A powerhouse 90s franchise, the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers jumped onto TV and became a part of a generation’s childhood. Based off the Japanese Sentai Team concept, Saban adapted multiple sentai series and remade it into the American TV & Toy Franchise we’re mostly familiar with.
The 2017 remake aims to reestablish that cultural franchise with a new movie. It takes all the original points – using Angel Grove and the same names for all the key characters, and updates it with brand new depictions and personalities.
The visuals of the movie were well-made. The costume effects were new and interesting. The Zords, of course, were fun to see. Hearing and watching all the old Ranger names and seeing the Zords leap out into the big screen with modern CGI treatment was a cheesy (perhaps campy) delight.
But beyond just tossing in the names and the visuals, I was surprised to realize that the story and its pacing actually wasn’t bad at all. They spent a fair bit of time fleshing out the characters, giving each teenager their own background and development scenes. While I enjoyed the depth given to Billy and even ‘vanilla’ Jason, I hoped they had put in a little more for the other rangers, particularly Zach and Trini.
Nonetheless, taking into consideration the premise and setting – I found the movie to be a fun ride. Power Rangers is a campy, teenager hero show, with the dramas of high school life and saving the world in one package. Go figure. With decent martial arts, visuals, and riding on just the edge of cheesiness, it was an enjoyable romp down the 90s – except rendered with the nuances of the late 2010s