Malakili - LC - Basic (BD22)

The vicious rancor that dwells beneath Jabba's palace has one true friend: Malakili. The Corellian is in charge of caring for the bloodthirsty beast. He treats the rancor like a cherished pet, and is overcome with grief when Luke puts an end to the creature.

Before we even start to review this figure, we wish to express and hope that this figure doesn’t get “Yarna d’al’ Gargan syndrome” while hanging on the pegs. Malakili (AKA Rancor Keeper to vintage enthusiasts) is a significant upgrade to both the vintage and 1997 POTF2 figure. Almost unbelievable to see him as a completely new sculpt, it is actually more unbelievable that it has been more than a decade since his last modern version. As a figure that seemingly ages quite well (no matter which decade he is created), Malakili has essentially been perfected and we believe Hasbro will put this figure to rest. While anything is possible, it is unlikely that Malakili will ever see another new sculpt again. That is a powerful line of thought isn’t it? It almost causes angst. But we have reached a point in our collecting where technology has reached a very high standard and the need to keep reinventing the wheel is going away at an exponential rate. The great news is that we are indeed thrilled that there has been over a decade long gap between this version of Malakili and his 1997 ancestor. He is a great sculpt, true to scale and painted simply but wonderfully. There is a great deal of corpulence in Jabba’s Palace. Yarna, the Gamorrean Guards, Jabba himself and Malakili have apparently been living high on the hog (no pun intended) or have very slow metabolisms. But their large size is quite a metaphor for their greedy lifestyle or support of it at least. Malakili may be one of the more innocent bystanders in Jabba’s Palace since his job was to take care of Jabba’s Rancor with the assistance of Giran of course, but he grew a deep level of affection for the monstrous beast as we all witness in Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi. When 2009's TLC Jabba’s Rancor With Luke Skywalker TARGET exclusive was released, many collectors were upset that the set did not come with Malakili (since we got word that Malakili was due out in the near future). Many of us felt that it would have been the most value for our dollar since the set retailed initially for $39.99 then jumped up to $49.99 without explanation. But such is life and now Malakili comes to us as a basic Droid Factory figure.

Malakili has seen quite a metamorphosis from his vintage figure, to the 1997 POTF2 figure to now (this new figure). Hasbro has done a relative excellent job with all version of him throughout the years, but the ante has been upped with this release and the finished product is quite a beauty. Interestingly, the vintage Rancor Keeper has more in common with the 2009 Legacy Collection figure than with the 1997 POTF2 counterpart. Both the new figure and vintage figure have removable cowls. The POTF2 version does not. We are thankful that Hasbro went back to their roots for the updated figure. It makes the figure more special when it copies the blueprints of the figure that started it all. Malakili is clearly another collector-focused figure in this Legacy Collection wave, but we hope that 2009's TLC Jabba’s Rancor With Luke Skywalker TARGET exclusive set will make those who normally wouldn’t pick this figure up indeed do so. After all, Malakili is quite an impressive action figure. He is perfectly colored, something both previous figures neglected to perfect. He has the right hair pattern (some say it’s dirt) on his chest and it is light enough to look very realistic. But this action figure truly resembles the actor. You know about the removable cowl, but of particular note is it’s sculpt. It looks like a real piece of leather and there are details including stitching and folds that bring the piece to life. Malakili has a pretty good face sculpt (although it leads the viewer to believe he is younger than we see in the film) but he looks like he is getting ready to smile. This grimace or smirk is a little confusing and his personality in the film led us to believe he was a very burly and tough man (before the death of the Rancor of course). His spiky arm and leg gear have been expertly crafted as well. And they have been painted in a very realistic and bright silver paint. Hasbro has certainly achieved great results with the silver paint they use. It works so well to color buckles on belts and parts on guns. The details like the grommets on Malakili work just as well! He even has a slightly emotional expression on his face, which works well when you make him realize his favorite pet is dead.

Malakili is super-articulated and this was completely unexpected for us. Then again, super-articulation seems to be the staple in the Star Wars line thank goodness. Obviously there was no need to give him this treatment, but it was a gift that we did. Not all of the points of articulation function perfectly as they don't give complete range of movement, but the attempt is much appreciated. Malakili comes with his pike and removable cowl. These same two accessories came with the vintage figure as well. Whether it was Hasbro’s intention to pay homage to this figure by giving him these attributes is beyond us, but we have to say the spirit behind it is quite amazing. We hope this will generate additional purchases of this figure at retail. So, will Malakili suffer a terrible fate at retail? We don’t want to be pessimists here, but we fear it is inevitable. But we do wish to leave you with this thought. This will likely be the last time he will be made available at retail. We do not hold a crystal ball here and we could be very wrong. But Hasbro has mastered the Malakili character with this release. There is ultimately no other reason for this figure to be revisited. And if they decide to rerelease the Rancor sometime down the road (WAY down the road), Malakili will be a great choice to complete the set. Unrelated, there is another reason to pick up this figure. He is a collector based figure and collector based figures need our support. Since our voice is very important, we votes with our dollars. We need to support Malakili so that Knights Of The Old Republic action figures see the light of day. We need to support Malakili so that the Comic Packs line continues. There are many reasons to purchase Malikili, but the most obvious one is because he is a figure that deserves your purchase because of how excellent he is. He will certainly not disappoint your collection and he adds another level of greatness to the outstanding Legacy Collection Return Of The Jedi wave! And he is the modern definitive update to the vintage Kenner figure. That is reason enough for us.