Power Rangers 

#27

The last two movies I saw have benefitted greatly from a heavy nostalgia factor. I thought that Beauty and the Beast‘s best quality was reminding you of what you liked about the animated version (see my review if you want more detail on that). Power Rangers used nostalgia, but then built on what the original series and movies were plotwise … somewhat. From what I recall, the Power Rangers reboot got a jumpstart after the gritty short by Adi Shankar … which I would highly recommend (spoilers for what will be my last section). You can see the influence of that in the actual movie even though its not quite that gritty.

I would give it 7 “magical superhero coins” out of 10.

FOR THE UNINITIATED 

Power Rangers started back in the early 90’s for their American audience and I was surprised to find out it was still running. There have been 24 seasons, 20 variants, and 3 movies (counting the current release). This movie opens in the time of the dinosaurs with Zordon ( Brian Cranston) the Red Ranger collecting the coins from his team of fallen rangers before being confronted by Rita the traitorous Green Ranger (Elizabeth Banks). Luckily Zordon calls for his ship / meteor to kill them both, and also manages to hide the coins until those who are worthy come along to defeat Rita. Cue to the dinosaurs being killed off and Rita conveniently going into meteor coma? Don’t worry, Zordon and Rita both survive the extinction level event ultimately …

65 million years later we meet 5 unassuming troubled teens in detention. The neo-Breakfast Club  are a diverse cast playing even more diverse characters, most notably the lgbt ranger and the ranger on the spectrum.  The writers did an amazing job of writing those 2 characters as real representations, without making that their only story line.

The kids end up stumbling on some fossilized coins that eventually turn them into superheros. They then find a spaceship where Alpha 5 (Bill Hader) and Zordon’s ghost informs them they must kill Rita before she resurrects Goldar and gets the Zeo crystal.

THE BEST

The tone that Power Rangers managed to maintain was fantastic. They made it nostalgic for the people who grew up with the series, “kid friendly” enough for mature kids, and smart enough to not take itself seriously. It carries enough charm to have teachable moments that you can talk to your kids about without finding an awkward starting point. The cheese factor gets to the edge of the line several times but never goes all in, even if Rita Repulsa and Krispy Kreme want to since there is some seriousness that brings it back down. All of that without even mentioning that my audience went crazy when it’s “Morphing Time” or when “Go Go Power Rangers” started playing after everyone got their Zords.

Most movies that want to appeal to everyone end up appealing to no one either because they cannot decide or the tone of the movie flip flops too much. Power Rangers is a good example of a movie that parents, kids, and ask of those in between can watch together and have fun doing so!

THE WORST

The worst part is that we don’t get to see the Power Rangers in action for very long. The team doesn’t learn to morph until probably the last 45 minutes. At which point they briefly fight the puddies, before getting their Zords, and befote they transform into the MegaZord.

Obviously the movie is setting up for several sequels (up to 5 from what I heard last), but they should have included more fighting! As fun as this movie was and that it captured the essence of the Power Rangers while bringing it to a slightly older audience, they seemingly forgot to include most of the action. Now we have to wait and hope this movie makes enough money or gets enough praise to warrant a sequel or two.

OVERALL

Even though we don’t get a lot of the actual Power Rangers, it ends up being a solid young adult (?) movie. The cast is all solid, especially since the main actors / actresses are basically no names for now. I went in with high expectations while secretly expecting it to not be great … but surprisingly  it met my original expectations! I would definitely encourage seeing this one in theatres if you are even slightly interested.

RECOMMENDATIONS

As mentioned previously, my recommendation is slightly different than usual. It is not a feature length movie,  but instead the short reboot by Adi Shankar. It envisions the potential future of the Rangers and stars James Van Der Beek and Katee Sackhoff. It takes the ideas from the franchise and puts a much more R rated spin on things,  I would highly encourage you to watch it if you haven’t already.

But since that is a short, why not throw some more short Power Ranger fun into the mix? See below for the links to a Superhero Beatdown pitting the Green Ranger against Ryu and also the White Ranger vs Scorpion.