Power Rangers

The Power Rangers franchise has been around since 1993 and has been entertaining families for over 20 years. The typical format for the show is creating a story by combining footage from the Japanese counterpart Super Sentai with American footage that portrays superheroes wearing spandex battling evil on the ground and in giant robots. The best way to describe my childhood nostalgia to someone who didn't grow up with it is to quote the Dark Knight Rises: "You merely adopted the show, I was born into it". Personal favorite seasons of the franchise include Lightspeed Rescue, Time Force, SPD,  and RPM. The foundations of the show lie with the traits of Might Morphin era that has charmed audiences with cheesy corny charm and goofy zany antics. It was such a hit that in its earlier years two movies were launched. However, after the franchises most recent seasons (excluding Dino Charge) have failed its fanbase, trailers have recently appeared for a reboot that sparked interest in bringing fans both old and new (20 years after Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie). It presented a new opportunity for the franchise to start from the ground up while also trying new things to impress the crowds. Since the franchise was best enjoyed along those Saturday morning cartoons, I've decided to use with that format...

Previously on the Power Rangers Movies: A franchise known for its campiness is given a higher budget and opportunity to impress the fans they had at the time with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie and Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie. Did they deliver the goods? They had terrible CGI, rangers that are romanticized stereotypes, excessive back springs for no reason, a lot of whip sound effects, goofy stories, lackluster villains, one of these movies is non-canon while the other was made to introduce the new season (Turbo), and one of the rangers that was recruited was a 12 year old kid?!?! Aye yi yi yi! Quick Zordon and Saban! Create a morphing sequence that will activate once the fanbase has died down after disappointments and will create reboot to spark interest as well as sell new toys!!!

In The Present: It looks like it's morphing time in the form of a reboot we didn't know if we needed. I heard good reviews about this from my sources and entered the theater ready to see how much fun this will provide. Can it satisfy audiences experienced and novice to the franchise as well as be a competent film? I left the theater feeling very happy about the enjoyable experience as well as hopeful for the potential sequels this new reboot film series can provide if it makes enough money.

Note: For those of you interested in learning about the Power Rangers franchise in terms of the behind the scenes for each season, a comic book reviewer Linkara did a separate show called History of Power Ranger where he discusses each season in terms of plot, character analysis, and production details. It's a fascinating to hear about certain seasons that aired during the period Disney had owned the rights as well as the recent seasons.

Plot: The story follows five teenagers with actual attitude who end up coming into contact with relics from the past that propels them into learning how to become Power Rangers to combat an evil entity with malicious intent. What makes this a breathe of fresh air is that while the plot is predictable, it's treated more as a character movie rather than some popcorn action fluff piece, similar to Logan (which came out earlier this month. Coincidence?). There's a serious tone when it comes to these five misfits dealing with their own issues and learning how to work with each other as a team. There's a larger focus on character building rather than action sequences to help build on the payoff for the inevitable showdown. But since this is Power Rangers, the story doesn't shy away from all the cheesy campiness audiences have come to expect from the franchise and it's very fun to watch. The movie is so self aware of that to the point of making some jokes at other franchises in there (including jab at a certain Michael Bay franchise). There are plenty of references to get fans filled with nostalgic fun. Another thing to add to the cheesy silliness is that there's a product placement that's one of the funniest and goofiest advertisements ever...of all time and it's actually part of the plot! Overall the plot Power Rangers is a predictable but a refreshing breathe of fresh air with a character focused structure balanced greatly with serious and cheesy tones.

Characters: The characters to focus on are Jason (Dacre Montgomery), Billy (RJ Cyler), Zack (Ludi Lin), Kimberly (Naomi Scott), Trini (Becky G), and Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks). One thing to keep in mind for the Ranger characters is that not all of them given much development. Jason, the Red Ranger, is a former football star whose antics get him into serious trouble. Dacre does a great job of portraying a high school student who proves he's more than some football stereotype as he shows his good intentions while gaining necessary leadership experience to lead his Power Rangers team for their upcoming battle. Billy, the Blue Ranger, is a well meaning teenager on the autism spectrum and is very good with technology. RJ is an excellent standout for his great performance as showing a kind autistic student struggling to make friends with a good sense of humor and heart to keep the team together. Zack, the Black Ranger, is an adrenaline junkie with some personal issues that motivate him to do better. Ludi also does a great job with his entertaining personality, even though his character isn't focused on that much. Kimberly, the Pink Ranger, is a former popular student whose struggling to move forward after making a regretful choice. Naomi does a good job in her role showing a high school student trying to figure out their identity after becoming an outcast from their clique. Trini, the Yellow Ranger, is high school student who wrestles with self acceptance issues and is a loner as a result. Becky does a good job portraying that archetype, despite not being given much material to work with. One great thing to note about the ranger team is that those actors share a great chemistry in how well they can work off of each other, especially the bond between Jason and Billy. The movie is also smart to enough to incorporate each of the core five rangers at some plot points to make sure no one is left out (before the battle). Rita is an evil villain who has battled Power Rangers in the past and has resurfaced to regain her power to further her own malicious goals. Elizabeth does a great job going very over the top while providing some scary moments and plenty of silly cheesy moments you would come to expect from a villain in the franchise. The best way to describe her is to think back to Glenn Close's performance as Cruella De Vil in 101 Dalmatians and how much fun she's having going very over-the-top. Honorable mentions go to Zordon (Bryan Cranston) and Alpha 5 (Bill Hader) for their great performances in helping build up the team, provide a fair amount of nostalgia, and some interesting details shown about the former. Overall Power Rangers has a great cast that provide enough energy and attitude to help the audience care about them as the story moves forward.

Overall Consensus: Power Rangers does a great job in rebooting the movie franchise with a great cast of characters, a balance of grit with cheesy silliness, and not only honoring the source material but also setting the stage for what's to come. ⭑⭑⭑1/2 🍿

Reasons to watch it: You like the Power Rangers franchise. You like any of the aforementioned actors. You like superhero movies that are focused on characters instead of the action. You want to see a different structure for the franchise. You have a little experience to the series and are interested on a unique take on the characters. You want to see the mid credits scene. You want to see how it honors the source material and look for the easter eggs. You want to have nostalgic feels while watching the movie. You want to see the climatic battle that will escalate to using the Words. You want to see how serious and cheesy the movie can get.

Reasons to avoid it: You don't like Power Rangers. You don't like any of the aforementioned actors. You don't like superhero movies.

Coming up next: March Mayhem has finally concluded. The entries I was looking forward to the most (Logan and Kong: Skull Island) delivered more than what I had expected. As for the movies I was nervous about (Beauty and the Beast and Power Rangers), the former was enjoyable but the flaws bothered me while the latter gave me more things to care about than I thought I would. In terms of the entries for next month, the movie rush will slow down from here on out. I will be starting April with the latest live action anime adaptation, Ghost in the Shell!