For all my fellow 90s kids out there, a blast from the past has returned this year, only this time, to the big screen. On Friday March 24th, Saban's Power Rangers premiered in theaters and brought us back to the first set of rangers we were ever introduced to. The movie takes the characters from the 1990s TV series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and brings a new twist to them.
When I went to see the movie, I didn’t know exactly what to expect; I knew that based on the movie trailer I saw numerous times since September that this was bound to be a little bit different from the TV series, but I didn’t know just how different the characters would be. After seeing it though, I can say that I am more than pleased with what I saw and my expectations were not only met but surpassed as well.
In case you don’t know the plot, here is a spoiler-less summary. The film centers around the characters of Jason, Billy, Zack, Trini, and Kimberly, five teenagers with attitude, each who are considered not only by themselves, but by others, as screw-ups. One day, they all find glowing multi-colored power coins at a mining facility, and after a narrow escape they wake up the next day to discover they have super-human strength and abilities. When things becoming stranger and stranger for them they go back to the mining area to investigate. It is there that they discover that the coins were hidden by a being named Zordon and his cyborg assistant Alpha 5 65 million years ago, in hopes that a new team of rangers would form and protect the Earth’s Zeo Crystal, the source of all life on the planet, from the evil Rita Repulsa.
As time passes in the film the teens must learn to work together in order to unlock their ranger armor so they can protect themselves in their fight with Rita and her minions. As they all spend more time together they learn new things about each other and about their lives, almost like the five teens of The Breakfast Club.
One thing that I did enjoy a lot about the film is that it takes a darker and more serious tone, much like a lot of sci-fi films today do, but still manages to keep the silliness and cheesy aspects that the TV series had, so the premise of the film is not too serious and gritty. Where would the fun in that be? A group of teenagers in colorful outfits using robots that look like prehistoric creatures to defeat monsters is always going to be a funny concept even with all these dark matters surrounding it.
Let’s not forget the cast of the movie. I have to mention Elizabeth Banks’s performance as Rita Repulsa. Her overall appearance, at least to me, was not so terrify, but the way she talked to people and the on-screen murders that she caused were. Even when she was communicating with the rangers and trying to get information of them, I was on the edge of my seat, wondering how she might attack them.
Then of course there’s the actors who played the power rangers. The five core characters in this film were each a different ethnicity, which is a huge step-up for a superhero movie. The ones who grabbed my attention the most were RJ Cyler, who plays the inquisitive and genius blue ranger Billy, and Becky G who played Trini, the tough and enigmatic yellow ranger. Billy is an African- American male who has Autism, something he admits openly to Jason, saying he is “on the spectrum,” and exhibits many of the signs of people with Autism: he cannot understand sarcasm or humor, he is incredibly good at remembering small details, and he is incredibly smart, just to name a few. Then there is Trini, a Hispanic female, who is implied to be a member of the LGBTQ community and is questioning her sexuality after being asked by Zack if she has had “boyfriend troubles,” before changing the question to “girlfriend troubles.” Only unlike Billy, Trini does not give a clear answer. What I also enjoyed, besides the diversity, is that neither of these characters are ridiculed by their new friends, and are accepted for who they are.
One thing that did bother me about the film that did bother me though, and most likely many other Power Ranger fans as well, was that we did not get to see the actual Power Ranger armor and zords until the final part of film. However, I also think the wait was worth it in a way because the rangers had to learn about each other and learn how to work together; and the moment when they were finally able to unlock the armor was satisfying to see.
Overall Saban’s Power Rangers is an amazing action packed film that I think anyone who is a fan of the Power Rangers franchise would enjoy. So, if you haven’t gotten the chance to see it yet, you should. You might even want to see it again.
