Despite this, I was still interested when I saw some of the marketing for this big-budget adaptation, but ultimately never got around to seeing the film on the big screen. However, I finally watched Power Rangers in its entirety after finding it at my local library, and I’m happy to say this is a solid big-screen adaptation! While there are elements I would’ve changed if I was director (or a screenwriter), this movie certainly doesn’t deserve the lukewarm response it was given during its theatrical run. Let’s find out why this is the case!
Power Rangers follows five high school students, Jason, Billy, Kimberly, Trini, and Zack, who are all outcasts in some shape or form. Eventually, all five teens end up at the local quarry where they find uniquely colored coins that, the next day, they each discover have enhanced their physical abilities drastically (e.g., increased strength, greater durability). Upon returning to the quarry in hopes of finding out more about what’s going on, the quintet find a buried alien ship, where they meet Zordon and his robotic assistant Alpha-5. From the extraterrestrial pair, the adolescents learn that, by virtue of finding the coins (which are actually known as Power Coins), they’ve been ‘chosen’ as the latest generation of elite warriors known as Power Rangers (of which Zordon used to be a member as the Red Ranger prior to his physical body’s death, which resulted in his consciousness being transferred to the ‘Morphing Grid’). While the teens initially want nothing to do with such positions (along with what it entails), the reemergence of Rita Repulsa, an alien sorceress who was once a member of Zordon’s team of Power Rangers before betraying them, forces the young protagonists to come together to stop her. Can the new Power Rangers bond as a team (enabling them to ‘morph’ into their signature armor) and train to the point of being able to stand a chance against the power-hungry Rita, or will the former Ranger succeed in gaining the Zeo Crystal (an artifact of immense power), wiping out all life on Earth in the process?
While the story admittedly isn’t anything revolutionary and has been done before, where this movie truly shines is in its main protagonists. The original ‘90s Power Rangers show frequently gets made fun of in that, for supposedly being ‘teenagers with attitude’, the original incarnations of the titular heroes didn’t exactly give off such an aura. In the 2017 film, on the other hand, all five protagonists come from circumstances that’d definitely make one rather cynical/withdrawn. For instance, at the time the narrative begins, Jason has jeopardized a potential career in football and strained his relationship with his dad after a failed prank against a rival high school, while Billy finds himself a frequent bully magnet thanks to being on the autism spectrum. Kimberly, on the other hand, is a remorseful former cheerleader who was kicked off her team (and forsaken by her close friends) after an ill-advised social media post; Trini repeatedly finds herself being the ‘new kid at school’ as a result of her family constantly moving, whereas Zack often misses school because he has a critically ill mother he’s trying to care for. This fleshing out helps the five leads to each stand out as individuals, thus preventing them from becoming indistinguishable from one another.
The most compelling aspect of these latest incarnations of the Power Rangers, however, has to be the progression of their relationships with one another as the narrative unfolds, with a noteworthy instance of this growth occurring during the film’s second act, when the teens open up to one another around a campfire, thus ‘shedding their masks’ (as Zordon put it earlier in the movie) as they get to know one another more personally. While Power Rangers could’ve had more action in its runtime, the characters and their journey to becoming as tight knit as siblings keeps the movie compelling in its own right and helps it stand apart from the other superhero flicks that came out in 2017 (e.g., Wonder Woman, Thor: Ragnarök).
As captivating as Power Rangers’ titular characters are, the writing behind them is complemented by the performances of the actors that were chosen to bring them to life. While Dacre Montgomery (who would go on to have a role in the hit Netflix show Stranger Things), Naomi Scott (aka Jasmine in the 2019 remake of Aladdin), Becky Gomez (also known by her stage name Becky G), and Ludi Lin (who would later have a supporting role in 2018’s Aquaman) are all commendable as Jason, Kimberly, Trini, and Zack (respectively), the one who arguably ‘stood out from the crowd’ was RJ Cyler as Billy. He does an exceptional job at portraying someone with autism, whether it be in the convincing way he stumbles over his words, talks louder than necessary (without realizing it), or goes on ramblings to the point that he needs to be made aware of it/gently told or asked to stop. As someone who’s on the autism spectrum myself, the mannerisms Cyler brought to his performance as Billy came off as convincing (especially in regard to his ramblings and speaking louder than needed), whilst avoiding coming off as gratuitously over-the-top, which is a balancing act I have to give Cyler props for!
While we’re on the topic of the development of the Power Rangers’ relationships, the main reason their interactions are so engaging lies in Montgomery, Scott, Gomez, Cyler, and Lin having remarkable chemistry with one another. This harmony between the actors makes exchanges between their characters seem that much more believable, and the evolution of their onscreen fellowship therefore becomes more organic. Top the performances of these five talented young actors with a supporting cast consisting of the delightful Bill Hader as Alpha-5, Bryan Cranston (aka Walter White/Heisenberg in the critically acclaimed show Breaking Bad) as Zordon, and Elizabeth Banks (who manages to be impressively unnerving yet unapologetically malicious) as Rita Repulsa, and you have a cast that packs as much power as the Power Rangers themselves!
While this film may fall short in the action department (quantity-wise), when it’s finally time for the Power Rangers to show what they’re capable of when ‘morphed’ into their iconic armor, director Dean Israelite makes the wait worth it! From a hand-to-hand mêlée with Rita Repulsa’s monstrous Puttie minions, to a battle in the Rangers’ hometown of Angel Grove in which the towering mechs known as the Zords get their time to shine, to a two-part clash with the titanic Goldar, the climax of this film knows how to deliver in the action department! However, all three of these sequences occur in the last third of the movie, meaning the path to get here may feel sluggish to some viewers. From what I’ve read, the opening of Power Rangers was initially supposed to involve a full-on battle between Zordon’s Ranger team and the traitorous Rita, instead of only seeing the aftermath like in the finished film. While I can see why this was cut (the fact we haven’t gotten to know Zordon’s Ranger team would likely result in their deaths at Rita’s hands feeling rather empty), on the other hand, such a sequence would help to illustrate just how great of a threat Rita is to Earth (though this would admittedly later be established via her almost effortlessly curbstomping the un-morphed Rangers later on in the film’s second act) and could satiate those who may identify as action junkies. To put it simply, while the fight scenes we do get are worth the buildup, placing one or two more action sequences (of reasonable length, mind you) earlier in the movie wouldn’t’ve hurt, either!
Although Power Rangers may not have the most groundbreaking story and could’ve used a little bit more action in the first 2/3rds (in addition, Ludi Lin does have some rather dodgy moments in his portrayal of Zack that could’ve used a second take to get right), it most certainly makes up for it with its captivating quintet of protagonists and the laudable performances of their respective actors, as well as an entertaining climax that arguably makes the wait to see the Power Rangers in all their glory that much more worth it. Although it made back its budget during its theatrical run, Power Rangers sadly ended up ultimately under-performing financially (likely due to the costs associated with marketing, among other things), with Paramount Pictures planning a full-on reboot instead of continuing where this movie left off, which I find to be a real shame; I would’ve loved to see more of these versions of the Power Rangers (especially with a cast as tight-knit off-screen as they are onscreen, as seen in these videos), and as such, I strongly recommend checking this flick out!
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