Film Review: Power Rangers
Another Reboot with a generous budget and as if by magic the Power Rangers are back! For better or worse…
Plot:
In a reboot of the classic TV series, five teenagers unwittingly find themselves tasked with defending the universe when they inadvertently unlock the powers of a spaceship buried beneath the earth for thirty-five million years.
Review:
In the last few years, reboots have become a regular fixture in our cinematic experiences. With a lack of fresh ideas and a disconcerting trend of throwing good money after bad, the phenomenon is clearly here to stay whether we like it or not. The latest entry into the reboot fraternity is Power Rangers, a reimagining of the 90’s cult television series that went on to excite an entire generation. The franchise was popular with kids of all ages and went on to make the transition to the big screen with a successful 1995 motion picture but, like all popular franchises it’s momentum finally subsided and it faded into the background of television irrelevance.
22 years later, and Lionsgate are dusting off the Power Rangers costumes and dropping the Mighty Morphin moniker for a big budget re-imagining of the classic series. The principle of the Ranger mythology has been maintained with the supreme alien defender Zordon (Bryan Cranston) protecting the earth from all manner of evil doers. However, being restrained inside a holographic wall has made him reliant upon a group of exterior warriors known as the Power Rangers to defend the earth.
The movie itself boasts a darker tone than the original TV series which grounds it in a realistic sense and goes the extra mile to ensure it is politically correct by casting every racial demographic as the Rangers themselves. In fact, the movie does everything possible to appease everybody, but in doing so has neglected the most important part of watching a movie…the fun! The five teenagers are as expected, both morose and temperamental with each boasting a childhood dilemma that has affected them on a deep and personal level. But, with all of them coming across as pouty children, we scarcely get the time required for us to be truly invested in their plight or even their long-term noble cause. In fact, the relationships between the characters and the audience are wholly laborious with the studio expecting us to simply support them just because they are the Power Rangers!
Even worse, however, is the all new sinister and utterly ridiculous version of the villain Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks), who is clearly the most convenient antagonist of all time. Miraculously, she is unearthed to wreak havoc on the world once again just as the rangers-to-be discover their power coins and begin their journey to become super heroes. Her purpose is to destroy the world because…you know…that’s what villains do and she intends to rebuild a giant robot that can apparently slay all life on earth.
Even worse is the arduous test of endurance we are forced to go through before the teenage heroes can even become rangers. For the better part of 90 minutes, we are dragged down a rabbit hole of teenage melodrama that culminates in a mega montage of training videos with the team failing to morph into their all-important suits. The reason…because the rangers-to-be aren’t being honest with each other! When they finally accept one another for their failings, the eventual morph is far from noteworthy and finds the Power Rangers unable to vanquish even a handful of rock minions without their robotic Transformer style Zords.
With a burst of the original Power Rangers theme, we are thrust into the finale, which again is laced with convenience and empty sentiment steering us toward the singular life lesson of trusting in one another. If that wasn’t enough, the final combination of their Zords into the customary Megazord robot is unexplained and left to random chance which only compounds the villain’s puerile conclusion.
In short, the Power Rangers movie stands as an empty affair that has failed to improve upon the formula of what made the series a tent pole of nineties television popularity. Lionsgate has followed the disconcerting trend of darkening their comic book property (for no valid reason), while also failing to enhance the storyline beyond the narrative of its predecessor. Therefore, the multi-million-dollar movie is neither a great film nor a bad film…it is just there. If it’s intention is to redefine the Power Rangers super hero mythology, then it fails miserably. The score, by legendary composer Brian Tyler, is far from memorable and is lost amongst the noise of the movie, which is only enhanced when the original Power Rangers theme plays to accompany the eventual morph. But even this nostalgic melody is unable to trigger any real excitement and therefore, the film is devoid of anything super or heroic.
Being only a casual fan of the series, I had no preconceptions of what to expect from the Power Rangers movie but upon leaving the cinema I cannot honestly confess to having enjoyed the lukewarm experience and it is certainly not the foundation in which to build a six-movie franchise upon. There are far greater films available to enjoy, but if you are inclined to sit through a Power Rangers movie track down the 1995 original for a fun adventure ride, even if it is a little gimmicky!
Overall Score 5/10
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