Power Rangers (2017)

 

Most Western audiences of a certain age remember the Power Rangers as a fun yet goofy series about a bunch of teenagers that occasionally changed into kick-ass superheroes and then beat the everloving crap out of bizarre monsters, and every episode culminated in them jumping aboard their robots that morphed into a bigger robot and a brawl ensued. Those in the know always realized that this was in essence a Japanese series called 'Super Sentai' that has been going strong since the 70s. 

This is a more modern take on the idea and all in all, it isn't half bad. Honest. 

Does it help if you are a fan of the series? Yes. Absolutely yes. Does it also help if you enjoy origin stories with more emphasis on the people than on the action? 

Also yes.

Somewhere close to an unassuming town, a group of five misfits and outsiders discover some bizarre 'coins'. Strangely enough, they give them superstrength and agility. In the meantime, a fishing boat dredges up a sort of mummy that turns out to still be alive and pretty evil at that. The kids soon discover an alien spaceship, where it transpires that they are destined to become the new Power Rangers and protectors of the Earth, and they have to stop Rita Repulsa, a former Ranger (and the mummy), because she wants a crystal and if she gets it she will destroy all life on Earth.

No pressure then.

So you pretty much know the drill: the kids need to get along, but don't at first; Rita almost gets her goal and then something happens that gets the teenagers together and for the final showdown they manage to overcome evil.

Nothing new, you could say. And justifiably so.

Nevertheless, this is actually a pretty decent film. For starters, it focuses a lot on the kids and their character before everything else and this makes you like them a lot more than if they were too cookiecutter. Okay, some traits are a bit on the nose: the jock that doesn't want to be a jock; the hot girl who is a bit of a bitch, the lesbian, the dropout and the nerd. But in fact they are well written, which is a pretty big shock for a film of this type. Not kidding: this might be the first time a person with pretty extensive autism is written correctly. 

No hyperbole: working in education, it is spot on. 

Not only that, but because you get to spend so much time with the characters, the buildup towards the big finale works a lot better. And of course this will entail a lot of things that go boom and eventually the Megazord facing off against a gigantic creature, but everything before this has sucked you in. 

Also: Elizabeth Banks is having a blast as Rita Repulsa. She channels her utmost cheese, but because she is clearly having so much fun with it, this over-the-top villain actually works rather well. 

And yes, there are nods to the series, with even a short part of the iconic title song, which is one of the most metal tunes to a kids' show you will ever hear. Just a shame they didn't use it a bit more (like say during the end credits).

It goes without saying this will be more enjoyable for people that know and love the series, but as an adventure for a younger audience, it also is a lot better than it got credit for. Give it a try, you might be surprised.