Saban's Power Rangers

I don't know why this movie scored so low with critics - this movie is one of the best this year. Their reviews are actually a little schizophrenic. Many of the critics score down because there "wasn't enough power rangers action" and that it wasn't as "explosive" as other summer blockbusters. Take a look at some of their reviews of other summer blockbuster movies and they groan over "too many explosions" and "tired super-hero formulas". Power Rangers shakes up the super-hero formula here by focusing on the 5 main characters and really building their story throughout most of the movie. If you are expecting this to be a traditional superhero movie where there's explosions to your left and large exposition dumps to your right, you'll be disappointed. Just going to breakdown a few highlights of what I love most about the movie: *Gritty opening, giving a little set up but not overstaying its welcome *The score - the musical overture throughout the movie is fun, prominent, and memorable *The characters - the movie actually takes time to let us get to know and care about all 5 teenagers before putting them in an incredible superhero role *The authentic high-school setting - I was impressed by these little moments of authentic reactions and behaviors that some of the background characters displayed which reminded me of how actual highschool kids would behave. There are some tropes, sure, but there are some genuine reactions there which is refreshing *Two major surprises - I'm not referring to 'twists', necessarily. I'm talking about two major moments in the movie where I thought I knew what was going to happen a mile away and the movie just flipped the script and genuinely surprised me. That's very hard to do. If you like superhero movies, and were still on the fence about this one, definitely give it a chance. This movie was marketing horribly. The commercials really don't do the movie any justice. It's a really solid film filled with a lot of heart, great humor, and fun action.

I enjoyed this movie immensely. I was already into my late 20's when Power rangers first appeared and was not a big fan. This movie may not be cannon for the true fans, but I think it was very well done and a great movie. I have watched it at least four times and would watch it more. In fact as I write this, I may just feel the desire to watch it again it is that good of a movie to just watch over and over.

As an original 90's kid who grew up with the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, I was as enthralled with this strange new action show using cheesy Japanese footage spliced with an original American plot. As a kid I didn't need to, nor was I able to grasp the concept of marketing, all I knew was that the Power Rangers were awesome! Watching this movie now brings me a wave of nostalgia for the childhood I loved but, surprisingly, is a much more relatable story. Jason, Kimberly, Trini, Zack and Billy were blatant stereotypes of high school archetypes, they were the cool kids, the do-gooders who were always perfect and never failed at what they did. Only as an adult watching the show again did I realize that they were nothing like me or my friends. We were outcasts, lonely, artists who were picked on by the Bulk and Skulls of the world, even though they actually seemed more like my friends now, lol. We weren't the cool kids or the achievers and little did I realize as kid how unattainable that level of perfection was until now. This generation of Power Rangers, a fallen sports star, a trendy girl who made a mistake on social media, an awkward savant on the spectrum et, al, are much more grounded characters with real flaws and real heart. In many ways they are the anti Power Rangers, representing the opposite of my childhood idols and yet still exemplifying their best attributes at the same time. They fight, they struggle, they laugh together and ultimately realize that despite their unusual circumstances they are wiling to sacrifice for each other for a cause greater than their own self interest. This is a new Power Rangers for a new generation and I am so happy that this movie exists and speaks to those kids, those outcasts and awkward socially anxious teens who can grow up with the kind of representation my generation never had. The story is simple but surprisingly original considering the horrible source material that was literally pieced together from archival Japanese footage from a show that had an entirely different dynamic and sensibility than American audiences were ready to accept. They did what they could with what they had at the time, but this movie succeeds in so many ways where the show had failed. Super fans may gripe about how Rita didn't emerge from a space dumpster on the moon, or that there's no Squat or Baboon, or Finster who makes nonsensical monsters out of clay, yes that's what happened on the show, or even that the black ranger isn't black and the yellow ranger isn't Asian. The 90's weren't the most politically correct time in history, but we were doing the best we could, so the new Power Rangers brings the core tenet of my beloved childhood show and modernizes it in the best way. Somehow it managed to work in nods to the show, even a pair of familiar cameos, without ramping up the cheeze factor. The go go power rangers theme song sprinkled into the zord fight was a genuine smile moment for me, but between the character dynamics, the action and FX Power Rangers 2017 is the PR movie I've been waiting my entire childhood for. May the power be with you.

I grew up with the original, and was very skeptical about this one after I saw their casting choice from the trailers. I was pleasantly surprised and ended up actually enjoying this movie. Yes, this movie had a very long intro... think of it as the first Deadpool or the first Captain America. You really do need the origin stories in this case to feel invested if you are anything like me and saw these new age teens and rolled your eyes at first. I ended up really liking Billy and Kimberly, and I actually rolled my eyes at those two the most from the trailers! Kudos to the two actors who did a great job. I kinda liked that Kimberly was a jerk and not a very nice person, compared to all the original power ranger teens who were goody goody wholesome teens. The cast had really good chemistry in the end, and the build up was believable because they were such an awkward group in the beginning. Brain Cranston is Zordon (as he was in the original), and it was nice to see him return. Bill Hader plays Alpha 5, and while I did not like him at first it took about 5 minutes for me to love that character. I also liked that they picked teens to play the part, rather than adults that played teenagers in so many movies (with the exception of the red ranger, see my comments below). Basic plot of the movie is 5 teens discover these stones that give them super powers. Their job is to defend the life force of the earth, which the villain Rita Repulsa is after. Spoiler but not really because this is revealed 2 minutes in the movie: Rita used to be the green ranger. I really liked the reimagined look of Rita, but I was partial to Elizabeth Bank's performance. Rants and Raves (includes spoilers) In this rendition the yellow ranger is a lesbian instead of the blue ranger being gay (that was always questionable in the original series, but you know it). I thought that was an interesting touch. The red ranger actor looks like a 35 year old man that had stunted growth. The hair bothered me the most, I think. I really did not buy the whole star quarterback thing when I looked at the actor, they really should have gone with someone else that looked the part. Love Billy Cranston! The actor did a fantastic job of playing the nerdy guy, he's the best ranger in this reboot in my opinion. The big fight scenes at the end were pretty lame. In terms of direction and choreography, I was disappointed. Actually, I thought a lot of the action scenes that involved fighting were lame. I don't know if it's the actors, the director, or what. In the original movie, the action scenes were super cheesy. Here, it's neither good nor cheesy....it doesn't really know what direction it wants to go. I enjoyed the origin story more than the plot story, this never happens. I think it's because the plot story is just OK

My grandkids love this Saban's Power Rangers [Blu-ray + DVD + Digital]

SABAN'S POWER RANGERS (2017) easily has to be biggest, most pleasant movie surprise of the summer of 2017! I had ZERO intention of even watching this thing, ended up almost accidentally deciding to give it a go bored one Saturday evening, the early scene consisting of 2 high school ne'er do wells kidnapping a cow as part of a school prank (yeah, right) and thought, well, I'm not going to make it past 15 minutes of this thing before turning it off. THEN, immediately, a surprisingly thought-provoking scene between father and son, one of the aforementioned high school pranksters, about responsibility, maturity, and thinking about his future. I slowly got sucked in. The son is high school football star Jason Scott (played with great conviction and excellence by newcomer Dacre Montgomery), who is thrown in Saturday detention for his misdeed. There he meets fellow troubled youths cheerleader Kimberly Hart (wonderfully played by newcomer Naomi Scott) and autistic science geek Billy Cranston (brilliantly performed in scene-stealing fashion by newcomer RJ Cyler). The 3 youths cross paths at the local town mine and meet 2 other of their fellow high-schoolers, the rebellious loner Trini (winningly played by newcomer Becky G) and the thrill-seeking hothead Zack (well played by newcomer Ludi Lin). Jason=Red Ranger, Kim=Purple Ranger, Billy=Blue Ranger, Trini=Yellow Ranger, Zack=Black Ranger. I had never heard of any of this group of actors before and was mightily impressed with their casting, acting, and chemistry. The 5 teens are "chosen" to defeat the evil Rita Repulsa (played to the hilt by gifted comic actress, the veteran Elizabeth Backs) by Zordon (the previous Red Ranger, voiced well by "Mr. Breaking Bad" himself Bryan Cranston) and his cute little wisecracking robot sidekick Alpha 5 (voiced by the hilarious chameleon Bill Hader). The mine serves as the team's base of operations where they alternate between training and arguing until they finally come together not as newly superpowered beings, but as a group of connected teens who relate to each other's real-world problems. The humor works incredibly throughout, even veering into witty territory at times. The lighthearted tone was always underneath the surface of the, dare I say it, powerful drama. And as mentioned before, the acting was incredibly strong across the group of gifted young newbies. Expecting this romp to be nothing more than a throwaway, silly, cheesy, summer kids movie, I was stunned at how it managed to avoid clichés and really be ABOUT something! To my surprise, the movie actually built up the character relationships for the first 2/3 of the movie, really forming convincing bonds among the 5 troubled youths. The last 1/3 of course is mostly action, but thanks to the buildup, I actually gave a damn about the survival of this unit of teens. I am honestly looking forward to the sequel!

This movie is a JOY. I grew up with the Power Rangers and watched the movies with Amy Jo and Jason Frank 100x over and this movie is such a needed divergence from what we've seen of the power rangers brand before. The most important thing I would say is to enjoy the cheesy parts! Elizabeth Bank's Rita? She's bizarre and tawdry but enjoyable, especially for those of us that remember the old Rita Repulsa. Bringing back the old theme song? Freaking fantastic, it was so cheesy and I loved it. The cheesy-ness I'm glad they lacked was the perfect, cringe worthy 90's kids. Instead we saw a cast that you want to follow in a series, growing characters with flaws and real world issues, who build honest, believable relationships. Is the build up slow? I'll admit they spent a good amount of time establishing the characters and ––in my opinion–– worth watching. I found every second of this movie enjoyable but if you're just looking for another fast-paced, superhero action flick made for those who squirm in a seat too long... it might drag. Just try to enjoy the characters. The music. The witty dialog. I'm glad to say I'll be watching this Power Rangers movie 100x over too.

I am an original MMPR fan from back when it premiered in the US and I LOVED this movie! I waited way too long to see it. I remember when I heard it was coming out, I expressed excitement to a friend of mine and he made fun of me for being excited for what he said was "a little kid's movie". Well, I can tell you it is not "a little kids movie" (see the PG13 rating). This movie takes it's time to set up the characters and their relationships to the point where you care about them. They become the MMPR that we all love from 1993. Their suits are reminiscent of the originals and their Zords are, as well. This has become my favorite super hero movie of all time. Perfect mix of comedy, drama, and just the right amount of "fan service." I would gladly watch a sequel, if it ever comes to pass. 5 stars will watch again!