“After careful consideration, I have decided not to endorse your park.”
If Dr. Ian Malcolm was the rock star in the original Jurassic Park film, Dr. Alan Grant was the record producer that kept a level head when the band (or, in this case, the park) lost its way. Dr. Grant was always aware of the dangers in Jurassic Park, but he was also confident that he could save Lex, Tim, an pretty much everybody else that he was responsible for in the film. He was an excellent character played to perfection by the wonderful Sam Neill.
When Mattel first started releasing figures in its Amber Collection way back in 2019, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on an Alan Grant figure. Sadly, scalpers scooped up most of the human figures in this collection before regular collectors could nab them, and I had to wait until late 2023 before I could get my hands on a reasonably priced Alan Grant figure. Well, I finally got one and have managed to find a little time to review it.
Dr. Grant features over twenty points of articulation. He comes with three accessories: a second set of hands in which one is holding his ancient velociraptor claw, a second head with detachable sunshades, and the same flare that is included with the Ian Malcolm figure in the same line. The main head on the figure features a molded hat that cannot be removed but it does have slots to attach the glasses onto the head if you so choose. In all honesty, I’m not a fan of the glasses. They are clunky and don’t look good on either noggin. The spare left hand fits loosely in the wrist socket as well. It’s so loose on my figure that he can’t properly hold up the flare. I do love the velociraptor claw hand, however, as that moment was one of my favorites in the film.
The details on the body of the figure are very good. Grant’s watch and belt have tons of detail as do his pants and shirt. Grant’s bandana is tucked inside the collar of his shirt but looks nice. My only complaint is with the head sculpt, especially the second head with the glasses. The head with the hat is a decent sculpt of Sam Neill, but the second head looks downright creepy. I think that it’s the teeth that creep me out the most. They just don’t look right.
Despite those few shortcomings that I listed, this is still a very cool figure. It’s definitely worth buying if you’re a fan of Grant or of the original Jurassic Park film. I now have the core trio of the original film and Muldoon as well. I may or may not get John Hammond, Dennis Nedry, and Ray Arnold. I do wish that Mattel would bring back the Amber Collection, if for no other reason but to give us Lex, Tim, and Donald Gennaro action figures that scale with the other figures in the collection. Production on the line ended in 2022, and Mattel gave us the smaller scaled Hammond Collection.
Thanks for checking out my post. My next five action figure reviews will be…..batty!
Ken's Alternate Universe! 