'Power Rangers' Takes On Both Feelings And Fighting
Power Rangers
Starring: Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Ludi Lin, Becky G., Elizabeth Banks, Bryan Cranston, Bill Hader
Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi
Directed by Dean Israelite
Rating: PG-13
Run time: 2 hours, 4 minutes
Release Date: March 24, 2017
Based on the preview, it's easy to assume Power Rangers is going to be a standard action flick, especially when remaking an already popular property. It looks like the perfect formula movie right? Meet the main, bring in the others, create an origin story, intro the villain, training montage, big problem, big fight. Right? Right. But also, wrong.
It'd be a lie to say that this film doesn't follow the expected trajectory, but it's even more important to note that it doesn't have much of a choice: it's the opening to a potential franchise, it's rebooting beloved characters and it would cause more problems than it would solve if it strayed too far from the expected.
One of the aspects of the film that draws it slightly out of the expected is none other than the soundtrack. Fitz and the Tantrum's "HandClap" plays perfectly over a series of clips and a version of "Stand By Me" causes a moment's pause when timed excellently in the movie.
The chemistry between the five main actors is extremely easy and believable, making you hope that they really do hang out outside of filming and the voices of Bryan Cranston and Bill Hader (as a truly delightful ancient robot) add a dimension to a rather small main cast.
Elizabeth Banks plays a perfectly fine villain as Rita Repulsa - and it's obvious she enjoyed every second being pure evil - but at times it falls slightly flat when many of her lines sound straight from a boss level of a '90s video game.
Preceding all the action and morphing, the film doubles down on the friendship and feelings, which really works well on two levels. It becomes infinitely easier to care about the seemingly rag-tag group of kids when they're given this dimension and it provides a foil to the explosions and fighting for which the Rangers are normally known.
You'll jump, you'll laugh, you'll get sucked in and, if you don't come out of the theater with a favorite Ranger, I'd be shocked.