I remember watching the very first American broadcast of the first episode.  I don’t exactly remember what the episode was about, but remember my impressions of poor acting, shoddy costumes, awful backgrounds, and questionable film editing.  I was rather amused by what was wrong and remember, distinctly, speaking to now lost friend Elizabeth.

Elizabeth liked it.  No, she loved it.  Although she was out of the target age range, Liz fell head-over-heels and watched every episode of the original run.

Me?  I remember shaking my head and saying that America would — never — fall for something so cheap, something so tacky, and something that seemed to be filmed so it can fail.

I was never so wrong about a television show in my entire life.

Nearly 25 years later, the Power Rangers – a little worse for wear from multiple corporate owners and revisions – is still going strong as evidenced by the movie my sister treated myself to on Friday.

I’m really not going to re-hash the plot in detail.   It’s safe to say that there are good guys, bad guys, and they fight.   A couple of buildings get knocked down and… just when it seems the good guys lost… they won.  And everyone is happily ever after until the rumored sequel.  This is the same plot line you can find in Star Wars, fairy tales, and soap operas.  Pretty standard fare.

What makes a movie now-a-days is special effects, dialog, and character interactions – how does the good guys go from point A to B.

Special effects – meh.
The all mighty Zordon seems to be trapped in a wall of cheap metal pins.  I can’t think of the name, but if you saw it you’d know.   They’re usually a square with pins and can be found just about everywhere, but mostly in novelty stores.  It holds the impression of a hand or whatnot until it’s placed flat on a table.  Then it goes away.  Zordon is held prisoner by a $5 toy.

Alpha 5 –  Well, let’s say that he could guest star on MST3K…. not that that’s a bad thing.  I used to love that show.

It seems at certain points that the movie was meant to be in 3D, but that just didn’t happen.  The background is standard.  Angel Grove has nothing going for it outside of the high school and Krispy Kreme.  The bulk of the non-zord fighting happens in one of the exceedingly rare gold mines in the United States.  Think a couple of canyons with lots of dirt and rock.   Expensive!

(I’m really not certain what state Angel Grove is in, but if we fact checked, the state may not even produce gold.)

Dialog –
Okay…  I will admit that I was charmed by the Blue Ranger (Billy).  RJ Cyler played an exceedingly likeable Ranger.  In this version, Billy is somewhere on the autism spectrum.  Billy remembers everything.  However, he misses the jokes, but also the sarcasm.   When the group is in turmoil, Billy always leads them back to the plot line.
— Too cute: “I think that’s my fault.  I’m sorry!”

It was secret little thrill to hear Rita’s “Make my monster grow!”   In comparison to the original, the line lacked the umph of the 1993 Rita.  This may not be her fault.  I could imagine the cast and crew making her shout the line multiple times.   Hopefully, if there is a next movie, she can work on her evil enthusiasm.

Nothing else really sticks out, odd enough.  Teenage angst is predominant, as expected.

Interactions
Zordon is really a butt, to put it politely.   He had a moment of questionable saving grace.  I wouldn’t call it charitable in any way as he wants to lead the Rangers.  Least he figured that, should he appear, he would just cause fighting among the team.  Or, more than likely, he thought the Rangers were so weak that he refused to risk his life for them.

The Rangers fought, distrusted, but eventually learned to work together.   Standard fare.

There is some hints of relationship tension between the Red, Black, and Pink Rangers.  In the beginning, there seemed that some love interest could be between the Black and Yellow Rangers.  However, after it was somewhat and very awkwardly announced that she’s a lesbian, the Black Ranger was forgotten.  It was almost as if the writers, trying to speak to they’re target audience, added in the Yellow Ranger’s preference after the script had been written.

Personal thoughts and possible plot holes.
The whole Krispy Kreme thing was entirely overdone.   Look, I understand this movie needed financial help, but “Oh no!  Rita found the Krispy Kreme!” lacks a certain authenticity.
—  Also, pitching a high calorie and carbohydrate inlayed fried treat to a potentially obese audience is pretty poor market placement.  I guess if they needed funding, they needed funding… but still.
—  I wonder how much Rita (Liz Banks) was paid to flirt with the huge sprinkled confection right before Krispy Kreme was demolished.

To morph, the Rangers had to stop thinking about themselves.  Trust, friendship, and all that other stuff had to be felt for them to become the Rangers – for the greater good.  That’s fine and good, but Rita has the green coin.  She is, technically, a ranger and morphs just fine.
—  We know from the beginning that the coins choose the person – just like Excalibur.  When Rita turned evil, wouldn’t it be justifiable to think that the coin would just leave or kill her?  Maybe not kill, but put her in a prison dimension or something?
—  Potential future plot hole —  At one point, one of the Rangers will probably be smitten or fooled by evil and accidently (or not) betray the Rangers.  If this happens, how could the person morph?  The slightest hint of betrayal, secrets, or selfishness should break the bond and that person should not be able to wear the shiny armor.

Now that the five misbegotten teenagers have had this experience, I am sure they are dedicated to right the wrongs of the world.   Angel Grove, a pimple of America, will regain it’s shiny new look as it was from the original series.

The Red Ranger seems to have the driving skills of a very young Captain Kirk.  Despite being rebellious, he slips into the leadership role just a little too easy.

The Black Ranger needs to take a page from the first series as he seems just a little too suicidal for my taste.  I know, in theory, he’s supposed to be ‘one wild and crazy guy,’ but some of the chances he takes does not ring true and endangers others.  That’s not crazy.  That’s just stupid.

“Five different coins!   Five different teenagers!”     Diversity in movies is to be expected and appreciated, but Alpha Five tries just a little to hard to make it obvious.  It’s as if the movie was trying to play cultural diversity as a selling point.  We all know they’re after the money.  However, like Krispy Kreme, sometimes things can be a little too transparent.

———-  Overall, I’m glad I saw it.  The movie is an ugly ducking first attempt, but it was made.  It has a following and even gained the interest of someone like me.  We’ll just have to wait and see if the rumored 5 additional films will be made.

Or, if I swear that Power Rangers will be absolutely awful… the future movies will be made and topple Titanic at the box office.

– Final thought –

When/if the second one is made, I think I’ll plunk down matinée money just to see if the “Make my monster grow” line improved at all.
—  Hopefully, Krispy Kreme did not rebuild in Angel Grove.

Now, if they could just make a — good — Voltron movie.