Power Rangers is a reboot of the TV series that 80’s/90’s babies know and love. A group of high-school kids are infused with special powers after coming in contact with powerful crystals buried eons ago. At the discovery of the crystals and their newfound powers, they discover a buried spaceship whose contents explain the crystals, their purpose, and what’s at stake (the safety of planet earth).
Not everything 20 years old and older needs to be remade, so when I heard Power Rangers was getting a reboot, I honestly wasn’t thrilled. But after seeing this film, I can honestly say that this new generation of children and purists alike will be able to enjoy this new cast of Rangers.
The new cast goes as follows: Red Ranger Jason (Dacre Montgomery), Blue Ranger Billy (RJ Cyler), Black Ranger Zack (Ludi Lin), Pink Ranger Kimberly (Naomi Scott), Yellow Ranger Trini (Becky G.)
Although Jason is the leader of the team, the real character that carries the team and makes the movie is Billy. RJ Cyler is innovative, creative, hilarious, and impresses throughout the film with humor and quick wit.
So to go a little deeper with the storyline, once the kids discover these crystals and find the spaceship, they get the backstory from Alpha-5 (voiced by Bill Hader) and Zordon (Bryan Cranston) on where to go from here. Zordon led the last generation of Rangers and buried the crystals until they were found by the right team of people to protect earth from Rita Repulsa.
As Zordon explains to the new Rangers their powers and responsibilities, Rita was awakened while in the bottom of a fishing vessel. Once aware of her surroundings she sets out to find enough gold to bring a monster named Goldar back to life and wreak havoc.
The only problem I could see people having with this new film is that it’s not an exact replica of the original. The suits look different as do the helmets and the Ranger assignments are different. In 2017 PC (politically correct) America, it was probably too big a risk to keep the Black Ranger “Black” and the Yellow Ranger “Asian” (like the original), so the Black Ranger is Asian, the Blue Ranger is Black, and the Yellow Ranger is Latina. But if you’re too young to know the original this won’t make a difference (and shouldn’t make a difference anyway).
I give Power Rangers 9 out of 10. The movie flows nicely, the storyline is pretty set, and the character build is steady and balanced. One thing you must know, is that once the movie is over, you need to watch the credits. The ending and the credits are gifts to those who’ve been waiting in anticipation of this film.
-Jon J.