Review: LEGO Avatar 75571 Neytiri & Thanator vs. AMP Suit Quaritch

Today we take a quick tour of the content of the LEGO Avatar set 75571 Neytiri & Thanator vs. AMP Suit Quaritch, a small box of 560 pieces which will be available at the retail price of €44.99 from October 1, 2022. As you have known since the announcement of this new range, the first wave of sets is not based on the second part expected in in theaters in December 2022, the five planned boxes are simply there to set the stage with a belated homage to the 2009 film. More sets will follow in 2023 with at least four releases that will logically be based on that year's film.

Yesterday's children who might have been interested in these colorful playsets are now 13 years older and it will therefore be necessary to encourage the youngest to watch the first part of what promises to be an endless saga so that they understand what we're talking about. When the first rumors around a possible LEGO Avatar range began to circulate, all fans were bound to try to imagine how LEGO would get away with offering a coherent interpretation of the Na'vis. For the rest, it's no surprise, LEGO was bound to enjoy reproducing the lush vegetation and colorful creatures of Pandora.

However, we will weigh the creative enthusiasm expected around this new range by noting that everything is a bit on the economy in these boxes whose public prices are distributed between 20 and 150 €. The dose of flowers, foliage and various and varied elements that serve to flesh out the scenes a little is not enough for us to really believe it.

In this box, the "decor" offered is minimalist to say the least and it will be necessary to combine the different sets of this first wave of derivative products or to call on its stock of colored pieces to start obtaining what we could then call a jungle. . It's a bit of a shame, there are some good ideas on the side of the vegetation, in particular thanks to the presence of some phosphorescent parts, and we would necessarily want a little more.

The set in question here features the confrontation between Colonel Miles Quaritch at the controls of his mech and Neytiri who rides a Thanator. Those who remember the scene know that the mech is actually equipped with a machine gun and not just a giant chainsaw like here.

However, we cannot conclude that LEGO was only entitled to a few very preliminary artworks, the film being released in 2009, and it is therefore a deliberate choice to ignore a weapon frankly lethal to replace it with another a priori less worrying for the parents who will buy this box. The mech is stable on its legs, with no knee joints like the Ninjago line mechs stamped 4+, but with ball joints at the level of the thighs and the ankles and it benefits from a relative mobility of the arms with three articulations per member without counting the (three) fingers of each hand.

In the other hand of the mech, we find the machete with which Miles Quaritch completes the Thanator, a creature whose first appearance on the screen in a memorable scene had frightened a whole generation of spectators. The LEGO version of the animal is in my opinion on arrival just passable: it takes up all the morphological attributes of the Thanator seen on the screen but it looks more like a big blue mutant mouse and black than to the menacing creature of the film.

Once again, LEGO has its young children's audience in mind and tries to tone down a bit the bestiary of menacing creatures and the dramatic context of the reproduced scenes. The animal remains truly mobile with its six legs and it can be attached to a plant in the scenery to simulate the attack on Quaritch's mech. The result is a pretty decent little dynamic diorama for fans to eventually display.

As for the minifigs provided, we have to be satisfied here with the two characters who clash in the scene of the film: Miles Quaritch and Neytiri. The angry colonel is rather well done with a nice camouflage effect on the outfit, except for the area that should have been flesh-colored on the character's torso according to the very optimistic and retouched official visual of the figurine.

Regarding the Na'vi Neytiri, opinions will inevitably be very divided: this species which lives on the Pandora moon has a vaguely human appearance but the physique of these creatures is sufficiently different from that of the usual characters who end up in minifig format for LEGO to have to adapt at the cost of some compromises. The result is there, with figurines with long legs, big ears and a detailed but somewhat flat face. LEGO is trying to refine the head of the Na'vis by stretching it, drawing a pointed chin and lengthening the neck and we cannot say that no effort has been made to try to stick to the physique of these creatures.

Some will however find these figurines totally irrelevant while others will consider that they are sufficiently faithful without deviating too much from the usual LEGO codes. Personally, I am not convinced by this interpretation of the Na'vis and LEGO may be missing an opportunity here to highlight its other format of figurines, the mini-dolls. I would not have been shocked by the mixture of these two formats in this context, the threadlike side of the mini-dolls being in my opinion perfectly adapted to the morphology of the Na'vis.

On arrival, this little box offers a little fun with a frank opposition that does not require going back to the checkout. The youngest who will discover the universe of Avatar on the occasion of a viewing of the first part or a cinema session to discover the second will undoubtedly find their account. I will make the effort on my side to get a copy of the mech piloted by Miles Quaritch, I remember having really enjoyed the scenes with these machines and this one will finally do the trick even if it is relatively minimalist.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at September 24, 2022 next at 23:59 p.m. Just post a comment under the article to participate.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.