Having opened in theaters this weekend, The Power Rangers Movie, based on the beloved children’s television show created in 1994 by Saban Entertainment, has already received positive reviews.
The show was originally about five teenagers from Angel Grove: Jason, Kimberly, Zach, Trini and Billy.
They were chosen by Zordon, an ancient alien keeper of the power morphers, to defend earth from the treacherous hands of the evil Rita Repulsa.
The movie cast is led by Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) as Zordon and Elizabeth Banks (Hunger Games) as Rita Repulsa. The director is Dean Israelite, a fairly new director having only directed Project Almanac prior to this movie.
The movie does a great job at satisfying both the Power Rangers fans who have followed the series throughout the 23 seasons it has been on air and the fans who have only seen the first season as a kid.
The production begins with Zordon seconds away from being killed by Repulsa. In his last breath, he took the power morphers and sent them to the five who are worthy to become Power Rangers.
Once the Rangers found the morphers, they first had to come together as a a team to be able to morph. Unbeknownst to the rangers, Repulsa has made her way to earth in search of the Zeo crystal and is building her monster, Goldar, to destroy Angel Grove.
One of the first skepticisms about the movie was regarding how similar it would be to the show. There were also concerns that the production team would change the plot to where it would not resemble the original television adaption.
It is safe to say that the movie has the same putty-fighting, megazord-forming action as its TV counterpart. It does not stray from the same quirkiness that gave the show success years ago.
The special effects were impeccable. They gave a very realistic edge to the Power Rangers, making a statement they were not the same elastic-wearing rangers of old.
One of the interesting aspects of the movie was its diverse cast of characters. Out of the five rangers, only two were white. Billy, the Blue Ranger, has autism and refers to himself in the movie as “on the spectrum.”
The most interesting character is Trini, the Yellow Ranger, who is a lesbian. Becky G, who plays Trini says that being the first openly LGBT+ character is no big deal to her, adding that it should have been something that has already happened.
The movie has the potential to bring out a lot of nostalgia for the long-time fans. The 90-minute movie is rated PG-13 and is a film the whole family will enjoy.
4/4
Photo courtesy of Lionsgate Publicity