Original Power Rangers feature film

The movie was actually pretty well balanced all things considered. People thought it would be all teenage drama, but that was just the first act. The second act was finding the coins and the command center, learning what they've become and then training to morph and actually be Rangers. As a result when they finally become Rangers in the third act it had a sense of triumph rather than finally getting on with the plot.

I talked to a number of film friends and we all agreed that it has some of the best character work a big blockbuster could hope for.

Didn't like it. It had no visual flare, and the tone felt... haphazard. The visual design (suits, tech etc) also didn't seem cohesive. I think if they get a sequel, they need to pick a theme and a tone and stick with it. Either go full self-aware camp like Landis' script, or go full Chronicle.

Like, I can tell the director or the writers didn't really care about the existing Power Rangers stuff, since the movie felt ashamed of its roots, and that's perfectly fine. I just wish they didn't feel beholden to allude to the past if they didn't want to and just focus on the story they wanted to tell.

In the words of Cranston, no more half measures.

With that negativity out of the way, Billy was great. Legit great.

edited 10th May '17 8:10:01 AM by Virtua

I forget, could Alpha fight in the show? He seemed pretty strong here.

No direct combat, in the '95 movie he attempt to karate chop the villain and was ineffectual. An episode of In Space had him fend off invaders and so got some action, but mostly just run and hide.

This movie had him doing a number of judo throws and able to grab and drag the kids using extending arms, as well as demonstrate more complex combat moves. He's no match for the Rangers after they are trained, though.

There was also the time he electrocuted a couple of Putties.

Apparently it only had a 3.3 million debut in China. Guess no sequel :(

Just watched it on DVD. It's a really solid movie. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It had memorable moments and fleshed out characters. It really had a lot of humanity behind it. And I love how Rita got the Cars treatment by way of backhanded slap, and it was a Brick Joke.

Well a friend of mind didnt like it, it said the fight was awfull, so the special efect and the armour look to much like iron man, I still going to see it myself this monday so im going to have a lot of chat with him about it.

So I finally saw this movie, and I have to say that I honestly really liked it.

The film made a great decision by choosing to focus mostly on the characters, their backstories, and how they need to band together not only as a team, but as genuine friends who cherish and trust each other. Given that the film needed to build up five main characters from scratch I feel it did remarkably well, each of them has their own well-defined personality and struggle and are very compelling. I've seen some people comment on how the 5 are cliché or over-the-top teenager problems, but I honestly didn't think it was farcical and the performances by the actors really made them feel grounded. The fact that the Rangers aren't able to morph until the last act of the movie actually works to its benefit, they can only morph when they've developed true comradery, it was so awesome to hear "Go Go Power Rangers" when the Zords came out but I feel like it should have happened during the fight with Rita proper for extra bite.

Even the aspects that I originally was skeptical about turned out to be well-handled. Alpha's design doesn't bother me as much in the movie proper and he's actually quite funny and likable. Rita doesn't resemble her original counterpart but her actress did a great job and was legitimately creepy at points so I really don't mind this reinvention now.

I'm really sad that this film didn't earn more money and got a less than stellar reception by critics. Honestly, it's unjust that a mediocre, insipid film like Revenge of the Fallen can make a killing but a film like this, which isn't perfect but has actual heart behind it, is a box office disappointment (though mercifully it wasn't a COMPLETE flop).

Thankfully, apparently the toy sales have been great and apparently they're a big factor in decisions made by Hollywood nowadays, so it's possible we could still get sequels. I really hope we get a follow-up, I want to see their adaptation of Lord Zedd and the Green Ranger plot.

edited 18th Jun '17 11:37:39 PM by Draghinazzo

I really hope this gets a sequel. I'll even buy the Blu-Ray and I rarely do that these days.

The emotion was genuine. The product placement was hilarious.

edited 20th Jun '17 11:03:34 AM by Beatman1

So, I finally got around to seeing this, and it was both awesome and not at the same time. It's weird. I feel like the film is at its strongest when it's not actually trying to be a Power Rangers movie, if that makes sense.

Most of the film is really powerful stuff. The five teenagers with attitude are fantastic and engaging characters who I really loved and was strongly invested in seeing what would happen to them. The conflict with Zordon is an interesting angle that I quite enjoyed; the dynamic of a great hero having to watch others fail to follow in his footsteps and wrestle with that knowledge of, "I could be doing this, and I'd do it better," but also shackled by the burden that his time has passed and it's the new generation's turn to step up to the plate...that was just a beautifully complex character move and I loved it. It felt right.

Even the action element of these kids being trained to become soldiers in someone else's war and finding a new sense of fulfillment in lives gone astray out of it was a really strong narrative thread, and it made the action in the training montage and subsequent martial arts-y interplay between the characters fun.

But the weakest points of the film were unfortunately when the trappings of the franchise were put on display. Rita is impossible to take seriously any time she's onscreen. The obligatory Putty fight winds up feeling like arbitrary filler. The kaiju fight clashes tonally with the film that's transpired up to this point. If I didn't know the source material, I would swear that the entire third act of a completely different movie got cut off and haphazardly stitched to this one.

Which, in its own way, might have been deliberate given the nature of Power Rangers. From the moment they morph, it certainly feels like someone else's footage haphazardly voiced over. But if that is deliberate, perhaps that's one part of the source material that they would have been better off not having tried to imitate. I don't know. Basically, any time the kids aren't morphed and Rita's not onscreen, it's a great film. That's my position on it.

...

Just watched it. Didn't really feel it man.

Felt a bit cheesy at some points (which is kinda true to the source material) and felt like it took itself a bit too seriously.

I was surprised to see Amy Jo Johnson at the end. I thought she was 100% done with the franchise, so it seems weird she'd be in this even as a cameo.

Was not surprised to see Jason David Frank.

So yeah, it was a thing that happened. Not really impressed.

If this movie and its critics have imprinted anything on me, it's that the world is very eager for a remake of the Breakfast Club.

Just wanted to bump to extend my sympathies to Naomi Scott, who is receiving death threats and Suicide Dares on Twitter over her casting as Jasmine in the live-action Aladdin - simply because she's of Indian, rather than Arab, descent. I mean, no matter how you feel about that, it's not like it's her fault or like death threats are ever called for ever...

Oh for the love of. For crying out loud, nobody deserves that. Stay strong Naomi.

Some days, you just wish to shut down internet after someone pulled that crap.

Ugh, that's horrible.

...People are still using the Breakfast Club analogy? Movie is way too dark for that to work. Hell, the movie is isn't very light and fluffy at all, at least compared to either of the earlier live action movies. Turbo was darker than MMPR The Movie, but not by a significant degree as is.

Yeah, worst we got in Turbo was Maligore turning Jason and Kim evil for a few minutes.

Rita actually killed a Ranger.

The aftermath of which made for a really fantastic scene, even if the mechanics thereof didn't make a hell of a lot of sense.

The way I think of it, the Morphing Grid must have a connection to the Zeo Crystal, right? Both are sources of immense power, and one is used to protect the other. It would make sense that the Morphing Grid is simply a safe, but limited way to tap into the same power.

So the Morphing Grid is using the same energy as the crystal that gives life to everything on Earth. Diverting some of that energy to bring life back doesn't seem far outside the realm of its powers, especially since the two they talk about/actually do use it on have a stronger connection to the grid, as both have morphed prior.

Well, the Zeo Crystal was always connected to the Morphing Grid in the show itself, so it makes sense it's the same way here.

Also, the morphing energy allowed one person to be revived at the time from the way I understand it. Might not even be related to the Zeo Crystal either. And the choice was clear. A good turning point into the movie as well.

According to the show's wiki, all Ranger powers stem from the Morphing Grid. Each team just has their own method of accessing it.

Assuming we get sequels, my guess/hope is that Tommy, Rocky, Adam, Tanya and Kat become the Zeo Rangers.

Right. What's confusing is the way it's set up, though.

We're told that Zordon can come back because Alpha stored his consciousness in the ship's computer. Wall Zordon is basically a backup copy of Zordon's mind and, once the Morphing Grid is activated, he will "step through" the Grid. Presumably, this will resurrect him by way of effectively morphing up a body for his mind to occupy.

But then Zordon sacrifices his chance for resurrection to revive Billy. They don't have a copy of Billy's mind on-hand, so there's nothing to step through the grid, nor is it clear what the grid even did; Billy's original body abruptly pops back to life with no rhyme or reason for how, exactly, Zordon achieved this.

It's a powerful moment and really serves as a great conclusion to the emotional heart of the story regarding the characters' connections to each other, but it doesn't really make a lot of sense within the mechanics we're presented.

Sounds like Power Rangers to me