Jar Jar Binks - EI - Basic

A creature from the underwater depths of the planet Naboo, Jar Jar Binks must convince his fellow Gungans to take up arms against the greedy Trade Federation in a battle to preserve the planet.

Oh no! Star Wars fans have a new enemy, and his name is Jar Jar Binks. In all honesty, it’s much too easy to loathe Jar Jar Binks. Completely a buffoon in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, something about the structure of the Gungan species made him visually interesting, and we wanted to know more. But as soon as he opened his mouth, we wished he would disappear from the screen. Lucasfilm at one point claimed that Jar Jar Binks would be more lovable than Chewbacca. And maybe for a generation, he was. But there is no denying that he became one of the main reasons that longtime Star Wars fans had very little patience for Episode I. As a main character in the film, of course, he was one of the first characters in the toy line (and was subsequently being bought at a very brisk rate). Hasbro designed a very faithful representation of the clumsy Gungan in the action figure line, although the accessory that he came with just wasn’t seen in the film (unless we missed it). He is simply articulation for sure, but we have to credit Hasbro for how they decorated Jar Jar Binks because it ranks as one of their most impressive paint jobs that we can recall.

Gungans have a very interesting (and complex) skin pattern. It’s quite astounding, but even at 3.75” (which is nearly a micro level when compared to the onscreen character), Hasbro has found a way to replicate this natural characteristic beautifully on the action figure. It is impressive lifelike and accurate they managed to recreate lines and dots that make up this unusual skin pattern. The rest of the paint operations on Jar Jar Binks are equally nice, even though we feel the overall palette of color is a few shades on the lighter side. Jar Jar Binks has expressive eyes and a semi-awkward stature, which captures the creature’s effect quite well from The Phantom Menace. Hasbro designed a removable vest on Jar Jar Binks. This approach is welcomed, albeit a bit surprising since tooling a separate accessory costs more than not tooling one at all. It’s easily removable and replaceable and works well to help creature that layered appearance that we love our action figures to possess. With just six points of articulation, Jar Jar Binks doesn’t provide limitless movement, but you can get a few cool poses thanks to the angled arms and the ability to turn his neck as needed. We suppose that’s not saying much, but it could be worse.

Packaged with every Episode I figure is a CommTech chip. These controversial pack-in premiums aren’t gripping the interests of collectors. They do not feature the voices of the real actors from the film uttering the lines. So it seems that a WHOLE LOT of effort went into this concept that isn’t going to pay off in the long run. You need a CommTech reader to make it work, which is sold separately, but it’s likely you will utilize more than a few times for kicks and giggles. What is cool, however, is that the CommTech chip can be considered a unique collectors’ item. They’re individually numbered, and they can function like an action figure stand thanks to the peg molded into the clear plastic. It’s the way of the future apparently, but it’s unknown how long this technology will last, or how suitable it’s going to be in the long run. For instance, what is a CommTech chip for 4-LOM or Zuckuss going to say? It just doesn’t seem practical across the board. Jar Jar Binks is a decent representation of the character from Episode I. We think there is room for improvement, but overall we’re satisfied with the quality of this action figure. Expect Jar Jar Binks to be a mainstay in the Episode I line and the lines after it!