For years Power Rangers has been the talk of the town with Hollywood, from different writers to being pushed back to ensure a good film for the movie's deadline. Before I begin, I want to say I did not expect this line to be crazy packed. There was two screenings that night with Power Rangers & CHiPS being both right next to each other. The line to get in, was extremely long, filled with Power Ranger fans, kids, adults, teens. It seemed like a film no doubt for everyone. Upon entering the theater from waiting in line outside, I noticed we got the very old part of the theater to view this, thanks to Beauty & the Beast taking up the majority of the new screenings (it has a total of 7 screens taken over by Beauty & the Beast) so getting seats was a pain in the ass. It sucks also to see that like every advanced screening there needs to be three rows dedicated to press, so it was a bigger pain in the ass. However, I got a decent seat, and the movie started.
As the synopsis told, the plot revolves around five teens who find a mysterious crashed space ship, and collect the five coins that ultimately endowed them super-powers. This includes them following orders from Bryan Cranston's Zordon and from Bill Hader's Alpha 5. However they need to stop the evil Rita Repulsa who plans to destroy the Power Rangers and blah blah take over the world. Fairly simple, that is because this film is actually more character oriented than we care to imagine. It isn't a fast paced dumb action blockbuster, this is a film that wants you to get to know these Rangers are and their purpose. Pretty much an origin story.
All the cast actually did pretty well, I know so many complained about Elizabeth Banks, but I feel it needed that cheesy character to be apart of this movie. All five of the characters have serious dilemmas but are often short-sighted once the Power Ranger coins are found. For example, it is true Billy is an autistic character, but it makes me wonder why the hell is someone being such a douchebag to him, especially how generic the bully in general come across. It kind of make it seems unrealistic in some form, I understand this is a movie but this film does take tonal shifts whenever it feels like. It tries to be realistic which it comes across as, but then goes into complete camp territory for whatever reason. It throws you off in some scenes, especially the beginning of the film.
How are the characters though? Do they come across as generic? Actually NO. They seem more inspired by one of my favorite 80's films The Breakfast Club. I couldn't help but notice how easily identifiable it was to compare & contrast all five, however they aren't bad characters. You want to see where this goes, you want to see what the next scene involves them in. Sure Cranston did a fine job as Zordon, but their roles proved they don't need a big named actor to completely take away from their performance which I thought was going to be encompassing to a lot of viewers but this is just an added bonus. By far my favorite ranger, and I can not believe they did this was Billy. They made him such a great character, such a wise crack, you just can't help but fall in love with his character. This is coming from someone who used to find the point of Billy in the Power Rangers generic and annoying, however they managed to make him much layered and interesting than I thought they would, KUDOS ON THAT.
As I mentioned, the film does not reach the big climax till about 90 minutes in, but when that happens prepare yourself because it is non-stop action till the end. Whether it be Putty battles, Kaiju style fighting, WHATEVER, it holds up to being good. However I am sure you think that all around this is a great review, it is & ISN'T. A lot the bad is dealt around pretty much the tonal shift which is actually completely jarring at time. Even Rita chowing down on a donut just seemed wrong and possibly going into *HEAVY SPOILERS* here, but seeing a Ranger die was not only sad but also forced. However this was such a mixed bag I couldn't help but like the fact that the movie is taking risks, it doesn't care who your fan favorite it is. There is no chance they can make it out of battle alive if they don't focus and work together.
Also, sometimes the dialog goes from smart, to just incredibly bad. I mean WTF were they thinking bad. This is a Power Rangers movie, I completely understand that, but I think we need to settle on the idea that it shouldn't just be "WELL IT'S POWER RANGERS" because it is trying to stem away from the camp that the originals had. This is a film that is geared towards everyone yea, but that is another problem all together when one of your characters make it seem like hes jacking off an animal. My son, has no idea what the hell that means, but the question was weird when he brought it up because he shouldn't be asking this type of question during a Power Rangers movie. I mean he is only six.
So for anyone who wants to watch this, is this recommended. Yes & NO. I say this because if you feel the love of the original Power Ranger TV show like I was, then this movie is right up your ally. There is plenty of easter eggs, Stan Lee style cameos with he original Rangers and an after credits scene that seemed rather forceful than earned but hey nice little nod of course. Do I see a sequel for this? You bet. I hope they improve on what type of film they want to make rather than depend on just the camp of the original. But this is just the first film of possibly many more Power Rangers. This could be a big cash cow if taken whatever approach they find. However if you never liked Power Rangers, EVER? This is not the movie for you to watch what so ever. Although if you are a fan of comic books and superheroes, why not give this shot? Hey it isn't the best out there but it will give you what you want and that is entertainment. Please don't walk in here hoping for Oscar winning dialog or scenes, this film has zero of that. This, is the Transformers of super hero films, and there is nothing wrong with that.