‘Power Rangers’ movie brings old heroes back
April 18, 2017
“Power Rangers” is a fun action movie with the best special effects the franchise has ever seen.
Directed by Dean Israelite, the movie is a reboot of the “Power Rangers” T.V. series. The movie follows the story of Kimberly (Naomi Scott), Jason (Dacre Montgomery), Zack (Ludi Lin), Trini (Becky) and Billy (R.J. Cyler), five teenagers who gain super-human strength after being chosen as the new Power Rangers, protectors of life on earth and keepers of the Zeo Crystal, an ancient artifact that keeps Earth alive.
With their newfound strength and the guidance of Zordon (Bryan Cranston), an old Power Ranger, they must learn to work as a team to face the incoming threat of Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks), an ex-Power Ranger who betrayed her own team and tried to destroy the Earth millions of years ago.
Something Power Rangers fans will certainly enjoy in the newest movie are the special effects.
While the old T.V. series seemed to have poor special effects, the new movie has the CGI effects of a Hollywood feature. The animal robots the Power Rangers ride and the monsters they fight against have never seemed so real before.
Another strength of the movie is the relationship between the Power Rangers. All are teenagers with different backgrounds and family issues. Their problematic family relationships and how these things affect the way they interact with each other are something a lot of people will relate to, and make the characters seem more real.
However, one of the problems is that, while the characters have more depth, they still fall into cliché stereotypes. Billy is the smart guy, Jason is the typical bad boy, Zack is the crazy daredevil, etc., which makes the movie a little predictable at times.
Another problem is that, while the old T.V. series had a low budget, they also had cheesy dialogue and over-the-top fight scenes that gave the show a camp feel that is lacking in this movie. Some people will be glad that Power Rangers have been modernized, but those who enjoyed the old “Power Rangers” for the cheesy action scenes will be disappointed by the movie’s more serious plot.
Furthermore, a lot of time is spent seeing the Power Rangers become Power Rangers rather than seeing them fight bad guys, but this is expected from the first movie in a series.
Most people who grew up with watching “Power Rangers” will enjoy seeing their childhood superheroes on the big screen, and newcomers to the series will have a fun time in this action-packed feature film.