Blog

By Sandra Olmsted

In the twenty years since the last Power Rangers movie hit the big screens, the little fans have grown up and probably want to share their love of these iconic characters with their children. Unfortunately, director Dean Israelite’s version may not be the Power Rangers film to introduce to a new generation of five-year-olds to these heroes because teen angst takes a front seat to the Rangers’ heroism. In this iteration, the story of these new Rangers and the old ones is re-conceived with an intergalactic connection.

Eons ago, Zordon (Bryan Cranston) and his team of humanoid extraterrestrial Rangers defended the Earth from the power-hungry, alien-invader Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks). Then a meteor strikes, and Zordon’s loyal robot Alpha 5 (Bill Hader) preserves Zordon consciousness in his, and his now deceased team’s spaceship’s computer system. Millions of years later, a group of outcast teens will uncover the magic gold coins that will enable them to develop the same superpowers of the original Power Rangers.

Nerdy whizkid Billy (RJ Cyler), who’s hoping to complete his late father’s energy project, and former football star Jason (Dacre Montgomery), who is under house arrest after a prank went wrong, form an unlikely bond. In their shared projects, they get some help from other marginalized teens: local bad boy Zack (Ludi Lin), fallen cheerleader Kimberly (Naomi Scott), and gay-questioning Trini (Becky G), who is one of the first LGBTQ superhero characters.

When Billy’s energy project unearths the magic coins the five teens begin to change and learn to use their powers. They develop focus only when Rita Repulsa awakens from her confinement in the depths of the ocean and shows up in the teens’ rural California town intent on destroying it, her old enemies — the original Rangers, and soon the new Rangers, too.

Although Cranston’s pompousness, Bank’s less-campy version of the franchise’s typical villain, Hader’s somewhat cliche, optimistic robot, and Cyler’s excellent conflicted teen are solid performances, the special effects are the big stars of this film. The many seamlessly incorporated effects, such as the Rangers’ suits and the battle scenes, are worth the price of admission. The characters of the Power Rangers are given greater range and development than those in the original series because of their greater emotional and social struggles; however, these are exactly why sharing this film with younger children might be problematic.

The live action and its exceptional special effects and the toning down of the campiness may make the film too realistic for some younger children. The film also runs a lengthy 124 minutes and is rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence, action and destruction, language, and for some crude humor.

For teens and tweens, the film will provide the thrills and angst that appeal to this demographic, so if parents want to share the Power Rangers with their older kids, it seems this is the version.

   I lament that those parents, who I remember wearing their Power Rangers costumes everyday years ago, as they may not be able to share this film with their five-old children. However, for younger children, one can rent the originals, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (1997) and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, (1995).

In theaters now, Power Rangers (2017) is the first Lionsgate release of the iconic superheroes since Saban Entertainment moved the franchise from 20th Century Fox to Lionsgate, and probably not the last installment given the possibilities set up in this movie.

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us