Talk about false advertising being a good thing for once! That is to say, this was definitely NOT what I was expecting from everything I've been seeing. The trailers and posters for producer Haim Saban's new reboot of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers made the film look like a drag to say the least. It looked murky and dreary, trying to be overly droopy and dramatic when that's not what Power Rangers was known for. The classic 90s series about five kids who are recruited to morph into high-tech suits and fight monsters was partially an amusing cheeseball about teenagers dealing with after-school special problems and partially a flashy, high-energy action series, so naturally, it was a gigantic hit with the kids, and naturally, it held a huge nostalgia factor, and therefore, it had to be rebooted. Despite my worries, however, I can safely say that the high energy and amusing charisma of the original show carries over here, as Power Rangers turns out to be a fun, exhilarating, and surprisingly well-developed adaptation of the show.
The story follows five teenagers who, through many strange circumstances, come across a strange rock that reveals to them five crystal coins that give them amazing superabilities such as super strength, invincibility, and the ability to leap long distances. Through further investigation, they all come across a ship where they meet Zordon, an alien who used to lead a team of warriors known as the Power Rangers who protect the Earth from an evil mistress known as Rita. To make matters more complicated, though, Rita also returns to life and starts searching for a giant crystal that, if tampered with, could destroy the Earth as we know it. So, the five have to learn to fight and work together before Rita finds them and the crystal.
Looking at the film from a critical standpoint, the plot is cheesy and makes no sense, the characters are flat and one-dimensional, and the style over substance doesn't add up to much. However, looking at it as a Power Rangers movie, the plot follows the original show to a needle point, the characters are a lot of fun and very relatable, and the style over substance is what makes it kick so much a**. If you go into this expecting some groundbreaking masterpiece of cinema, all I can say is you're better off Netflix-ing The Imitation Game. This is Power Rangers, dude!
There are two things in particular, though, that I felt not only helped make this a better adaptation of the show, but perhaps even surpassed the show itself. The first thing is the kids here. You relate to every single one of them through surprisingly compelling drama alongside, like I said before, vastly more charisma and amusing antics than what was presented in the trailers. The funniest one by far was RC Cyler as Billy; this kid made me laugh just about every time he was on screen! On top of that, though, they all meshed just as well as they did on the show, and the way they come together and decide that they have to get along and work together was a compelling arc.
The second aspect that definitely surpassed the show was Rita. In the show, she was mostly watching things from a distance while her monsters attacked, and she was mostly there just to scream and rant. Here, though, she's way more involved in the action, even having a few hand-to-hand combat scenes herself, and the way she's portrayed is intimidating beyond belief. This is one of the many aspects I expected to hate about this movie, but she was portrayed beautifully.... Err, disgustingly.... She was a great villain.
Honestly, it's hard for me to say that the film has problems, given that the show wasn't exactly five-star material itself. It's not going to turn any heads or earn the franchise any new fans (although definitely bring the kids, because they'll love it), but as far as what these filmmakers were trying to adapt, the new Power Rangers definitely takes new turns where it's needed and stays true to what made the show so enjoyable to begin with. For that reason, I'd say it's worth a shot for any fan of the show.
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