When I was a kid I was obsessed with Mighty Morphing Power Rangers, but then again, who wasn’t? I remember seeing it premiere when I was a kid in Spain and it blew my mind. I had a lot of action figures, I even had my own Power Morpher and Power Blaster! And when the first movie came out, I nagged and nagged until my parents took me to see it.
As I grew up my obsession disappeared. And finding out that the show was just scenes from Japanese Super Sentai series killed the magic. But I still look at the original MMPR fondly because it was such a huge part of my childhood. In fact, I’m currently rewatching it.
So, I admit that when this Power Rangers remake was announced I had my doubts. But I’ve learnt to cast my doubts aside and try to enjoy things, in the long run it’s better than complaining about destroyed childhoods or remakes.
“Five little rangers. How cute”
The movie presents different relationships between the characters and that’s refreshing, in some cases they’re completely different as how they used to be in the show. There they all knew each other by the time it had started and they were a bunch of goody-two-shoes that were relatively flat. But in this case that’s twisted to the point that this feels like a superhero version of The Breakfast Club, and I mean that as a compliment.
The rangers now feel like real people, rather than stereotypes of “You’re the martial artist” or “You’re the posh girl.” They all have their flaws, problems and conflicts that make them struggle with finding their own place in the world.
That’s what makes them interesting. They have no idea what they’re doing and are trying to find themselves. That creates an additional conflict with Zordon. Zordon keeps arguing that they’re not worthy of being Power Rangers, but then again Zordon is a bit of a dick in this movie.
If you ask me, that’s definitely better than the “I’ve never piloted a Zord in my life but I’m an expert at it” that you got in the show. Plus, Billy being autistic and Trini being gay is something they deal with in a very respectful way, without making them the butt of jokes or anything like that.
“Ai-Yi-Yi”
Zordon and the five Rangers aren’t the only characters that have changed. Alpha 5 is vastly different too. That was already evident on the redesign, but this time he’s not the bumbling fool he was in the original. He still says his catchphrase but he’s toned it down considerably. Also, Bill Hader makes him sound like a sassy robot, which is a welcome change.
And then there’s the costumes. First time I saw them I disregarded them as Iron Man armours. But after seeing them in action I warmed up to them, they feel more like some kind of organic exoskeleton and I’m all up for that. And the Zords look quite cool as well.
However, the film had things I didn’t like. The music wasn’t that memorable and the choices of songs were weird. I didn’t care for Elizabeth Banks as Rita Repulsa, I felt she was wasted on the role. And what’s with the weird product placement?! But in the end, these things are minor points.
“GO GO POWER RANGERS!”
I admit that I really enjoyed watching this film. All those mentions about me watching the show when I was eight are here for a reason. This film made me feel like that again.
I saw in it the things I loved about Power Rangers as a kid. There were moments where I looked and felt like Toph in Avatar in this scene. And that’s the best feeling to have when you go to the cinema.
Haim Saban says that him and Lionsgate have plans for a six-movie series. After watching this one I just hope this happens, because I really enjoyed watching it. I’m still feeling the rush of having revisited my childhood in such a cool way, and hopefully it will last through the whole week.
In fact, I’m even thinking of going back to the cinema to rewatch it.
Angry Spaniard, adoptive Irishman. Writer, reader, tea drinker and video game player/designer.
