Review: Power Rangers (2017)
With almost every piece of classic media getting a shiny new reboot for the younger generation, the Power Rangers were sure to make their new age appearance at one point or another.
The original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers debuted in the 90s, the live action superhero show catapulting into popular culture with a line of action figures not far behind. The basic storyline of each series follows a team of youths trained to morph into their coloured armour wearing alter-egos – basically gaining enhanced strength, speed, stamina etc. They also gain the use of Zords – giant dinosaur-looking assault machines – to destroy their enemies. This being said, it’s a bit of a worry when the film starts out as your generic American teenager flick, with the star quarterback lashing out and the whiny ‘no one understands me’ attitude. Fortunately, it evolves from the orthodox fairly quickly as the storyline progresses from average car chases to mysterious discoveries.
Though the film was seemingly created to introduce and entice the new generation to the rangers, the target audience is clearly their 90s generation counterpart as well, the storyline including classic references and winks to the original series. Down to the names of the characters and a cameo from the original red and pink ranger, the movie stays incredibly spot on to the original details, clearly only spiffing up the visuals with some fancy CGI and present day references. The classic lines and theme tune come across a bit cheesy when introduced, but are clearly necessary for nostalgic reasons, and fortunately not overplayed in the slightest.
While the five main power rangers are diverse and each bring something unique to the film, they are outweighed heavily by Elizabeth Banks, who continuously steals scenes as the villainous Rita Repulsa. Her character is as grotesque as she is beautiful, ruthless in the hunt for gold to construct her beloved Goldar, a giant winged creature that oozes like molten lava. Comedian Bill Hader adds comedic relief to Bank’s intense scenes through the supportive robot Alpha 5, and Bryan Cranston lends advice and guidance on defeating Repulsa through Zordon, the preceding red ranger who is now a floating head stuck in the wall of a spaceship.
It seems odd that the film should get about three quarters of the way through before ever even revealing the classic armour of the team, but this becomes one of the storyline’s biggest accomplishments. The restraint to hold back until the perfect moment creates a bigger impact than trading lack of story development, as jumping straight into the suits for the sake of audience expectation would have been a massive plunder. Power Rangers is a modern take on the original series, that updates the main story just enough to make it relevant to present day.
4/5
Watch the trailer here:
