'Power Rangers' A Review

Power Rangers is a superhero movie based on the 90's TV show of the same name. The movie opens on prehistoric Earth, a group of Rangers on the bring of defeat at the hands of villian Rita Repulsa(Elizabeth Banks) call down a meteor sacrificing themselves to stop her. In modern day five disparate high schoolers discover the five power coins of the original Rangers in their local quarry imbuing them with power. Rita, banished to/hibernating at the bottom of the sea is brought up by a local fisherman and endeavors to complete her mission- Power at the cost of all life on Earth. Will the novice Rangers be able to stop Rita before she acquires Earth's Life Crystal!?

The actors playing the Rangers, mostly unknowns, are all very good. Charming, authentic, and with good chemistry. The first half of the movie is basically updated Breakfast Club before they dive into battling Rita Repulsa with robot dinosaurs and they are all able to make this drastic leap work. We get to know them all a bit as characters, with some limited dimension for each, and that provides a nice base that makes the action at the end all the much more of a pay off. The stand out is RJ Cyler as Billy who has more to work with. But they all balance the humor and reality of the story with surprising grace. Banks, of course, is a knock out as the villain. Cagian in how big and broad the performance is and absolutely compelling.

Visually the film is stylish especially the first couple scenes establishing all the teens but it kind of degrades into serviceable, if not original, effects when all the morphing and zords get involved. The story has enough nods to the 90's TV series to please fans, a lot of jokes and lines referencing some of the more campy elements of the source material, but confidently makes it different and modern enough to work now. With the bright colors and particularly nutty premise the movie overcomes potential pitfalls to provide a little camp, a little heart, but above all entertainment.

A fun reboot with a nice balance of character and action.

See It.