are extremely tight and hard to bend. The shoulders are fully posable and stable, despite the fact that they don't actually attach to the chest or collar in any place. They are on black extensions that attach to the hip. A strange construction, but it doesn't hurt the figure. What bothers me a bit is the absence of hands, he only has a kind of three-fingered claw surrounding the big missile launchers that make up his forearms. He can't really grab anything with them. But missing hands is a pet peeve of mine, so maybe it won't bother other people as much. Bottom line for the robot mode, a good robot, but no Starscream.

Vehicle Mode: Starscream transforms into a F-22 Raptor fighter jet. The jet as such looks quite good, but in my opinion the undercarriage, consisting of the robot legs and the two massive missile launchers are a bit too big. The launchers especially look out of proportion in comparison to the rest of the jet. The missiles for the launchers can be loaded in the launchers or stored on extra holders that flip out on the side. Either way the jet looks kinda overloaded. Still, as jets go it looks pretty realistic. So if you decide to disregard the rules of aerodynamics, there is nothing to complain about here.

Remarks: First off, Starscream is my 300th review here on this site, so all please rise for a round of applause. Done? Okay, here we go. I'm having a really hard time deciding on a rating here. If you're a G1 fan and expect Movie Starscream to be like G1 Starscream, you'll be disappointed. There is almost no resemblance, neither in colour nor in shape, except for the fact that both have cockpits on their chests and transform into jets. If you look at Movie Starscream by himself, though, he isn't that bad. The shoulder thing bothers me a bit, but more on general principle, seeing as it doesn't really impede the figure any. The lack of hands is also a problem for me, but that is a pet peeve of mine. So at the end of the day, Movie Starscream is a good figure with some flaws. Whether you get him or not is entirely up to you.

Rating: B-