So-So Power Rangers

Hollywood is in a weird place. With the rise of Home streaming, Netflix and Redbox taking away Box Office sales, they attempt to cash in while reducing risk by adopting any viable Intellectual Property known to make money. Lionsgate attempts to continue the trend in hopes of making money by rebooting Power Rangers, the popular sentai show made Saturday Morning show fixture by Saban. 



Having grown up with Power Rangers and being said target audience for this film, my initial reaction is... "okay what heck was that?" 

The common rule among critics is that you should not judge a film by its trailer or its marketing because chances are, you're not actually taking the film on its actual merits. So, for the sake of intellectual honesty, I have to say, yes, there exists the possibility this movie will be good. Then again, the possibility that I won't die if I jump out of an airplane sans a parachute also exists but those chances are slim. 

My main reaction is that clearly Lionsgate wants to reboot Power Rangers (at least the film series) by making it as grounded and 'realistic' as possible. A lot of comparisons were made on this film to Chronicle and more troubling, Fant4stic with its handheld camera, emphasis on high school and muted colors. But, considering this is a franchise where giant technicolor animal robots combine to make an awkward looking humanoid fighting machine, I think the producers are barking up the wrong tree. I'm not saying it's impossible, but there is such a thing as an uphill battle.

I loved Power Rangers as a kid and as a child I was able to get the movie I always wanted in Power Rangers: The Movie. And I got it again in Power Rangers: Turbo. Power Rangers is loud, silly, stupid and primarily exists to sell toys.Trying to make the concept realistic and resonate with today's youth can't help but feel like the producers have utterly missed the point. It's though they're taking all the unique features that made Power Rangers great and trying to do away with those.

Strawman: "But wait! If comic books can do serious adaptations with characters like Batman or Daredevil addressing mature and heavy topics, why not Power Rangers?" 

Yeah, sure. Those adaptations worked but they worked because the artists, writers and creators behind those projects made it work. Having Batman delve into the darker side of Superhero comics added more to the character and world had a layer of depth to those works. But superficial 'dark for the sake of darkness' projects tend to blow up in people's faces. Compare and contrast why "The Dark Knight" is so beloved while people turn their noses up on "Batman v Superman". 

Again, the movie's not out yet so until I see it, I can't say what they did or didn't do right. All I'm saying is that I won't be surprised if the film ends up laying an egg.