Written by: John Gatins
Starring: Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G, Ludi Lin, David Denman
Rating: [3/5]
In life, sometimes you just need to admit your biases and exactly where nostalgia bites you even if as a reviewer I criticize other films leaning far too much into it. Personally, The Power Rangers served as a staple in my young television-watching life with all of the cheesiness and bad acting that came with it. In the attempt of bringing them to the big screen in earnest, this film tries to bring quite a serious tone, which makes for a serviceable film even if it loses the inherent silliness these characters represent.
Each struggling in life for their respective reasons, five teenagers find themselves at a mine where they attain supernatural abilities and hear from Zordon (Bryan Cranston) as they have the opportunity to step in as protectors of planet Earth as Power Rangers. While not gelling in the way they should to get their all-important suits, they must contend with the revival of an ancient foe Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks).
Watching just a single Power Rangers episode will immediately clue you in on what type of seriousness typically gets applied to these stories. Usually involving five teenagers who morph into these costumes and kick some monster butt. Something so incredibly simple but managed to have such a hold over me as a child, which inevitably left me morbidly intrigued in their attempts to not only build a franchise around these characters but specifically in the tone taken within the feature. It certainly makes sense, particularly in 2017 when this film saw its release the filmmakers wanted to take these characters down such a serious path. Very much fits with the trend of the time of taking stories and making them feel much more grounded, but it ultimately operates as a disservice to this story as a whole as the act of taking much of this story seriously reveals the silliness of this entire concept.
When taking a sillier tone, explaining the use of these crystals and somehow the original power rangers existed during the time of the dinosaurs where they caused the meteor to strike Earth becomes quite difficult No one can take any of this seriously leaving this grounded approach to leave me scratching my head at the execution. This decision then proves confusing because everything Elizabeth Banks does as Rita Repulsa falls right in line with the zaniness of a Power Rangers movie but then she has to take on these very serious teenagers as all she wants to do is destroy a Krispy Kreme or two. As a fan of Dunkin Donuts, I agree with her approach.
With all that said, we get the tone we do and need to take what the film provides and on the positive side, this feature builds a strong rapport among the teenagers in this feature to pick up the mantle of the Power Rangers. They each have their defining traits in what makes them unique along with the inherent tension they eventually have with one another making this a learning experience for them all. Their cohesion ultimately powers on this film leading up to when they need to morph into their suits and take on everything Rita Repulsa has to combat them. The build-up to getting into their suits really hammers home the honor existent in getting the opportunity to morph, which makes the moment where they finally earn it quite cathartic. It does not come as easy as holding out your arms and yelling a dinosaur’s name even if that’s rad in its own way.
Finally morphing into their suits, this film provides a unique look into what these teenagers will use to combat these monsters, which certainly represents a different approach. Wearing bulkier and warlike armor to go out and fight differs from the sillier costumes utilized in the television series very much in keeping with the overall tone of the feature. Begone the tight suits with some flexibility and hello clunky armor.
Not quite making the impact they wish they could, Power Rangers brings this franchise back onto the big screen and delivers a fairly serviceable movie. While struggling due to the tonal choice making it fairly inconsistent when the villain enters the fray, the winning group of teenagers we follow in this feature make it all worth it. They prove to be characters worth following in what they represent in the story and the way they manage to work together to earn the privilege of wearing the suit in order to defend planet Earth.
Films with Josh 