by Ali » Mar 25, '17, 8:07 pm
Power Rangers
There has been a wave of nostalgia recently, taking kids shows from the 80s and pumping up the budget to make a feature film. Some are successful, like Transformers, some are not, like Jem and the Holograms. But none of them are any good. So now, the 80s well has dried up, so we're moving on to the 90s, and no kids property in the 90s was bigger than Power Rangers.
I was a fan of Power Rangers growing up, a huge fan! I had Power Rangers birthday cakes, Halloween costumes, toys, video games, I was that into it. I loved it, and I am not ashamed to say that I loved it. So of course, when I hear that they're doing a big-budget, modern adaptation of Power Rangers, I was like, "Aw, crap!" I saw what the studios did to Transformers, I saw what they did to GI Joe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Jem and the--well, nobody saw Jem and the Holograms, but you get the point! I was like a lot of other fans, dreading a modern ruination of my beloved childhood nostalgia. Did it happen, or was this the one that made a good movie out of things?
Well... it's better than Transformers, at least.
And it is easy to see why it's better than that movie. To put it quite simply, we have characters here. We have five teenagers who are actually given some humanity and personality, and I care about what happens to them! In Transformers, I never cared about Shia LaBeouf, or Megan Fox, or whoever. But I care about Jason. I care about Trini. I care about Kimberly, Zack, and especially Billy! Because they're good actors that are given surprisingly decent material to work with.
So basically, this is kind of an inverse of the show. In the show, the Rangers were total goody-goods, straight-A students that did Karate, Gymnastics, and so many extracurricular activities and volunteer work that I'm surprised they didn't single-handedly end world hunger AND climate change. They were flat stereotypes: the leader, the good girl, the nerd, the black guy, and the other one. What we all as kids liked, were the action scenes. We liked the martial arts fights, and especially the Zord battles! Giant robots fighting giant monsters! Here... we'll get to that.
So we have good characters here, with real depth. Jason is bred to be a football star, who throws it all away. Billy is on the autism spectrum, Zack is a delinquent who has a sick mom, Trini is a lesbian who's parents are not accepting of it, and Kimberly is a cheerleader who basically slut-shamed a fellow cheerleader. So they are not perfect kids. But you feel for them, you care about them, so it works. And Rita Repulsa is a legitimately scary villain, who feels threatening and actually kills people! So the movie is working on a character level.
The problem with this movie is, oddly enough, the action. It isn't that the action is bad, it's just kind of rushed and standard. I wish there were more fights in the suits, more of a focus on the martial arts fights. Instead, we get right to Zords fighting the big monster, which is fine, just not my preference. And the Zord battle is just more destroying the city, which is par for the course in all of these superhero movies, I just wish it wasn't, because it just feels tiring.
Also, let's talk about Krispy Kreme. Krispy Kreme is delicious, isn't it? Everybody loves Krispy Kreme! Power Rangers loves Krispy Kreme! If you're annoyed by how much I'm saying Krispy Kreme, the last half hour of this movie says Krispy Kreme even more! The thing that Rita wants to kill all the humans is buried under a Krispy Kreme! So the Rangers have to get to the Krispy Kreme, protect the Krispy Kreme, defend the Krispy Kreme! But Rita gets to the Krispy Kreme, and ACTUALLY EATS A KRISPY KREME DONUT!
So yeah, blatant product placement, almost to the point of parody. It's ridiculous. And of course, they are sequel-baiting pretty hard. We get a mid-credits scene that teases the arrival of a new student! I just hope for the sequel, there's more of a balance between the action and the characters. And I hope that the characters are just as well developed and well-written.
Final Rating: 7/10. It's good, not great. Characters are well done, emotional moments hit, but the action is lacking. If you're a huge Power Rangers fan, it's a theater watch. If not, its worth a rental.
Also, no Bulk and Skull. Boo.
Krispy Kreme.
Credit to SKS for the new Waluigi World Order!
My movie rating scale:
- AMAZINGLY AWESOME!!!
- Great
- Good
- Enjoyable Crap
- Crap
- I WILL KILL EVERYONE INVOLVED WITH THIS PRODUCTION
Last movie seen -
Inside Out; Rating - Amazingly Awesome