Transformers Review: Jazz (HFTD Human Alliance)

Intro:

             Yo Cybertronians, we’re back with another review. This time, we will be reviewing the Human Alliance Jazz. As you may have known, this particular character and figure is the same Jazz as that of the 2007 Movie. I am kinda glad that they actually reissued this figure again under the Hunt for the Decepticons line, since I have missed all of the previous opportunities to get this figure, i.e. both the Deluxe-class and the Human Alliance version.

            Alas now, I have been presented with the last chance saloon to get this figure, which I am more than happy to take ‘em, thank you very much. 

 

            So here’s the lowdown of the figure. 

 

Alternate Mode:

 

            Jazz transforms into an Alternator-sized Pontiac Solstice, which looks kinda cool. He looks exactly like his movie depiction of him, as far as I could remember. at glance, I could imagine this particular car being painted in the same theme and decals of the G1 Jazz, and he would still passed off as G1 Jazz – I think someone did customized that way. Anyway, the car mode looks cool.

 

            The bottom part looks neat and kibbles are generally well hidden. However, this mode does have one major drawback – the clearance between the bottom of the car and the flat surface you put him on is very, very minimal, and thus at times, prevents the figure from rolling smoothly. 

 

            Both doors open up to reveal a somewhat less-than-detailed interior. The dashboard and steering wheel are there, but the car seats are missing!!! Jazz’s alternate mode supposedly has the robot mode’s feet trying to pass off as the seats, which they don’t. I just wished that HasTak could have done better with that part of the car. 

            Still, having said all that, Captain Lennox can fit better into Jazz’s car mode compared to Tech Sergeant’s Epps with Sideswipe. 

Robot Mode:

 

 

            Well, since this is the only other Human Alliance figure apart from Sideswipe, it’s only natural that I tend to compare features between the two. As I have mentioned in my earlier review of Sideswipe, he tends to be a little back-heavy, which fortunately is not the case with Jazz. Jazz looks very slick and very mechanical-ish. I like how he’s just so simple to stand – a major plus point over Sideswipe. 

 

            Jazz also tends to have more playability as compared to Sideswipe, thanks to his gimmicks, which will be further explained in the gimmick section. Still, even on his own, Jazz clearly wins compared to Sideswipe. The head sculpt comes with Jazz’s trademarked visor, which can also be pulled up to reveal his face – a feature that wasn’t really necessary, but a nice touch nonetheless. 

 

            Most of Jazz’s joints tend to be very tight, and plus with his well-designed articulations, he is very pose-able. His head rotates 360°. The shoulders are on universal joints that allows full range of motions. The elbows both rotate and bend. The wrists rotate too.

            The hips have full range of motions, and the knees bend. One other thing about the knees is that they do have a slight inward motion, but mainly due to its transformations. The legs pieces also rotate slight below the knees and finally, the ankles do not have any movement at all.

            His rather well-proportioned feet also provide the necessary stability that enable various pose-ability.

            Very cool robot mode.

 

Gimmicks:

            Since this is a Human Alliance set, Jazz comes with a human companion, in the form of our good ol’ Captain Lennox. Captain Lennox has exactly the same pose-ability as Tech Sergeant Epps. Apart from being able to mount Jazz’s cockpit in car mode, he can also be mounted on Jazz’s shoulders, which looks kinda lame really. He can also be mounted on either one of Jazz’s feet, which looks kinda weird for me.

 

 

 

            Still, Captain Lennox is not the only, or even the best accessory that comes with this set. That honor goes to the motorcycle, which is very slick and sweet in design. It kinda resembles the bike that Captain Lennox rode in the first movie when he successfully destroyed Blackout. Best of all, you can even have Lennox mounted on it, and reenact the scene from D-Day!!!

            Awesome!

 

            That’s not all; the bike also doubles-up as a transformable shielded blaster, which kinda reminds me of the popular Targetmaster sub-line from the late 80’s. Even in weapon’s mode, you can mount Captain Lennox on him, which I have no idea why you would ever wanna do that. Still, that is an option and it kinda adds to the playability of the figure. 

 

Overall:

            Jazz is definitely worth its price, and it has loads of playability value to it. It’s sad that such a cool character was killed off in the first movie. While that may be the case, it hasn’t stopped Hasbro/ Takara-Tomy from re-releasing the character-related figures in subsequent lines.

Highly Recommended.

            Final verdict: 9/10.