Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1995) - ★★★☆☆
Recently I decided to rewatch the very first movie based on the Power Rangers franchise, as the days have been led up to the new one premiering today. The team has the lovely Tommy, Kimberly and Billy who is joined by the new rangers in Aisha, Adam and Rocky. Back then, I could never get around why these new ones had replaced Jason, Zack and Trini who I loved from the tv show. Anyway, I came to love the whole team, as they were searching for a foreign power to save our dear Zordon, who have been attacked by none other than Ivan Ooze.
I think this film has one of the best villains in the franchise's history, and I love how his strength is shown by imprisoning Rita and Lord Zedd. Ivan is here and he means business, as he compels all of Angel Grove's parents to do his jobbing. The movie might be simple, but I still find it to be a nice thing, that it keeps both the main plot and sub-plot rather simple. It respects the viewer's time and gets down to martial arts fighting. The choreography is way better than I could have wished for, with some sick ninja moves by Tommy, and accompanying suits, that will bring them through the harsh conditions that is ancient guards and ugly birds.
Aisha and Adam doesn't do much unfortunately, but I found it cool how they suit up in the updated suits based on the classics, and how they use new equipment in the parking lot, like flashlights in the ears of the Yellow Ranger's helmet. Even Rocky has gotten an upgrade and can now scan the dark environments for enemies with a special visor. I even forgot about their weapons, and how Saber can shoot laser out of its eyes. The first and second acts are great, with Bulk and Skull acting as comedy pieces, and the kid making us want the best for the families of Angel Grove.
Unfortunately, the third act lets me down with its poor CG and boring Zord fight against huge ants. It looks really bad, and the payoff was very poor. Still, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was better than I remembered, and to this day, I'm still thankful this movie got made.
Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (1997) - ★★☆☆☆
With just one day till the new Power Rangers movie, yesterday I decided to start up the sequel in Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, which I had never seen before. I didn't know we got one more movie as a kid, and only now got to see what it's all about.
Unfortunately everything about this movie is worse than in the original, but that doesn't mean it wasn't entertaining to watch. I was first and foremost surprised to see Tommy, Adam and Rocky again, and I got me some shocks throughout. Rocky got a back injury and didn't feature much, but what I didn't expect was for the rangers I know and love to be new colors. Tommy being the Red Ranger, Adam switching over to Green, and Rocky being the Blue Ranger. To be honest, I did see these new Power Rangers as action figures when I travelled to Germany as a kid and thought they were cool but never realized they came out of a tv show or movie.
The new additions in Katherine and Tanya are very poor inclusions. I don't like the acting of Kat, and Tanya gets almost nothing to do, other than being the black woman of the bunch. It's a sad affair. And then Zordon decides to give another person the mantle of the Blue Ranger, which was interesting, but I was left with my jaw at the floor when it turns out to be a kid named Justin. Wow, did I not see that one coming. At the end I really wish they had made the kid from the first movie the new Blue Ranger as he had wanted and deserved it. I was actually pretty fine with a kid being on the team, but it was still a bit uncomfortable seeing him grow into this grown man body and still acting like the kid he is. Another surprise was the sub-plot that includes Kimberly and Jason; Jason being my favorite ranger. I always wondered why he weren't there in the first film, so it was very nice seeing him return, although not as a ranger. I liked where it all went, where in the third act Kimby and Jason fights the Power Rangers.
But as I said, everything in Turbo is worse than the first one. The fights aren't as cool, the villain Divatox is shit, Legirot was a special sight but ultimately a poor link, and the theme song "Turbo Power Rangers, Go!" was cringy. The new Zordons was just regular cars suited up to also be robots. This movie went so many unexpected places, first to a new planet, then to a pirate ship, and then to an abandoned island. It was very special, and although it wasn't bad, it wasn't even average. Still an entertaining flick, especially for fans alike, but it was nothing more than nice fan service.
Saban's Power Rangers (2017) - ★★★★☆
I grew up with the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers on television and VHS cassette, and even watched the Christmas special every Holiday. It was a dear thing to me. In elementary school, me and the whole class of kids would go outside and roleplay as if we were the Power Rangers, and at Halloween I would dress up as the Red Ranger while everyone else were the White one. I also wanted to be the White Tiger but the costume was sold out everywhere. I'm glad I ended up as the Red Ranger after all as Jason was my clear favorite. I watched the first movie in the cinema when I was a kid and loved it. Two days ago I gave it a rewatch for the first time since I was a kid, and found it to better than what my memory tells me. Yesterday, I watched the Turbo: Power Rangers film for the first time ever, and although it was worse in every way compared to Mighty Morphin, it was still enjoyable to watch.
Today, a new generation of high schoolers enters the picture, and introduces new kids and old fans alike to Saban's Power Rangers that takes a few liberties but mostly sticks to the source material. This is Power Rangers as we love them, with a dark edge and immense acting. Dark edge you wonder, but please, keep reading.
The movie starts out with a very dark and edgy scene but one that is important to the history of the Power Rangers and the set up of this film. You will be surprised at who features in this intro scene and what happens, but not to give anything away, this one scene is the only one that directly mimics the fan film from a few years ago. It's the perfect start for those of us who wanted some edge and a darker tone, this however, is weighted up against some great acting, humor, fun and jokes among the teenagers.
All five of them have distinct personalities, which comes forward in a sweet and honest scene around the bonfire. In order to summon the armor and prove they are the right ones chosen, they need to sit down, and get to know each other, to care about each other. Here we learn Billy has a disorder and mostly don't understand humor and sarcasm, funnily enough he's the funniest of the bunch. His arc gets him through stuff you wouldn't see coming, although this part was the weakest of the entire plot. Zack is the wildcat who has heavy baggage with him, Trini is the outcast who rather be alone, Jason has leadership skills from American football and Kimberly has this one dark secret she needs to come forward with, but for another time.
There are various interesting subplots, like Zordon's background and why he is so interested in this Power Rangers force. Rita, her background, and her way back, and her ultimate goal. Angel Grove is a character in itself and is pretty well represented with some scenes around the high school, and you get to see some of the other students.
The movie is self-aware and knows when it jokes around, even with some serious plot details. So though it can have some dark scene here and there, it brings in the humor to balance it all out. The fighting against the puddies are some of the best fights in Power Rangers ever, unfortunately we don't get more than around three scenes of this wonder. In fact, we get more scenes with the Zords and the Megazord and it's no problem they remove their visors from their helmets while communicating. This whole end fight is so captivating, one for bringing you into it with the classic Power Rangers theme, and another because the CG has actually ended up looking great and this is not just a huge robot. It is different command centers and each Ranger have to communicate in order for the Megazord to makej the right moves, and I tell you, you will see them fail.
We get fantastic performances from everyone in the cast, everthing from Rita Repulsa to the teenagers and Zordon. The weakest link is Becky G as the Yellow Ranger as I am not convinced about her range. Alpha-5 also has a voice that doesn't fit him.
As a Power Rangers fan, having just left the theatre, I am greatful toward Lionsgate and the crew for realizing this movie, and I am happy and ecstatic because this turned out so well. This is the Power Rangers I wanted and I love them. And if the someewhat disappointing mid-credits scene is anything to go by, we might see a sequel (if it does well on the BO as well). The two cameos the film features is a sweet thing but very small part that you can miss if you're blinking.
I got to give credit to the cinematographer and the editing team, because this movie is not just littered with beautiful scenery and shots, but it's also very well edited with scenes flowing together nicely and the pacing is balanced well. The only time the pacing drops is somewhere in the second act where the teenagers finds Zordon's command center.
Wow at that fighting. Wow at those megazords. And although simple, wow at the background and setup for this movie.
