Power Rangers – Old School Concepts Meet 2017

 

A group of misfit teens turn from ordinary to extraordinary when they discover a power hidden in the depths of their small town, Angel Grove. That power will be needed to save their town and the world from an alien threat.  Can they learn to work together and become what the world needs them to be in time?

           Take a little bit of the Breakfast Club, a little bit of Power Rangers (from the 90’s) and a little bit of Chronicle and you have the makings of this new Power Rangers movie.  I admit I was a big low key fan of the show growing up. I was at that age where it appealed to me but it felt like it shouldn’t so I was never outwardly supportive. I was such a fan that I can confidently say the best season of the series wasn’t until the In Space. And Time Force was pretty good too! There, I said it! That’s probably the first time I’ve admitted it to the world, as a 31-year-old.

           Eventually I grew out of watching the show (like I grew out of playing with Barbies), but the quality dropped a bit too and every year they would replace the cast and have a new version of the show. I couldn’t tell you the latest one if my life depended on it.  However, with the growing popularity of Comic Cons allowing the original shows and cast to remain relevant and not fade into obscurity,  along with the never-ending trend to reboot​ old and popular franchises, it should come as no surprise that this series was a perfect candidate to get a new film. Not to mention, the show reboots itself practically every season. If anybody should know a thing or two about that it’s the creators of this series.

I met Jason David Frank (former green, white, red, and black ranger) at New York Comic Con ‘16. I also met Johnny Young Bosch (former black and green ranger) with Eyeshine at Katsucon ‘08, but I can’t find the picture at the moment. Both guys are super awesome and great with fans. Johnny is also a popular anime voice actor, so some actors have found success after the show.

           I didn’t mind the changes in race, relationship dynamics, or even iconic character traits from the original. I didn’t mind that it was still cheesy with a 2017 twist, adding just a little more edge (where people die or need to ”kill” as opposed to “destroy”), and a little more profanity. I did mind some missed opportunities though. I would have like to have seen better fighting sequences. In the original show I liked when the cast could display their athleticism and take on the bad guys while being unmorphed. You had gymnasts and legitimate martial artists that could pull this off with much success. I also thought that they didn’t spend enough as actual power rangers. Their Zords also left much to be desired and was underwhelming for me.  In this day and age of cinematic Transformers, you have to step up your game. I even think they gave a nod to those films in this movie if my memory serves me right.  

           But it’s not the worst start if they’re going to do this thing. In general the characters are likable and I think Brian Cranston as Zordon was great.  I do think the actresses for Kimberly and Trini favor each other a lot. There were times I was trying to figure out which one was on screen.   

           All in all, I think this could have more success as a film franchise than the original was able to achieve. There are some cameos that will excite some old school fans.  It makes me wonder if we’ll be in for more during the sequels. There is definitely significant room for improvement, though I admit I’m willing to give it a chance.  Nostalgia can be a powerful thing!

Rating: 2.5/5

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