Okay, Maybe Not Ten Thousand Years
But you’ve got to admit that it seems like a rebooted or reimagined Power Rangers film has taken its sweet time to get to the big screen. I was a junior in high school when the first Power Rangers series hit televisions in the United States. Although I was on the older end of the spectrum, I was (and still am) a pretty big fan of those original mighty morphin’ teenagers with attitude. My favorite ranger was the Blue Ranger, Billy Cranston (David Yost). He was intelligent, nerdy, and while not the best fighter, still better than those Putties. I also had a major crush on the Pink Ranger, Kimberly Hart (Amy Jo Johnson). Heck, I still have a crush on Amy Jo Johnson! Who doesn’t?
Over the years I’ve managed to watch at least a few episodes of every incarnation of the Rangers. Once I had children of my own, I really started to watch the show again. My daughter became a fan during the Power Rangers S.P.D. years and my son was first introduced to them through Power Rangers Samurai. Both of them have watched the original series and my son continues to religiously watch the Rangers in their current Ninja Steel incarnation.
When the feature film was first announced, both of my kids showed interest in seeing it in theaters. I planned to see it as well. As luck would have it, though, my weekends were booked solid. I did manage to find one open Sunday afternoon and I asked both of my kids if they wanted to see the movie. By then, however, their interest in the film had seemingly waned. I was also slowly losing interest in the film, mainly because the more I saw of it promoted in the media, the weaker my faith grew. It just didn’t look that appealing to me.
A few months go by and the film is released on Blu-Ray. Weeks before its release, my son started to remind me that the film would soon be available to own. His birthday was also coming up, which might have been why he was consistently reminding me of the release date. Eventually I bought the film and sat down with the kids to watch it. I was prepared to be disappointed by the film. Boy, was I wrong!
!!Mild Spoilers Ahead!!
I really liked the movie. Sure, they changed a few things here and there and it definitely wasn’t perfect, but it was a very enjoyable film. Briefly, the plot centers on the origin of the Rangers in the film, starting with how Rita was defeated by Zordon’s Rangers (there’s a bigger story here, but I won’t go into it), and how the current Rangers come to be just in time to face off with a freshly revived Rita Repulsa. Rita is gathering up gold in order to raise her faithful sidekick (and my favorite as well), Goldar. As Rita prepares to conquer the planet, the Rangers train to become powerful warriors ready to take her on.
The cast was solid. Dacre Montgomery (Red Ranger), Naomi Scott (Pink Ranger), and Ludi Lin (Black Ranger) all gave exceptional performances. All three of these characters developed in a believable fashion as the film moved along. R.J. Cyler’s portrayal of the Blue Ranger was perhaps the best in the film. Billy Cranston was portrayed as an intelligent and gentle teen who desperately wanted to belong to any group. He was also autistic. I had quite a few emotional moments watching Cyler on the screen. Bryan Cranston as Zordon was sufficient. Elizabeth Banks was gleefully over the top as Rita Repulsa and she was also the biggest surprise in the film. I was sure that she would fall flat as the legendary villain, but she did an excellent job.
There was really only one weak link in the cast, and that was Becky G as the Yellow Ranger. She didn’t gel that well with the rest of the cast in my opinion. Yes, her character was built up as the outsider, but even the most unlikable outsider will usually grow on the audience by the end of the film. Becky G’s Trini was just flat. I know that a lot of people made a big deal about the character’s sexual orientation, but even that doesn’t add or take away from how dull the character is in the film. Here’s hoping that if a sequel is made, Becky’s performance will be better, or the character will be fleshed out enough so that we get to know more about her.
Alpha 5 was somewhat annoying as well, but he was annoying in the original series, so I guess that I really can’t gripe about that! Many people also seemed to be put off by the design of both the Megazord and Goldar in the film. I actually liked the Megazord design. Goldar wasn’t that terrible to look at, but I would have preferred to have that cute and fluffy face of his from the old TV show!
Ultimately the film was pretty good. Could it have been better? Absolutely, but even with its imperfections it still managed to hold my attention and the attention of my children. I’ve watched it multiple times already and am hoping that a sequel will eventually be made. As of this writing, Lionsgate is still determining on whether or not to move forward with a sequel. Solid home video and tie-in merchandise sales have been solid, though, and hopefully that will be enough to make a sequel a reality.
Oh, be sure to keep an eye out for a couple of really cool cameos during the climax of the film. You won’t be disappointed! Stick around during the credits for a mid-credit tease of who might be showing up in the sequel if it happens also!
As always, thanks for reading. Did the film do your favorite classic Ranger justice? Feel free to drop me a comment about this film or about this post. Let me know if you enjoyed the movie as much as I did.
If you happen to know Amy Jo Johnson, tell her that I’m no longer available. Once she dries her tears, though, tell her that I’d love to get an autographed photo from her or even a phone call!!! Here’s a photo of me with the original Green Ranger, Jason David Frank. I’d love to add Amy Jo to my collection.
