General Grievous - Unleashed

Part alien, part droid, General Grievous is a frightening figure to meet on the battlefield. He is a nightmare of lethal precision as his multiple arms fire blasters and wield lightsabers as skillfully as any Jedi. A brilliant military strategist, Grievous crafts the droid army into a destructive tidal wave that pours across the galaxy, leaving ruins in its wake. He is untouched by any compassion or scruples; crouched in a combat stance over his opponent, he shows no doubt or mercy, just the pure conviction in his own superiority as he delivers the decisive blow. A ruthless hunter of Jedi, the general proudly wears his victims’ lightsabers as trophies on his belt, a macabre testament to his many victories.

One thing about the Star Wars: Unleashed line that likely doesn’t need to be repeated is that these “sculptures” are artistic interpretations of Star Wars characters in their rawest form. Although they may be inspired by scenes from the Star Wars films (or other multimedia events), we must remember that these unique design are artist inspired. With the excitement reaching atmospheric proportions for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith, Hasbro had three Unleashed figures ready to go to help support the film. General Grievous was one of them and he may have been the most eagerly anticipated of all Unleashed figures in year. We were introduced to him in Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars and many of us fell head over heels for him. Now Hasbro makes him part of the Unleashed line and it may be one of the most impressive sculpts of this character the toy line has seen yet. In Episode III, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi board Grievous’ Invisible Hand to save Chancellor Palpatine. During the dangerous rescue, they ultimately encounter Grievous who once again makes a cowardly escape when the battle becomes too much to bear. Determined to reach safe haven at any price, nothing stops General Grievous for protecting the little organic life left in him.

Well, imagine that scene as General Grievous flees. This is exactly where we think the artists were inspired to create the General Grievous Unleashed figure. He is utilizing his metallic claws to prop himself on a wall (which looks to be the inside of the Invisible Hand quite honestly....) while wielding two lightsabers, one with a blue blade and one with a green blade, for last minute protection as he runs from the Jedi. But this moment is captured in time and can be from any setting in the “Expanded Universe” really and that’s exactly what the sculptors of this beautiful collectible were attempting to achieve. They’ve done well. This General Grievous Unleashed figure is beautiful, but we wonder if Hasbro is still confused on his actual coloring. For this General Grievous still seems too white. His organic parts do appear appropriately colored however and there is a great contract between his bone like structures and the metal gears of his inorganic parts. Completely assembled, the Unleashed General Grievous figure is another testament to the quality Hasbro can produce. The Unleashed line is interestingly bittersweet for many collectors that only collect the 3.75” scale. They wonder why Hasbro can create such stunning beauty as this, yet the action figures still seem to have a long way to go.

But quite honestly the basic figure line is a completely different bowl of wax when compared to the Unleashed line. The Unleashed line for the most part is articulation free (there are exceptions) and the focus on the line is dynamic sculpts and tear-jerking flawless paint operations. General Grievous succeeds on the latter, and as adorers of this line that’s really all we care about here. General Grievous breaks down into four separate parts. These include the General Grievous figure, the base (which is really a complex interior wall of a building or starship) and two removable lightsaber blades. We really appreciate the inclusion of removable lightsaber blades because you can display General Grievous with or without them and he looks complete either way. Of course he looks a lot cooler with the lightsabers ignited. We must also add that we’re quite impressed with the center of gravity with the Unleashed line, especially General Grievous. When looking at it from side view you will ask yourself how General Grievous can balance himself without toppling over, but he can. This trickery is made possible due to precise engineering and divine sculpting. As you can see, the General Grievous Unleashed figure is a marvel, and something you should consider for your own collection.

As a bonus feature to this review, we have provided the original artwork created for this Star Wars: Unleashed figure. Click the thumbnail to the left to see the amazing illustration.