Power Rangers

It's really difficult to explain how Power Rangers became a sensation in the nineties. I mean if you tried to tell executives that a repurposed Japanese Super Sentai property featuring cheesy as all get out production values with an American cast inserted in the non-uniformed/non-monster battle sequences, I think you'd be laughed out of the room. And yet, it was a smash hit. Maybe it was the novelty of teenage heroes becoming martial arts world savers, maybe it was just so different that it made an impression, or maybe it was insanely cheap to make. Regardless the series has continued on in some fashion through shows, video games, and even comic books until this day. And with nostalgia for the nineties at an all time high it seemed like a perfect time for Saban to cash in with a big budget movie.

Our story takes place in Angel Grove, a dying town where five disparate teens have been sent to detention for an assortment of offenses. However, the teens world is upended when they stumble across Power Coins and are tasked with becoming the Power Rangers, a fighting force destined to protect the Earth from Rita, a former Ranger hellbent on finding a mystical artifact known as the Zeo Crystal. Though enthusiastic about their newfound abilities, the would-be Rangers quickly discover it will take more than fighting prowess to unlock their potential.

So as a fan of the original series, I watched Power Rangers for two big things: watching teens do martial arts against hordes of bad guys and giant robot vs. monster battles. As far as I was concerned the actual story of each episode was an afterthought. As such, my viewing experience for the Power Rangers movie was defined by impatience.

The reason I was impatient is the film's approach to the material which decides it wants to riff on Breakfast Club-like themes of self-acceptance and finding friends in unexpected places for the majority of the film's run time. To give you an approximate time breakdown, we get about three-quarters through the Power Rangers movie before the actual Power Rangers show up. It's a novel approach, especially to a movie essentially made for kids and their nostalgic parents, but it does seem to reject the appeal of the original series.

In terms of said character work, it's a bit of a mixed bag. The basic character choices are generally applause worthy. The team is still a diverse collection of people including the matter of fact portrayal of someone on Autism spectrum (Billy) and an LGBTQ character (Trini), and the issue of color coordinating by race is altered in a way that's both funny and era-appropriate. Sadly these most interesting characters are mostly sidelined for our boring di-facto leader Jason and Kimberly whose reason for being in detention is so out of place dark that I had to look it up and verify that I got it right. It seems well-intentioned but it's a bit telling that the standard archetypes played by white actors get the majority of the film's focus.

That dark tone is all over this movie, which is magnified by the absence of notable comic relief character. Since every single one of the main characters is either down-trodden, guilty, or has some element of tragedy, the moments of levity are in sharp contrast to their apparent day to day existence.

Thus, when Elizabeth Banks' high camp Rita comes in it feels like someone warped her in from a different movie. It's a fun turn, and captures the feel of the original character but it's so cartoonish that it can't help but feel like an outlier in this not so silly movie.

I also found it weird that the film's ultimate character payoff is less about teamwork than it is about accepting your faults and moving on. It's not a bad message but when your giant robot requires teamwork to function...it feels like a missed opportunity.

I know this sounds predominantly negative but the movie itself isn't awful. The performances are generally good, though Bryan Cranston feels a bit lifeless, and the film's themes and goals are agreeable. Likewise, the action beats are enjoyable and play out like the series frequently did. Smash some putties, bring out the zords, and let's take out Goldar.

In the end your enjoyment of this movie will depend on your expectations and how much you vibe with the film's tone. It's generally inoffensive, but also not memorable enough to recommend.