I'm old enough to remember the premiere of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, and the series has not aged well. It was extremely episodic, which I could recognize and comment on even as a pre-teen; the Token Minorities were appreciated but a little on-the-nose; and the show's Camp elements were a YMMV affair. There was nothing like it on TV at the time, but its flaws were still apparent.
Therefore I wasn't excited about this reboot. And, therefore, I was surprised when, upon watching it in a fit of boredom, I found the version of Power Rangers I'd always wanted.
Let's get the bad stuff out of the way: The Ranger costumes are awful, and the Zords are worse. I know that director Dean Israelite was trying to emphasize the alien nature of the Rangers' provenance, and I don't disagree with his decision; I just don't like it either. Similarly, Rita... Look, Elizabeth Banks has a ton of fun Chewing the Scenery, and she's a great villain, but she might as well have played someone else: Rita Repulsa is defined by banter with her Cast Herd of Minions with an F in Evil, both of which were Adapted Out. Even worse, nothing replaced them: Banks is a good enough actor to turn shit into gold, but that's the only reason her performance is compelling. The CGI slug-fest at the end is completely forgettable. And I have to admit that Banks' delivery of the iconic "Make My Monster Grow!!" Catchphrase just missed the mark for me.
So why do I like this adaptation? The Rangers themselves are dynamite.
The "Gritty The New '10s Reboot" is played out by now, but this film nails it. Not only do we have the Five-Token Band we should have had from the start, but the way things are mixed up — the Asian guy as the Black Ranger; the neurodivergent guy as the Blue Ranger — is a lot of fun. The acting is much, much stronger than it needs to be, and it doesn't surprise me that some of these actors are finding success in Hollywood. And their personalities aren't just The Cape; for the first time, "Recruit Teenagers with Attitude" is accurate, and each of them has flaws and disadvantages. It feels reasonable that these alienated, frustrated people would want the escape of their superpowers and would become True Companions. There's a twist near the end that relies on you actually caring about these characters, and it works. That's how good these characters, how strong these performances, are.
I'm sad there won't be a sequel. I wanted to see Tommi Oliver. I wanted to spend more time with (this version of) these characters. This is Jason, Kimberly, Trini, Zach and Billy as they always should have been. And if the coming re-reboot fixes the visual muddle but keeps the focus on Character Development, it's be something to behold.
If only...
I'm old enough to remember the premiere of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, and the series has not aged well. It was extremely episodic, which I could recognize and comment on even as a pre-teen; the Token Minorities were appreciated but a little on-the-nose; and the show's Camp elements were a YMMV affair. There was nothing like it on TV at the time, but its flaws were still apparent.
Therefore I wasn't excited about this reboot. And, therefore, I was surprised when, upon watching it in a fit of boredom, I found the version of Power Rangers I'd always wanted.
Let's get the bad stuff out of the way: The Ranger costumes are awful, and the Zords are worse. I know that director Dean Israelite was trying to emphasize the alien nature of the Rangers' provenance, and I don't disagree with his decision; I just don't like it either. Similarly, Rita... Look, Elizabeth Banks has a ton of fun Chewing the Scenery, and she's a great villain, but she might as well have played someone else: Rita Repulsa is defined by banter with her Cast Herd of Minions with an F in Evil, both of which were Adapted Out. Even worse, nothing replaced them: Banks is a good enough actor to turn shit into gold, but that's the only reason her performance is compelling. The CGI slug-fest at the end is completely forgettable. And I have to admit that Banks' delivery of the iconic "Make My Monster Grow!!" Catchphrase just missed the mark for me.
So why do I like this adaptation? The Rangers themselves are dynamite.
The "Gritty The New '10s Reboot" is played out by now, but this film nails it. Not only do we have the Five-Token Band we should have had from the start, but the way things are mixed up — the Asian guy as the Black Ranger; the neurodivergent guy as the Blue Ranger — is a lot of fun. The acting is much, much stronger than it needs to be, and it doesn't surprise me that some of these actors are finding success in Hollywood. And their personalities aren't just The Cape; for the first time, "Recruit Teenagers with Attitude" is accurate, and each of them has flaws and disadvantages. It feels reasonable that these alienated, frustrated people would want the escape of their superpowers and would become True Companions. There's a twist near the end that relies on you actually caring about these characters, and it works. That's how good these characters, how strong these performances, are.
I'm sad there won't be a sequel. I wanted to see Tommi Oliver. I wanted to spend more time with (this version of) these characters. This is Jason, Kimberly, Trini, Zach and Billy as they always should have been. And if the coming re-reboot fixes the visual muddle but keeps the focus on Character Development, it's be something to behold.