Sculpt--2.5/5
Fans' Choice figures have generally come out strong in the sculpting category, but this figure changes that with a generally mediocre sculpt--perhaps that's part of the reason this figure is missing the "Fans' Choice" denotation on its packaging. There simply isn't anything to get excited about here. From the plain and frankly boring robe to the not-quite-successful headsculpt, this figure seems to be equally lackluster everywhere you look. It should also be noted that Hasbro chose to give this figure Dodonna's robe which he wears at the end of "A New Hope" as opposed to the dress jacket he wears during the war-room scenes. Personally I would have rather liked to see the dress jacket which has a rank badge and other details which would have made it the more interesting choice.

The headsculpt, while not totally wrong, is a little on the pudgy side and looks a bit like Sean Connery. I think the problem is his cheeks seem a little too puffy, which isn't quite accurate judging by photos of the actual actor who played Dodonna. The arms should also be mentioned because of their interesting posing. Hasbro made it so you could kind of fold his arms together and it looks quite decent, but unfortunately makes other poses look a bit awkward.

Articulation--3/5
General Dodonna is articulated at nine points...perhaps ten: the neck, shoulders, elbow cuts, wrists, hips, and maybe waist. Maybe waist? You see, there is a cut a little below the belt and right above the hips that can be twisted like a normal waist joint. What bothers me is that when you twist it, it doesn't quite seem like it's supposed to be twisted. But why twist it in the first place? There's really not much reason.

Features--NA/5
There are no features associated with this set.

Accessories--3.5/5
It would have been nice if we had gotten something from the Yavin base war-room but since this figure isn't based on those scenes I guess it's fitting that we got what we got. Dodonna comes with 3 ceremonial medals, a rebel blaster, and a figure stand. The stand is the standard one we've been getting in the '04 line. The rebel blaster is a new sculpt and is much more accurately scaled over the old one that came with the Rebel Fleet Troopers. The three medals look to be the same as the one that came with the old Power of the Force 2 Ceremonial Luke Skywalker, but I'm too lazy to check if they are indeed the same (plus, I think I may have sold that figure long ago). You might be saying, "Three medals? But there were only two awarded in the movie!" That's true, but in the novelization, Chewbacca also receives one (he also received one at the MTV Movie Awards) so including three medals was a nice way of being totally accurate.

Paint--2/5
Nothing very special in this department. I take most issue with the paint on Dodonna's head. The pupils of his eyes are huge and look a bit on the cartoony side, and for the hair it looks like they painted it white and then rubbed dirt all over it. His belt also looks pretty sloppy so it's nice that you won't see it often since Dodonna's robe hide it most of the time.

Overall--2.5/5
I was looking forward to this character, but in the end the figure just isn't that great. I really feel like Hasbro just didn't try on this figure; it almost looks like it could fit in with figures that came out 7 years ago. Buy him if you want him, but otherwise you should steer clear.

--Photos and review by Garett Yoshimura
garett@carrotnetwork.com