Wild Force wasn't terrible, but it's not the best. It was fun, but the show really fell down in a bunch of places.
Let's start with what it got right. First, the music was awesome. This season had easily the best Power Ranger theme tune since In Space.
The team-up with the Time Force team was simply awesome! They had better interactions with each other than any team-up in a long time, and it was cool to see the way they used the Mut-Org concept to tie the two seasons in with each other in a way that actually felt relevant.
Also, I loved seeing Cole's story progress, and how he was able to overcome his hatred of the man who killed his parents. That was a great ending point for the season. Problem was, it happened halfway through, which brings us to the bad parts of Wild Force.
It felt all too often like the writers didn't know where to go with the series. This is especially apparent with Merrick; he keeps bouncing all over the place emotionally. It feels clear that he was supposed to have some sort of Defrosting Ice Queen relationship with Shayla, but he never actually got around to the defrosting part! Also, his special Sixth Ranger weapon was... a pool cue. The Sixth Ranger is supposed to be the most awesome guy in the room, but Merrick was just weird and mostly lame, a huge disappointment.
Although he wasn't alone. Almost all of the actors were subpar, though special mention has to go to Sin Wong (Toxica) whose wooden performance was on par with Vypra from Lightspeed Rescue. Seriously, Power Rangers guys, what's the deal with you casting so many Asian chicks who can't act for the role of the villain's henchmen?!?
Animus/Kite. 'Nuff said.
Also, the end of the finale positively reeks of Deus ex Machina. It pulls a solution out of nowhere, with no explanation of how it works in-universe.
And then there's Forever Red. It was really good for the first half, setting up what should have been a truly epic fight against evil... but then failed badly to deliver on it. Just about everything up to the point where they all morphed was perfect. But then came the big fight against the generals. They're supposed to be boss-level villains, but these Rangers mowed them down like a bunch of Mooks. Disappointing, but not as disappointing as what followed: Serpentera, the ultimate evil Zord, getting taken out by a freaking motorcycle! Lame!
What we should have seen is these Red Rangers, the most powerful of their respective teams, bringing out their red Zords and combining them into a massive red Megazord to face off against Serpentera. Come on, guys. This is Power Rangers! We want spectacle! But alas, it was not to be. The episode was supposed to be a lot better than we saw, but it ended up getting Screwed by the Network. So much wasted potential there! (Which really sums up the whole series.)
So... yeah. Wild Force. Good, but it could have been a lot better.
It has its ups and down...
Wild Force wasn't terrible, but it's not the best. It was fun, but the show really fell down in a bunch of places.
Let's start with what it got right. First, the music was awesome. This season had easily the best Power Ranger theme tune since In Space.
The team-up with the Time Force team was simply awesome! They had better interactions with each other than any team-up in a long time, and it was cool to see the way they used the Mut-Org concept to tie the two seasons in with each other in a way that actually felt relevant.
Also, I loved seeing Cole's story progress, and how he was able to overcome his hatred of the man who killed his parents. That was a great ending point for the season. Problem was, it happened halfway through, which brings us to the bad parts of Wild Force.
It felt all too often like the writers didn't know where to go with the series. This is especially apparent with Merrick; he keeps bouncing all over the place emotionally. It feels clear that he was supposed to have some sort of Defrosting Ice Queen relationship with Shayla, but he never actually got around to the defrosting part! Also, his special Sixth Ranger weapon was... a pool cue. The Sixth Ranger is supposed to be the most awesome guy in the room, but Merrick was just weird and mostly lame, a huge disappointment.
Although he wasn't alone. Almost all of the actors were subpar, though special mention has to go to Sin Wong (Toxica) whose wooden performance was on par with Vypra from Lightspeed Rescue. Seriously, Power Rangers guys, what's the deal with you casting so many Asian chicks who can't act for the role of the villain's henchmen?!?
Animus/Kite. 'Nuff said.
Also, the end of the finale positively reeks of Deus ex Machina. It pulls a solution out of nowhere, with no explanation of how it works in-universe.
And then there's Forever Red. It was really good for the first half, setting up what should have been a truly epic fight against evil... but then failed badly to deliver on it. Just about everything up to the point where they all morphed was perfect. But then came the big fight against the generals. They're supposed to be boss-level villains, but these Rangers mowed them down like a bunch of Mooks. Disappointing, but not as disappointing as what followed: Serpentera, the ultimate evil Zord, getting taken out by a freaking motorcycle! Lame!
What we should have seen is these Red Rangers, the most powerful of their respective teams, bringing out their red Zords and combining them into a massive red Megazord to face off against Serpentera. Come on, guys. This is Power Rangers! We want spectacle! But alas, it was not to be. The episode was supposed to be a lot better than we saw, but it ended up getting Screwed by the Network. So much wasted potential there! (Which really sums up the whole series.)
So... yeah. Wild Force. Good, but it could have been a lot better.