KYLE REESE

THE TERMINATOR REACTION

Well, yesterday’s review was a bit of a downer. Not every figure can be a winner, but it’s still sad to see it happen. It’s especially sad to see it happen with Funko’s ReAction line, because it’s already under enough criticism based just on the style choice alone. Fortunately, the figures seem to be improving as they keep going. I still have two figures left from the first series of The Terminator ReAction Figures, and fear not dear readers, it’s only an uphill stride from here. I’ve looked at the title character and the target, and today, I’ll be looking at the hero of The Terminator, Kyle Reese, the human resistance fighter sent back to save Sarah Connor. He also happens to be portrayed by Michael Biehn, also known for playing Hicks in James Cameron’s Aliens, and also the lunatic villain in Cameron’s The Abyss. Cameron just really likes this guy!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

As noted in the opening, Kyle was released as part of the first series of The Terminator ReAction Figures. Kyle is 3 ¾ inches in height and features the same basic 5 points of articulation as every other figure in this line. Obviously, he’s based on Kyle’s look in The Terminator, specifically his 1984 look. Kyle wears both a green and a blue jacket over the course of the movie. The figure goes with the green one, which is the one he wears earlier in the movie, most notably during his showdown with The Terminator at the Tech Noir club. The figure features a cloth piece to emulate the coat, which isn’t the greatest. The sleeves are really baggy, and the collar sits oddly, which makes it look more like a bath robe. Once it’s removed, the figure actually improves greatly. Kyle’s sculpt is unique to this figure. It’s not bad. Not the best ever, but not bad. Certainly better than the coat lets on. The torso is still a little too flat, like so many of the other ReAction figures. Aside from that, the rest of the sculpt is a pretty great translation of Kyle to the Kenner style. The etched stripes on the shirt look pretty great, and the proportions aren’t bad. The head is a little too generic to be a spot on Biehn, but it isn’t too far off. It’s close enough that you can tell who he’s supposed to be. Kyle’s paint is pretty good. It’s a little on the clean side, but that’s mostly to do with the style of the figure. There aren’t any issues with slop or bleed over, so that’s good. In addition to the removable jacket, Kyle includes his modified shotgun and a small revolver.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Kyle was, surprisingly enough, flung at me by an angry homeless man while I was walking to class the other day. For real guys. It was weird…

Okay, not really. Like the rest of the series, I ordered Kyle from Amazon. I had initially been pretty excited for Kyle, but that excitement waned once the prototype pictures surfaced. However, I came across a few pictures of Kyle in-hand, especially without the coat, and that was enough to sway me back. Kyle isn’t without his issues, but he’s really not a bad figure, and he certainly makes me feel better after the very sad review I had to do for Sarah. If you’re a fan of The Terminator, you could do worse than this Kyle figure.