Metriacanthosaurus I wasn't familiar with this one. Jurassic World Roarivores Item No.: Asst. FMM23 No. FMM28 Manufacturer: Mattel Includes: Tail (plugs in) Action Feature: Jointed arms, legs, and jaw. Roars with button press. Retail: $19.99 Availability: April 2018 Other: Articulated
PREVIOUS	RSS	NEXT

I love dinosaurs, but I haven't kept up on discoveries much since that interest was more or less beaten out of me at a young age. (Thank goodness for toys.) Mattel's Metriacanthosaurus is 13-inches long snout-to-tail, and is hunched over to menace small dinosaurs and human figures. It's a decent size, with really good skin texture and decent paint. Unlike the smaller ladies, the toe claws are painted, the back has some patterns on it, and it looks sharp. Also sharp, the painted white teeth with pink mouth and tongue. It's an old-style dinosaur recreation, lacking in the imagination of David Silva's bird-inspired coloring but still a charming movie monster dinosaur. You and your kids will dig it, dinosaur pedants will likely not.

The figure has a loud scream and an articulated jaw. Just push the button, and she'll yell and bite. The bite didn't seem strong enough to pick up an action figure, so it's not exactly great for thrashing - but it is fun. It gives the toy a fierce personality, which you can alter using the articulated limbs.

The full range of motion on the legs was a nice surprise, but the ball-jointed arms are curious. You can have them point out to the sides, but "why" is a question I'd pose. It's nice to have the option, but the legs more or less lock in place once they find the "sweet spot." The arms can flail any way you wish, which goes a long way to making the toy more comical than menacing depending on how you choose to play with it. I don't know that the articulation really helps it be more fun, outside the jaw and button mechanism. The figure can stand more upright or crouch down more, but those arms are pretty useless. I guess it's a nice option to have here, but they don't really serve any purpose in balance or play. But hey, they move - the tail doesn't.

A problem is time, once again, proves to be a danger to the toy's stability. Its feet are a little rubbery - which, for the first few days, is no big deal. After a week or more, the rubber bends a bit and the figure will topple over unless supported by some sort of stand or pole that you add. On display, it will knock down your other figures over time. If it's warm, it's definitely going to happen - if kept in an icebox, it might not be as much of a problem.

Considering most dinosaur toys before the mid- to late-1980s were generally unarticulated affairs, the advent of Dino-Riders and Definitely Dinosaurs and Jurassic Park were huge leaps over the non-articulated "models" we still get to this day. They're all neat for different reasons, but the action figure format affords kids a lot of options - and supposedly all of these appear in the movies or games this time around. I love what they did in terms of the quality, the wrinkles, the warts. The face is charming, and since I have no real basis for comparison of how it should look it may be authentic. It just looks neat, and it's a dinosaur of which I have no other toys. I like it. I wouldn't go as far to call it essential or a must-have for all, but this entire line has been more than a bit of a treat so I'd nudge you to buying yourself one. Just be aware it's going to fall over eventually.

Additional Images

Click here to see more Mattel figures in Figure of the Day.

See more Jurassic Park and Jurassic World figures in Figure of the Day:
Day 11: Hasbro Jurassic Park III Dr. Alan Grant
Day 138: Kenner Jurassic Park Chaos Effect Compstegnathus Action Figure
Day 172: Kenner Jurassic Park The Lost World Chasmosaurus Action Figure
Day 346: Kenner Jurassic Park Ian Malcolm Action Figure
Day 366: Kenner Jurassic Park Ellie Sattler Action Figure
Day 372: Hasbro Jurassic Park G.I. Joe Heavy Gunner Action Figure
Day 533: Kenner Jurassic Park Chaos Effect Amargospinus
Day 620: Hasbro Jurassic Park Pachyrhinosaurus Clash Action Figure Set
Day 651: Hasbro Jurassic Park Allosaurus Assault Action Figure Set
Day 851: Hasbro Jurassic Park Paul Kirby Action Figure
Day 1,180: Hasbro Jurassic World Tyrannosaurus Rex Action Figure
Day 1,180: Kenner Jurassic Park Alan Grant Action Figure
Day 1,196: Hasbro Jurassic World 3 Dinos Action Figure
Day 1,198: Kenner Jurassic Park Tim Murphy Action Figure
Day 1,202: Hasbro Jurassic World Spinosaurus Action Figure
Day 1,212: Kenner Jurassic Park Chaos Effect Ian Malcolm Action Figure
Day 1,216: Hasbro Jurassic World Ankylosaurus Action Figure
Day 1,219: Hasbro Jurassic World Stegoceratops Action Figure
Day 1,228: Hasbro Jurassic World Tyrannosaurus Rex Action Figure
Day 1,425: Hasbro Jurassic World Hybrid Velociraptor Action Figure
Day 1,455: Hasbro Jurassic World Bashers & Biters Indominus Rex Action Figure
Day 1,462: Hasbro Jurassic World Hybrid Tyrannosaurus Rex Action Figure
Day 1,472: Hasbro Jurassic World Pachycephalosaurus Action Figure
Day 1,509: Hasbro Jurassic World Hybrid Armor Indominus Rex Action Figure
Day 1,526: Hasbro Jurassic World Owen "Alpha" and Velociraptor "Blue" Action Figure
Day 1,528: Hasbro Jurassic World Hybrid Armor Ankylosaurus Action Figure
Day 1,540: Hasbro Jurassic World Hybrid Dilophosaurus Rex Action Figure
Day 1,550: Hasbro Jurassic World Hybrid Carnoraptor Action Figure
Day 1,560: Hasbro Jurassic World Hybrid Rampage Indominus Rex Action Figure
Day 1,567: Hasbro Jurassic World Hybrid Stegoceratops Action Figure
Day 1,573: Hasbro Jurassic World Hybrid Pteramimus Action Figure
Day 1,712: Hasbro Jurassic World Hybrid Spinosaurus Action Figure
Day 1,721: Hasbro Jurassic World Hybrid Dilophosaurus Action Figure
Day 1,918: Mattel Jurassic World Mini Action Dino Ankylosaurus Action Figure
Day 1,938: Funko Pop! Movies Jurassic Park Dr. Ian Malcolm (Wounded) Pop! Vinyl Figure
Day 1,943: Mattel Jurassic World Velociraptor "Blue" Action Figure
Day 1,950: Mattel Jurassic World Super Colossal Tyrannosaurus Rex Action Figure
Day 1,954: Mattel Jurassic World Dilophosaurus Action Figure
Day 1,959: Mattel Jurassic World Battle Damage Triceratops Action Figure
Day 1,963: Mattel Jurassic World Extreme Chompin' Tyrannosaurus Rex Action Figures
Day 1,965: Mattel Jurassic World Battle Damage Velociraptor "Blue" Action Figure
Day 1,967: Mattel Jurassic World Robert Muldoon Action Figure
Day 1,972: Mattel Jurassic World Gallimimus Action Figure
Day 1,981: Mattel Jurassic World Metriacanthosaurus Action Figure
Day 1,984: Funko Pop! Movies Jurassic Park Dr. Ian Malcolm Pop! Vinyl Figure
Day 1,989: Mattel Jurassic World Tyrannosaurus Rex, Stygimoloch "Stiggy," and Triceratops Action Figures
Day 1,994: Mattel Jurassic World Battle Damage Pachycephalosaurus Action Figure
Day 1,999: Mattel Jurassic World Owen & Baby "Blue" Action Figure
Day 2,003: Mattel Jurassic World Gift Set 6-Pack Action Figures
Day 2,053: Mattel Jurassic World Legacy Dr. Ian Malcolm Action Figure
Day 2,098: Mattel Jurassic World Dino Rivals Destroy 'N Devour Indominus Rex Action Figure
Day 2,103: Fisher-Price Imaginext Jurassic World Dr. Malcolm & Dimetrodon Action Figures
Day 2,111: Mattel Jurassic World Dino Rivals Mussaurus Action Figure
Day 2,511: Mattel Jurassic World Dominion Roar Strikers Iguanodon Action Figure
Day 2,558: Mattel Jurassic World Dino Trackers Danger Pack Nothosaurus Action Figure
Day 2,578: Mattel Jurassic World Mosasaurus Action Figure
Day 2,602: Mattel Jurassic World Dino Trackers Danger Pack Dakosaurus Action Figure
Day 2,602: Mattel Jurassic World Dino Trackers Danger Pack Dakosaurus Action Figure
Day 2,669: Mattel Jurassic World Dino Trackers Danger Pack Plesiosaurus Action Figure
Day 2,683: Mattel Jurassic World Legacy Collection Dr. Sarah Harding & Stegosaurus Action Figures