Power Rangers - Seen It (open spoilers after OP)

Cafe Society
1

Just got back from an opening night showing. I knew I was going to be seeing it from the minute I heard it was being made - I was 10 when Mighty Morphin’ debuted, and this movie is pretty much 100% pure nostalgia bait for my generation. I was a little wary going in given that it’s gotten mixed reviews at advance screenings, but I have to say - it was everything I hoped it would be.

There’s enough callbacks to the original that you can tell the writers and director appreciate the source material, but it definitely takes itself a lot more seriously than the TV series. The characters are much more fleshed out and developed, from the Rangers themselves to Zordon and Rita. Things that were arbitrary in the TV series - like why the Zords look like dinosaurs, or why Rita is obsessed with Angel Grove (which in this version appears to be somewhere in the Pacific Northwest) are given an explanation. Instead of just being told they’re Power Rangers, the story gives the characters time to want to be Power Rangers and to be worthy of the title.

The action doesn’t kick in until about three-quarters of the way through the movie, but once it does it’s glorious. It has the feel of the original but with much better production values and the CGI is spectacular. The scene where the Dinozords are running towards Angel Grove in the classic pose from the series and the “GO GO POWER RANGERS” theme hits that really brought out the kid in me and made me grin and start applauding.

No need to stay until the end of the credits, but there is a mid-credits scene that sets up a sequel hook I think most fans will be enthusiastic about. It’s certainly got me ready for the next chapter.

I don’t think anyone will ever accuse this of being a Great Film, but it was a lot of fun. If you enjoyed Power Rangers as a kid, you’ll enjoy this version. If you’ve got kids who are into Power Rangers today, they’ll probably enjoy it too, but be warned it is PG-13; there’s some light swearing and adult humor, the violence is definitely more intense and real than anything in the TV series, people die, and there’s a minor subplot involving revenge porn (nothing explicit is shown on screen, though).

Definitely worth two hours and $12, IMO.

2

Also the Command Center was buried underground instead of being a huge building out in open desert. Wasn’t there supposed to be a reference to Lord Zedd too? Unless I missed it the closest thing was Rita saying that likes the sound of “lady”; if/when he shows up in the sequel is she still going to end up “Lady Zedd” given the shift in tone from the series.

3

I had seen some stuff in pre-release material saying that Rita was out to get the Zeo Crystal for Lord Zedd, so maybe that was cut from the final release. I figure they’re probably saving him for the third film, since the second is likely going to be an adaptation of the “Green With Evil” storyline.