Mos Espa Encounter - EI - Cinema Scenes

After enduring heavy damage during their escape from Naboo, the Naboo Royal Starship is forced to land on the desert planet of Tatooine. Returning from Mos Espa with Anakin Skywalker, Qui-Gon is ambushed by a figure in flowing dark robes - it is the evil Darth Maul. Ordering Anakin to the ship, Qui-Gon matches his awesome Jedi skill against the Sith Lord's sinister power. Both escape with their lives, but it would not be their last meeting.

Did you ever consider how Hasbro decides which scenes in Star Wars films make great concepts for the Cinema Scenes line? Typically, the Cinema Scenes sets that focus on three characters that may have never interacted with each other but within the same environments tend to be preferred by collectors the most. Then again, there are some “ripped from the screen” moments like 1998’s POT2 [G/FF] Final Jedi Duel and 1998’s POTF2 [FF/TKC] Mynock Hunt which turn out impressive as well. For the Episode I line, however, they might not be faring as well. The moments of the film where the buffoon Jar Jar Binks steals food only to have it fling and hit the dangerous Dug Sebulba was slapstick at best. Yet, Hasbro decided this interaction would make for a clever Cinema Scenes set entitled Mos Espa Encounter. The Episode I Mos Espa Encounter Cinema Scenes set isn’t terrible by any means, but we believe there were many other and better scenes that should have inspired a Cinema Scenes set. Mos Espa Encounter doesn’t introduce any new characters into the Episode I line. We get new versions of existing characters. That’s fine, because Jar Jar Binks and Anakin Skywalker are scene-specific to this set, but wouldn’t new aliens or background characters be the best option to help develop a toy line that is based on a film that’s loaded with them? All we’re trying to say is that the Mos Espa Encounter Cinema Scenes set is lazy at best. We do get a little bit of “first time offered” newness here, but overall this is a revisited rehash of what we already have in the toy line.

Sebulba is the standout figure in the Mos Espa Encounter Cinema Scenes set. In the Episode I line he’s only available as a pack-in figure in the vehicle line. This action figure is more developed, shows his face clearly, and comes with a squishy chuba accessory that fits in between his toes as we see in the film. Sebulba has a furious expression on his face, and it captures the spirit of the character beautifully. He walks on all fours, and Hasbro did a great job of recreating the character’s body mechanics in line with the movement seen in Episode I. The paint operations on Sebulba are especially impressive. His purple and pink skin color is accented with “polka dots,” and Hasbro added layers of shadowing to give the character depth and dimension. He’s also perfectly in scale with the other characters in the film. He comes with a swivel head, two swivel shoulders, and two swivel hips. Hasbro’s designers did an excellent job creating this Sebulba action figure. We’re happy to see him updated in this manner, and he might be the only reason to consider purchasing this set. The other two figures in the Mos Espa Encounter Cinema Scenes set don’t hold up nearly as well as Sebulba. They are in awkward body positions, and collectors will only be able to use them in this Cinema Scenes display.

Hasbro sculpted Jar Jar Binks in a very spastic pose. He’s flailing his arms, his eyes are wide open, and he’s lunging his legs forward while leaning his body backward. Again, he’s placed in a very scene-specific position from a brief moment in the film. Aside from his pose, Hasbro sculpted Jar Jar Binks well. But when it comes to his paint operations, well, they’re a little too bright for our tastes. Jar Jar Binks doesn’t match the onscreen character well when it comes to the character’s coloring. Regardless, the finer points of his deco are impressive beyond words. The wavy-lined pattern on his skin is exquisite. And the wash given to his clothing gives it a natural, lived-in appearance. This figure is bittersweet. Anakin Skywalker comes with a more natural pose than Jar Jar Binks, but the figure is so bland you’re probably not going to care about it one way or another. Anakin Skywalker is in this scene to translate Sebulba’s language and respond to him. The action stays between Sebulba and Jar Jar Binks. Anakin Skywalker comes with simple articulation and a simple paint job. And the figure doesn’t differ all that much from the many versions we received of him already. The Mos Espa Encounter Cinema Scenes set isn’t terrible. It’s just a tad boring and doesn’t feature a scene that is too engaging. Other than that, it’s an alright set.