Iron Man 2 Movie War Machine Reviewed

One of the most anticipated events in the upcoming Iron Man 2 movie is the debut of none other than War Machine! Teased towards the end of the 1st movie, War Machine will finally be donned by Rhodey and wreck havoc onscreen!

So of course, the movie War Machine figure without a doubt, was a figure I looked forward to since the announcement of the Iron Man 2 line. The pics we saw from Toy Fair only increased my impatience. It is different from the comic design, but not so much that it looks like a drastic departure. In fact it looks like how a movie version should look like. It is bulkier, and looks like a armed to the teeth variant of the mkIII armor from the 1st movie.

The trailer only left me wanting the figure more, so imagine my shock at seeing this thing on a store shelf. Without any hesitation, I set up some lights and immediately took pics. How did the movie version of War Machine turn out? Read on...

Movie War Machine comes with the following accessories/weapons:

• Stand
• Armor cards x 3(2 clear, 1 paper)
• cannon
• missle launcher(resembles a cannon)
• ammunition belt
• gray missle
• red missle

The armor cards fit onto the stand, and you can swap these with cards from other figures to see how different combinations of armor would look. I like how 2 of the cards are made out of clear plastic, it looks neat. These cards will appeal more to kids, as for us collectors, they are are just neat decorations for the stands. If you are a customizer, you might like these cards as they can give you an idea of how different armors would work together.

Speaking of collectors, I doubt most of you will be using the missles. They look huge and obtrusive. I personally prefer to leave them off. The ammo belt can be attached to either gun, and plugs into the back. However, the connections are loose, and I prefer to leave mine off(I hate the possibility of losing stuff). I wish the connections were more secure and snug, as the ammo belt makes War Machine looked more menacing.

The movie War Machine is molded in black and dark gray, which makes this figure significantly darker than the comic version. The shoulder pads are semi-translucent but this isn't noticeable until shown next to light.

The sculpt is very detailed with many intricate panel lines molded all throughout. The hip ball joints are hidden particularly well, with the swivels integrated into the sculpt very well. They appear so subtle that at first, it was hard to tell where the legs swiveled at all. Very cool.

There are only a few things I don't like about this figure. The arms seem a bit short, and the neck articulation is hindered by the sculpt of the upper torso.

The shoulder pads are like the comic version; both are connected to the torso as moving hinges instead of being molded as part of the arms; or as separate pads attached to the arms, like on the mkII/III armors. Having bought the mkII earlier, I definitely think the torso connection route was the way to go, as the pads are quite secure and not very prone to popping off during arm movement, unlike the mkII/III. The pads provide a minor hindrance to arm articulation on War Machine but not very much.

2 movable hinges are placed on the back, for the cannons. Both stay into place well, however the left side is less secure. For example, when swiveled all the way forward, it will stay forward but is a little loose.

It is with the cannons equipped that War Machine lives up to his name. As stated earlier, the ammo belt adds to the look, but does not fit very securely at all on the figure. The ammo belt on my figure fell off several times during the photo shoot.

Remember how I mentioned that the left back hinge for the guns was looser than the other? The wide ball socket for the big missle launcher cannon doesn't help either. The missle launcher is looser than the smaller cannon. It isn't loose enough to fall off completely on it's own, or swivel downwards under it's own weight. However it is noticeably loose. If you shake the figure around, the missle launcher will swivel on it's own.

Articulation for the cannons isn't very restrictive at all, the ball joints on the hinges provide good range of motion. The cannons can be displayed stowed behind War Machine, aimed upwards, or to the front(and swiveled on the ball joints in any direction).

The arms also feature molded guns sculpted on, giving War Machine short range weapons in addition to his long range cannons.

The movie War Machine figure features many sculpted details. Be it the arc light reactor(which is sculpted somewhat deep into the chest sculpt, enhancing the sense of depth, rather than just being shallowly carved onto the surface of the chest armor), repulsors, and more. Details are not limited to sculpt however.

The figure also features printed details, such as designation and USAF markings.

For the most part, movie War Machine has excellent mobility and range of motion, with just a little hindrances here and there. It features the same amount of articulation and the same joints as comic War Machine, however I found movie War Machine to have a bit more range of motion, and easier to pose. For a figure with somewhat bulky armor, movie War Machine can pose just as well as many of the skinnier armors in the line.

Undoubtedly some of you are wondering how movie War Machine stacks up against the comic version. The comic version has cannons which aren't as loose, and cannon mount/back hinges that are more secure. The movie version moves a little bit better, but both have the same points of articulation.

The comic version IMHO has more realistic proportions. Both have dark paint schemes however the paint applications are much better on then movie version than the comic version. The comic version features inconsistent attempts at weathering which make the paint apps look messy, where as the movie version has much cleaner paint apps.

Both figures are definitely worth picking up and one does not completely outdo the other. So it's hard to pick one over the other, rather, I suggest buying both.

Out of all the movie version armors I have had a chance to handle so far, War Machine is one of the, if not thee, best movie armor so far. Sure it's a movie armor but it looks like something Rhodey could don in the comics. It isn't a big departure from established designs; for example, it is much more recognizable than the X-Men movie costumes, Transformers movie designs, and Storm Shadow's costume from Rise of Cobra. This design has much more crossover potential, and I think even non-movie fans will get a kick out of this figure.

I give it an 8/10. It's sure to be one of the most sought after figures in the Iron Man 2 line, and rightfully so; it looks, and poses great! Highly recommended and one of the best figures in the Iron Man 2 line so far.

Wowza, having picked up the comic series WM I am now desperate to get the movie version. Great review.

Definitely getting the movie version to go with my comic one, though I will definitely leave off the spring-loaded missile and just use the launcher as a BFC.

In fact, that's really my only knock against it - well, at least until I have him in hand. I will refrain from rating him until then.

I'm definitely getting 2 of these its one of the figures Ive been looking forward to the most!

oh and if there's the issue of the guns being loose on the ball socket hinges I know a couple ways to tighten them up...once I have mine Ill see it I have the same issue

I think the huge launcher ko's the movie version IMO. I like the comic version for the fact the guns look right. That oversized launcher is really distracting. I think if they had offered another gun to sub for it the figure would be great. It's just good with that flaw. On the plus side it is removeable but you still have that big arsed peg there. I am avoiding the movie fig, I got the Comic one and I absoultly love it. Its enough IMO.

First of all thanks to Shin Densetsu for another great review.

I actually was lucky enough to find this figure today (already own the comic version as well).

I think I may have found that this figure has a variant! There are apparently two versions of movie War Machine - blue eye and red eye! Check the pics below out... I bought both. Both were labeled as figure #12.

DAMN!! I was planning on getting two to begin with but variants now I absolutely must!! maybe a double of each

I just picked up the mark 1 and 2 and Hypervelocity armors, so now I only need the deepdive armor to complete wave 1 of the basics...cant wait for the figures full release.

Deep Dive is actually decent, I wasn't expecting to like it but I do. Same with Iron Monger.

I would say that wave 2 is better, but it isn't; the Suitcase armor/Mark V didn't turn out as good as I thought it would. Movie series War Machine and Mark VI are the big draws in that wave. Movie War Machine is great and definitely one of the best figures in the line so far.

yeah Ive seen 2 deepdive armors in the past 2 weeks but the paint had some defects..I'm kinda a perfectionist when it comes to that and tight joints so I'm being patient since the official release is this coming week. and Ill get it then. I agree that these figures are really surprising like iron monger their really well designed and the joints are excellent great posing and really tight...

I cant wait for the warmachines gonna get both color variants and the recently revealed unmasked one which the head sculpt is dead on and especially for that normal missile pod lol might swap it on the regular figures if its possible lol

there is a way to tighten the ball socket joint that they attach with Ive used it on other figures that had loose joints or older ones that over the years got loose you can use an apoxy like locktight (this is the glue that I always use its super strong and very durable) and it makes a tighter hold in the socket here's a link to a repair tutorial that explains what I mean...

I have used this on transformers and other figures works great!!

Fixes for Transformers Animated Figures!

Ah MAN! Thanks for the review Shin!!!! I'm heading to the closest TRU today, everyone cross their fingers that I find this, or anything else!!!

I just can't avoid my desire to buy this line any longer.

You're welcome! If you guys can't find movie series War Machine at TRU, Target, et al, check Kmart. It's $8.99 there but Kmart was the only store that I saw wave 2 at. War Machine is the highlight of the wave. Other standouts include the Mark VI's.

so far Ive only seen the toys at Toys R US I gotta say Ive given up on K Marts the ones by me never get anything new it lol I might check it out by chance since its right next to my target lol

Might as well man! They have been a good spot to get new stuff lately, be it Transformers or Iron Man. Towards the end of last year, I was able to score the wave 5 Rise of Cobra figures before I found them anywhere else(specifically Resolute City Strike Snake Eyes).

Looks Mighty good! Hitting stores Monday (the official release day) and ima try to scope him out! I havent gotten ANY IM2 figures yet (sadly) but im excited to give these a try ~ is this a good one to start with??

I picked up the Iron Man Mk. I from the comic series. I almost got the Mk. II from the movie line but I'll save it for next trip. No War Machines whatsoever, neither comic nor movie. It's okay. I really wanted the Mk. I anyway and these will be in full force soon.

Oddly enough I went to second Kmart and they had them in Case boxes (Comic series & Movie Series) but they told me they couldn't sell them to me until Monday, March 1rst. I went back to the Kmart I bought the comic series at to see if they restocked and wallah, there was the movie series on the racks. I picked up the entire lot plus extra of each type of War machine so I could swap heads and have a version 1.5 or whatever. I love the "Suitcase" armor Silver Centurion. It is my favorite so far and oddly enough is the spitting image of the red Venom vs. Valor cyber ninjas (the Night Creepers) that came with the Hiss Tank a few years back. Having recently picked up the Extremis armor Iron Man from the MU series I did a side by side and quite honestly, for as much as I was looking forward to the Extremis armor the Iron Man line kicks it's @ss all over the court. I would like to shake the hands of the Iron Man II Hasbro line team (and kick the XMO: Wolverine line team in the nads, cuz IM2 is THE WAY movie lines NEED to be done).