Power Rangers(2017) Review

     I was a big fan of the Power Rangers TV shows as a little kid and even remember being the Red Ranger one year for Halloween. Despite that, I really didn’t care about this new movie. It didn’t seem like something dying to get a big-screen adaptation. 

     I had low expectations for Power Rangers. I was afraid you couldn’t make a compelling story out of it. That being said, I found myself pleasantly surprised by some things. It wasn't great movie but I still enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. Getting into the cast, two of the rangers give great performances. Dacre Montgomery as the Red Ranger suites his part well and RJ Cyler as the Blue Ranger is maybe the best part of the entire movie. His character is this jittery, socially awkward guy and it could have easily felt over the top and silly. It turned out to be very believable. To my surprise, Bryan Cranston and Bill Hader as Zordon and Alpha 5 worked in the film. They weren’t standouts but they fit the more serious tone and style that the film was going for. They could have come off as completely ridiculous and luckily they didn’t. I think director, Dean Israelite, deserves a lot of credit for successfully integrating those elements because it isn’t an easy thing to make the Power Rangers feel at least somewhat grounded. The suit design was also in line with the tone of the movie. It an updated, modern look to it while still being easily recognizable. There were definitely a lot of enjoyable parts such as the training montages of the rangers discovering their powers. I liked those parts a lot more than I expected.

     Unfortunately, as the movie keeps going, it slowly gets worse and worse. By the end, I wasn’t screaming for more. There’s definitely a noticeable decline as the story progresses. Eventually, I found myself unable to take it seriously because the stakes they set up are so high but the whole concept and set up is outrageous. The dialogue makes it even worse. There’s a lot of cheesy lines and moments were it tries to be emotional without feeling like it was properly set up. There are scenes where nothing that is said is believable or has any impact. All the negatives of Power Rangers come together in the final climax of the movie and definitely make it the weakest part of the film. It gets to be way too over the top and I didn’t care about anything I was watching. The action wasn’t anything spectacular and it felt like the director decided in the last half hour to embrace the campiness of the original show. They try to integrate the main theme and famous lines like “it’s morphin time” but it feels forced and out of place. Again, only half of the cast gives good performances. I thought Naomi Scott as the Pink Ranger was completely serviceable but Ludi Lin as the Black Ranger was miscast and his acting fell flat most of the time. Becky G as the Yellow Ranger didn’t give a bad performance but felt like an ancillary character. I found myself forgetting that she was part of the team.

     I think if you loved the TV show and remember a lot about it, you’ll have fun with Power Rangers. For me, I enjoyed it more than I thought. At the same time, I don’t find myself getting excited for any more films and I don't think I’ll ever have the urger to rewatch it. It’s one of those movies that you see but forget about really soon after. I think a lot of the material is handled well, but unless you’re a huge fan, I wouldn’t rush out to see it. 5.5/10