Power Rangers (2017)

Movie Info

Mighty not Morphin Power Rangers…

Zordon (Bryan Cranston) died defending the Earth after his Power Ranger ally Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks) turned on him.  Now, a new team of Power Rangers must form when Rita is reborn.  Jason Scott (Dacre Montgomery) threw his promising life as a football player away on a school prank gone wrong and finds himself thrown together with Billy Cranston (Jason Lee Scott), Kimberly Hart (Naomi Scott), Trini Kwan (Becky G), and Zack Taylor (Ludi Lin) as members of Zordon’s new team.  Under the tutiliage of Alpha 5 (Bill Hader), Jason must lead his new “frenemies” to become a team and summon the strength of the Power Rangers…because Rita’s plans could mean the death of Earth.

Directed by Dean Israelite, Power Rangers is an action-adventure fantasy movie.  The film (sometimes called Saban’s Power Rangers) is a big-screen adaptation of the popular television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers which premiered in 1993.  The film was released to average review and underperformed at the box office.

What chu talkin’ bout, Rangers?

I was too old for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers so I don’t have much nostalgia for them.  I decided to check out the movie despite this.  While the movie wasn’t awful, there was also nothing special about the film.

The movie is essentially a reboot with the characters being introduced, gaining understanding their abilities, and becoming the superhero ninjas.  For someone who didn’t really watch the series much, it is just watching a standard action movie with a predictable plotline and ending with characters with odd names that don’t fit the style of the movie.  The attempt to make a real action film from Power Rangers kind of defeats the interesting aspect of the original show that was part action, part comedy, and part giant monsters fighting.  The origin aspect also causes the “fun” of series to take too long to develop in the movie.

Finally…costumes

The young cast has gone on to do more roles.  Dacre Montgomery is rather generic as Jason who gets the most screentime but has gained fame as Billy from Stranger Things.  Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G, and Ludi Lin also do feel like cartoon versions of real characters…they just need more development that they can’t have in a film.  Bill Hader provides the voice of the much better looking Alpha 5 and Elizabeth Banks just doesn’t have the crazy that Machiko Soga brought to the original character.  Bryan Cranston returns to his roots in the film with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers being one of his earlier roles.

Sorry, Elizabeth…you aren’t crazy enough (and you need a high pitched dubbed voice)

The movie changes the visuals of the TV series which were largely Japanese kaiju style shooting.  The big monsters were just men in suits and the series was filmed with snap-zooms and extreme sound and visual effects.  Here, the film is standard fare, and that hurts the movie since that at least made the series unique.

Power Rangers probably won’t anger older viewers nor will it gain new viewers.  It just feels like another tedious average blockbuster style movie (that didn’t do the blockbuster business that it hoped).  With a lackluster result, the idea of a sequel to this movie were shelved…but I’m sure the Power Rangers will continue to fight on in some form or another.  Go! Go! Power Rangers!!!

Related Links:

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers:  The Movie (1995)