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Plot Summary: A group of high-school kids, who are infused with unique superpowers, harness their abilities in order to save the world.

Director: Dean Israelite

Writers: John Gatins (screenplay), Matt Sazama (story by)

Runtime: 2h 4min

Main Cast:

• Dacre Montgomery as Jason (Red Ranger)
• Naomi Scott as Kimberly (Pink Ranger)
• RJ Cyler as Billy (Blue Ranger)
• Ludi Lin as Zack (Black Ranger)
• Becky G. as Trini (Yellow Ranger)
• Elizabeth Banks as Rita Repulsa
• Bryan Cranston as Zordon
• Bill Hader as Alpha 5 (voice)

Review: by Erika T

A group of misfit teens turn from ordinary to extraordinary when they discover a power hidden in the depths of their small town, Angel Grove. That power will be needed to save their town and the world from an alien threat.  Can they learn to work together and become what the world needs them to be in time?

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Take a little bit of the Breakfast Club, a little bit of Power Rangers (from the 90s) and a little bit of Chronicle and you have the makings of this new Power Rangers movie.

I admit I was a big low key fan of the show growing up. I was at that age where it appealed to me but it felt like it shouldn’t so I was never outwardly supportive. I was such a fan that I can confidently say the best season of the series wasn’t until the In Space. And Time Force was pretty good too! There, I said it! That’s probably the first time I’ve admitted it to the world, as a 31-year-old.

Eventually, I grew out of watching the show (like I grew out of playing with Barbies), but the quality dropped quite a bit too and every year they would replace the cast and have a new version of the show. I couldn’t tell you the latest one if my life depended on it.

However, with the growing popularity of Comic Cons allowing the original shows and cast to remain relevant and not fade into obscurity,  along with the never-ending trend to reboot old and popular franchises it should come as no surprise that this series was a perfect candidate to get a new film. Not to mention, the show reboots itself practically every season. If anybody should know a thing or two about that it’s the creators of this series.

I met Jason David Frank (former green, white, red, and black ranger) at New York Comic Con ‘16. I also met Johnny Young Bosch (former black and green ranger) with Eyeshine at Katsucon ‘08. Both guys are super awesome and great with fans. Johnny is also a popular anime voice actor.

I didn’t mind the changes in race, relationship dynamics, or even iconic character traits from the original. I didn’t mind that it was still cheesy with a 2017 twist, adding just a little more edge (where people die or need to ”kill” as opposed to “destroy”), and a little more profanity. I did mind some missed opportunities though. I would have like to have seen better fighting sequences. In the original show I liked when the cast could display their athleticism and take on the bad guys unmorphed. You had gymnasts and legitimate martial artists that could pull this off with much success. I also thought that they didn’t spend enough time morphed. And then their Zords in the day and age of cinematic Transformers left much to be desired. I even think they gave a nod to those films in this movie if my memory serves me right.  That part was just a bit underwhelming for me.  

But it’s not the worse start if they’re going to do this thing. In general the characters are likeable and I think Brian Cranston as Zordon gave that character the upgrade he deserved.  I do think the actresses for Kimberly and Trini favor each other a lot. There were times I was trying to figure out which one was on screen.  

You can find more of Erika’s work at Fandom Fatales!

Images Courtesy of IMDB