Power Rangers Movie Review ( Spoilers!) 8 Out Of 10

A complete Power Rangers Movie Review

Power Rangers Review

Power rangers garnered much attention in the news this week, as it geared closer and closer to it’s release date.

The first story stemmed from Trini, the yellow ranger, played by Becky G., for being lesbian. Which was overly exaggerated by media outlets.

The moment in question, that potentially suggests her sexuality, is subtle and left to the viewer to decide.

Then the story of a former red ranger, Ricardo Medina Jr., of Power Rangers: Wild Force fame, plead guilty to manslaughter.

In 2015, Medina stabbed his roommate with a sword during a heated argument.

Prosecution for Medina is scheduled for later this month. The felony could result in a maximum sentence of six years.

On a less controversial note, stories circulated about the blue ranger, Billy, played by RJ Cyler, because he would be autistic.

Overall, the news was positive and well received. It added a new dynamic into the mix, that plays quite well in the film and expands the level of inclusion.

Does Power Rangers stand a chance against the top grossing titan, Beauty and the Beast? Not likely, but it does cater well to millenials and children hooked on Nickelodeon's current rendition, Power Rangers: Ninja Steel.

The Power Rangers film is based on Mighty Morphin Powers Rangers the series. It debuted in the United States in 1993. MMPR was based off of Japan's Super Sentai series.

MMPR was about a group of teenagers, with attitude, who were recruited to fight the forces of evil by an intergalactic being known as Zordon and his robotic partner Alpha Five.

Rita Repulsa, a space witch, routinely attacked the city of Angel Grove with monsters. It was up to these five teenagers to stop Rita's latest exploits by transforming into multicolored superheroes.

The American series recycled super sentai scenes and dubbed over the voices to English.

To the surprise of parents everywhere, power rangers exploded into a household name overnight. It had robotic dinosaurs called Zords, it featured martial arts, silly monsters and outlandish story plots. It was a kids wish come true and a corporations best friend because of its huge toy sales.

Power Rangers the movie serves up a major dose of cheese and nostalgic sentiment that is complimented by a delicate balance of grit and clever one-liners. The film ultimately leads into a chaotic, hard-to-follow fight sequence and ends on an anti-climatic boss battle, that clearly held back on the “wow factor” for franchise expansion purposes.
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The power rangers were well cast. They functioned as a team and the chemistry was there.

To everyone's surprise, the blue ranger takes hold of the movie. He unifies the team and is the core component that breathes life into the film. Without Billy Cranston there would be no Power Rangers.

Aside from being the heart of the film, Cyler respectfully and genuinely provides a unique take on Billy that depicts autism is a positive light.

Of the entire cast, Cyler is probably the best actor, which can be attributed to the multi-dimensional aspect of the character that breaks down the nerd stereotype.

Trini was the worst character. Her motives made very little sense and we never got to know who the character really was.

The red ranger was played by Australian actor, Dacre Montgomery.

Montgomery does his best as Jason, the leader of the team.

Jason lacked in the leadership department, mostly because Zordon was defiant and difficult.

Although, Jason wasn't afraid to speak his mind toward Zordon. Jason defended his team and always knew they were fit for the cause.

It was terrible, that Jason was a troublesome teen. Even worse, he wasn't already trained in martial arts. Instead, he was a football jock. Shameful!

Despite the deep trouble he was in, Jason still had redeeming qualities. The goodness shined through, when he took it upon himself to protect Billy from a bully in detention.

In MMPR, Jason taught Karate and trained several of the rangers. Most notably Zack, who combined his dance moves with karate.

Ludi Lin played the black ranger.

The black ranger can best be described as an adrenaline junkie. Not once, did he dance, but he did jump on the roof of a speeding mini van.

He gave Jason a rough time as leader and his mischeaveous nature led to some hilarious moments in the film.

Naomi Scott, portrayed the pink ranger, Kimberly. She had an extra dollop of attitude.

Of all the power rangers, she did really little to redeem herself for the heinous crime she committed on a fellow student.

Instead of gymnastics, she was a cheerleader. This change was not too farfetched. If anything it only added to her sex appeal.

Admit it, she was your first crush as a child, by way of Amy Jo Johnson

At first, Elizabeth Banks over-acted in her portrayal of Rita Repulsa. On her search for gold, Rita reminded me of extra-deranged Golem.

My favorite thing about Rita the bitch, I meant witch. Is that she gets her own hands dirty.

This adds to her intimidation. Not only that but you never know when or how she will attack. Just ask the yellow ranger.

Talk abou BDSM.

The product placement For Krispy Kreme in the film was ridiculous. It did not blend well into the film and was straight-up explicit.

Krispy Kreme was essentially the McGuffin and the point of origin where the final battle broke out.

Every time there was a camera shot or reference to Krispy Kreme, I was violently jerked back into reality.

As the escalation of battle reeled in, “Power” by Kanye West blared from the speakers, further disrupting the immersive experience.

The Power Rangers had 11 days to train and just like that they were equipped for battle. This made no sense and was never explained.

In the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series, the majority of the group already had some sort of acrobatic or martial arts experience. Furthermore, after morphing into Power Rangers, the power grid endowed the team with a natural affinity for battle and a natural ability to command the Zords.

Is that true for this reboot as well?

How did this newbie group of inexperienced teenagers take down Rita Repulsa so easily. Zordon and the original group were veteran rangers and they still failed.

Bryan Cranston excelled as Zordon, the original red ranger and intergalactic being in the film.

In the original series, Zordon recruits the Power Rangers and guides them through the transformation process. He provides the rangers with knowledge and wisdom to defeat the latest monster attack. For the rangers Zordon was a compassionate, understanding and a caring father figure.

The latest Zordon appears selfish, cold and distant. He has little faith in the team and is reluctant to call them Power Rangers.

Zordon forces the rangers to prove their worth. In a fit of rage, the team seek out Rita for attacking Trini. During the fight Rita murders Billy. It was a hearfelt and devastating moment that hurt more than I thought it would.

When Billy is killed by Rita, Zordon sacrifices his own freedom to revive him. Knowing that the rangers fought Rita and were willing to die to save the planet from the forces of evil, Zordon honored the team as the rightful new power rangers.

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I was not a fan of the new Alpha 5 design. Bill Hader voiced the automaton.

Alpha helped to alleviate the language barrier and culture shock between the rangers and Zordon. He brought Zordon and the Rangers closer together.

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I really enjoyed hearing the original theme song play as the rangers gathered their Zords, for the first time.

The best thing about Go Go Power Rangers was knowing the song had not been altered. It was classic.

The suits look better on screen, which caught me off guard. Over the course of the film my fury for the suits subsided as the new look grew on me.

My favorite part of the entire movie was the opening sequence. It featured Zordon and another alien as the the original power rangers.

The opening scene was reminiscent of the fanmade film that dropped a while back. It was refreshing to see somewhat of an origin subplot for Zordon.

The puddy patrol were lackluster.

Goldar was disappointing. It could be bias talking, but I really wish they made him more like the OG Goldar.

Also it would have been cool to include Scorpina. She was more badass than Goldar.

Overall the film was morphenomenal! Its a nice update that is sure to please its millenial fanbase.

I highly recommend it to anyone who grew up on power rangers.

Many of the original concepts are in place. It doesnt stray too far from the source material.

I dont think the film will have a long lifespan in theaters or even an everlasting impression on non power ranger fans.

Nostalgia is its key component. Nostalgia Will wear thin, unless your a Disney production, and this tactic could very well be its own downfall.