Tarkin - ROTS - Basic (III 45)

Governor Tarkin controls the Seswenna sector, which forms a strong defense perimeter against Separatists during the Clone Wars. He has a keen interest in special weapons construction and development.

Whether you’re a fan of the Prequel Trilogy or not, one thing you like to see is any connection to the Original Trilogy. The conclusion of Revenge Of The Sith was sensory overload with quick but powerful images that tied the film to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. We saw Darth Vader commanding on the bridge of an Imperial vessel, we saw the outline of what would soon become the Death Star and we saw Tarkin in his Imperial navy uniform. What more could you ask for as far as visuals are concerned in the last Star Wars film? We think the actor who played Tarkin was more than a fair resemblance, but something the makers of Episode III did to his “face” made it appear more like a mask than a natural human face. What’s interesting is that Hasbro made the action figure resemble this “masked” look of the governor. He’s been designed to appeal to the collectors, but we think Tarkin is far from being acceptable because of his articulation. Let’s see if we can distill all that is wrong with this action figure.

Tarkin comes with ten points of articulation, but a 2005 figure shouldn’t be coming with swivel shoulders. This dramatically alters how much useful movement you can get out of him, and whether or not those poses look natural. We haven’t been successful in posing Tarkin in any other ways without the gun in his hand or his arms down at his sides. If you decide to swing out either arm, he looks very robotic and it’s a terrible shame since the sculpt is actually quite good. He has swivel elbows and we personally believe that this is the absolute worst articulation Hasbro uses on their figures. We wish they would cease incorporating this type of cut joints in all Star Wars action figures. Other than allowing Tarkin to hold his arms behind his back at attention, there isn’t much else they do to benefit the figure. (By the way, the pose of him with his arms tucked behind his back looks pretty incredible.

Tarkin only has swivel hips in his legs. He isn’t perfectly balanced, so you need to futz with his legs until you can attain a pose that will sustain him. If you’re nature doesn’t have any room for patience, thankfully he comes with an environmental action figure stand that remedies this problem instantaneously. He comes with an odd DC-15 blaster. Maybe these were the weapons the newly hailed Galactic Empire used initially after the creation of it, but we find it odd that he would carry around a clone trooper’s blaster. Essentially a cameo in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith, Tarkin didn’t even utter any audible dialogue (although you do witness him conversing with Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine). But usually the characters that don’t say anything (or have very few lines) end up becoming the most special to fans. We wish we could be a little more upbeat with Tarkin. He’s a necessary figure, but he definitely needs an thorough update.