First things first – Power Rangers (2017) is not a good movie in the traditional sense. In fact, kind of the opposite. With somewhat lopsided character development alongside dialogue that often leaves something to be desired, the only award this movie is likely to win is “Effective Use of Elizabeth Banks” (which I’m surprised has not been implemented into the Hollywood award canon at this point). That being said, I did enjoy this sugar-coated reboot of the cheesy-but-lovable franchise. For those not familiar with the series, all you really need to know is that it was every early-90s kid’s superhero fantasy. The show’s combination of angsty teens, nonsensical lore, and ludicrous supernatural abilities can arguably be one of the reasons as to why superhero and superpower themes have been dominating box offices in the past decade or so – Power Rangers (2017) invokes that nostalgia while providing audiences with a two-hour escapist romp that is 70% icing and 30% cake. Make no mistake – the icing tastes better.
Within the first ten minutes of the film, we are acquainted with Jason (Dacre Montgomery), the troubled teen with a heart of gold. He is placed on the protagonist pedestal and thrust into his role as de facto leader of a gang of misfits that must band together under unlikely circumstances to work toward a cause that is bigger than the individual lives they seem to lead. I use the word “seem” lightly here; we are never really quite clear about what makes each of these teens tick beyond surface level, which is strange given that they are all really keen on the idea of giving up their lives for an alien force they know very little about. This might work for a Saturday-morning kids’ show, but not for a feature film. After some introductions to Jason, Kimberly (Naomi Scott), and Billy (RJ Cyler), a rushed subplot brings the three together whilst tacking on two new members of the Breakfast Club – Zack (Ludi Lin) and Trini (Becky G.).
Power Rangers (2017) invokes that nostalgia while providing audiences with a two-hour escapist romp that is 70% icing and 30% cake. Make no mistake – the icing tastes better
The five quickly (and I do mean quickly) find themselves in the middle of an ancient war – of which the audiences are given little-to-no information other than “THE CRYSTAL MUST BE PROTECTED!”. Enter the team’s robot sidekick Alpha 5 (Bill Hader), and let the evil-thwarting training montage begin. Fans of the original will remember that the show’s fight scenes relied heavily on excessive dance-like karate moves that the fighters delivered with gusto and cheesy one-liners, but these campy moments are absent. A small loss, and one I can live without. We are also introduced to the lovable Zords, the teams’ pseudo-sentient dinosaur robot companions. Little-to-no backstory is given to these machines in the context of the film, but they play an integral role in the film’s final moments. The zords are no mold-breaking CGI feats, resembling Michael Bay Transformers robots that don’t quite have that final polish on them – good, but not great. In addition, both the Zords and the Rangers’ power suits have been given washed out color treatments that I can only imagine were meant to portray a more industrial and gritty tone, as opposed to the franchise’s bright pastels of yore. Despite these changes, it’s at this point where I squealed with glee, but understandably the plot continues to tremble.
As an old-school fan of the franchise, my nostalgia-blinders were probably getting in the way of seeing these infusions of action for what they were – poorly constructed excuses (other than the clichéd “destruction of the earth” trope) as to why we should care about this cause as it relates to our gang of Goonies and their motivations. Prior to this point, the film spends relatively little time delving into the emotional histories of the Rangers, so while I was obviously rooting for their success, I was also left questioning why the creators chose to incorporate the sliver of character development that we did get until after a point where I truly wanted to know. At a later point in the film, we are delivered a hackneyed scene in which the gang force-feeds emotions unto each other, serving as a plot device for unlocking a certain facet of their abilities. Zack and Trini are the characters that have the most compelling stories, and that’s only because it involves something other than “hormone-fueled teenager with nothing else to complain about.” In the aforementioned scene, Trini alludes to the fact that she is struggling with her sexuality and that it has adversely affected her home life. While I’m glad that the writers chose to include this small chunk of mainstream media acknowledgement of the LGBTQ community, I wish they had given the same humanizing depth to some of the other attempts at character growth, which are often heavy-handed and lukewarm.
..Banks delivers us unto evil, and I love it.
Let’s talk about Rita Repulsa. She is introduced to us in the movie’s prologue alongside Zordon (Bryan Cranston) and serves as an excellent foil to the Rangers themselves – a little too excellent, as I found that I was caring more about her than I was about the gangly teens. Elizabeth Banks brings phenomenal acting prowess to the role while blending poignant character nods to the original Rita (MAKE MY MONSTERS GROW!) and her own delightfully destructive spin on the character. As the central villain, Banks gifts the audience with the movie’s most entertaining driving force, and I would argue that without her stellar performance, the film would have fallen flat. Between her demands for Krispy Kreme donuts (Product placement spoilers!) and her sinfully witty snark, Banks delivers us unto evil, and I love it.
It is in the last 20 minutes or so of the movie that things are kicked into high gear. We are given a solid dose of Japanese tokusatsu cinematography that made over-the-top fight scenes in the original so satisfying. The final sequence begins with the guitar-synth rock jingle that is eternally lodged in the head of every Power Ranger fan (Go, Go Power Rangers!), and as the pacing picks up, we enter the CGI-induced fray with our heroes as they battle against Rita and her giant monster of molten gold. The pacing of the battle is just right and surprisingly refreshing, in comparison to the global disaster-thons that serve as the climax to many contemporary superhero movies. Yes, these kids are trying to save the planet, but the battle is essentially a hometown turf war where the only egregious set pieces are the warriors themselves – and this absolutely works.
The pacing of the battle is just right and surprisingly refreshing, in comparison to the global disaster-thons that serve as the climax to many contemporary superhero movies.
As today’s audiences are inundated with superhero reboots, this one does a surprisingly decent job at breaking from the formula where it needs to in order to be recognized, while remaining accessible through old references and familiar tropes. Whether you’re a parent taking your child and their friends to a night out at the movies, or a 20-something who grew up on the franchise clamoring to see it with their buddies, Power Rangers (2017) has a little bit for everyone. If nothing else, see it for Elizabeth Banks. She’s that good.
