Pathetic is a tad strong, don't you think? Opinions, dude, opinions, some don't mind how these figures look and some do.
No need for the low end/high end clarification, I'm well aware, I simply don't care for how these look, I would rather they left out the articulation in that area and sculpted the torso in a static pose.
As it is, IMO, the separation draws too much attention to themselves and ruins the appearance of the figure.
Besides, I'm not too impressed with the sculpt on the faces, either, Rocky and Apollo look nothing like Sly or Carl and I've seen NECA do a much better job in the likeness department in the past with other human figures.
Bottom line for me, I don't think they did that great of a job even for a $12 NECA figure, if I thought they did I would certainly buy them as Rocky is one of my all time favorite films.
No big deal, can't win em' all.