On Screen Presents: 2017 Power Rangers movie
Dylan Wright, Alex Eiden , and Rachael Eyler
February 23, 2017
Hollywood has an obsession with milking nostalgia.
From the Michael Bay explosion-filled “Transformers” movies to the annoying, squeakiness of “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” studios have been rebooting older franchises for audiences young and old alike. The case is no different with the upcoming “Power Rangers” movie, with the original characters from the first series “Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers” once again put on screen.
Though the Power Rangers series is continuing to this day with other teams, the original characters from the very first series have only occasionally appeared. This new movie will reboot the original series, possibly (definitely) leading to sequels. The trailers show some promise, with CGI being displayed up front and center, but fans are somewhat skeptical of anything that attempts to remake their childhood.
In order for this reboot of the “Power Rangers” to work, there is one ingredient that needs to be applied liberally: cheesiness. The charm of the various “Power Rangers” series is the fact that it is over the top, outrageous and goofy fighting.
Anytime you have a guy in a monster suit fight another guy in a robot suit on top of a model of a city, there is a goofiness that makes it watchable. The shows never took themselves too seriously, knowing that the footage they have taken from Japan’s “Super Sentai” series is pretty ridiculous.
The fact of the matter is that it is made for kids, and there is definite tongue-in-cheek attitudes in its presentation.
From the trailers released, the new movie seems to suffer from Michael Bay syndrome in that it takes itself too seriously and forgets that it is a show about “teenagers with attitude” taking on aliens and monsters while getting orders from a Wizard of Oz ripoff and a C-3P0 clone. While there is some humor being displayed, the jury is still out on whether “Power Rangers” will be just another “Transformers.”
As long as “Power Rangers” remembers where its source material started from, the movie should be a blast to watch. Plus Bryan Cranston as Zordon should be worth the price of admission alone.
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