Power Rangers

Saban's Power Rangers, the 90s worldwide phenomenon is back to visual feed. We are told the origin story of how it all began in the first place. Who's Zordon (Bryan Cranston), how his team failed to protect the Zeo Crystal & the connection of all these to the antagonist & traitor, Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks) are shown in the initial few minutes. It pretty much sets up what the plot is about to travel towards during its remaining runtime, in a tawdry CGI fest. But, sometimes, just sometimes, the graphical effects are okay.

Where the major problem with the film lies is at its First Act. The movie had tough time choosing what style statement it wants to represent. Dutch angles are used for snazzy purposes without understanding the actual reason why such cinematography technique exist in the first place. Non-stop camera rotation inside a vehicle is headache inducing. Handheld camera usage is worse! Even mobile accidents had to be glazed with computer graphics which suck away all reality. Jumping off cliffs are obvious green screens. Also, we have an editor who doesn't know what is he doing. Footages & angles are cut choppily without any organization! Horror flashes & nightmares are horrible! Overused slow motions are for no reasons! Apparent ADR is detectable in battles. As with all superhero motion pictures, we have expositions after expositions by dialogues. And so far, we are only into the technicalities. Let's talk about the characters.

Agreed, the actors are likable. But, we can't say the exact same praise about the characters though. It takes a while for you to know them, and preferring them is another question entirely. RJ Cyler as Billy Cranston aka Blue Ranger is the most appealing of the lot! Dacre Montgomery as Jason Scott aka Red Ranger and Naomi Scott as Kimberly Hart aka Pink Ranger are fine. But the way these personas meet in a gold mine together with the other two is so forced! And for no reasons, Zack (Ludi Lin) has to break the stones by claiming it would earn him money. Really? What's up with him messing around with a Dinozord out of nowhere? And what is that abrupt accident about? Were the screenwriters in control of the steering while penning the script for this or what? Food counter gets hot, no one knows why. A benign kid like Billy could get himself into detention, God knows why. Probably because he's a hacker or something, we'll never know. Trini (Becky G) avoiding Kimberly before both of them ever met or interacted. Come on, there are better ways to explore homosexuality & sexual orientation conflicts without inserting sequences that do not make sense.

Looking through the spectacle of these kids, over time, you understand who they are. They are rebellious & social outcasts in nature. By far the best scene would be the bonfire sequence where they share their stories, open up themselves to one another and locate friendships. Yes, most of the characterizations are explained using words, but it works partially. They are grounded to Earth. Even they self-realize how silly the idea of Power Rangers is, which was funny. Although they are powerful, they are vulnerable nevertheless. You see how they become closer & overcome hardships as a group through teamwork. This is why Billy's supposed death is touching, and the pop song that appears as background addition, followed by Jason's emotional speech are all the more for it! But, when did they capture the celebrity-like candid shot photo though? Or who shot it, is a better question? Audiences aren't dumb, dear filmmakers. The teens penetrating a layer of surface under water is alike The BFG, just saying.

While on this side of the story we have such characters, Rita Repulsa on the other end of the spectrum is cheesy as hell. Her motivations, the way she walks, talks and everything are so damned artificial! It's too ridiculously bad! This is exactly why we experience extremely campy stuffs immediately after a good moment in the movie. These two bipolar opposite tones do not meet well! Choose one, makers! Which route do you want to take the film towards? The cheesy way or the gritty way? There are numerous dumb scenes in this feature, such as body remains from Cenozoic Era found through mass fishing, Rita launched into air and freezing in space. What do you do when an alien looking creature walks into your jewellery shop? Treat them like any one of your customers of course! Bumblebee joke for real? Blatant product placement of Krispy Kreme is uncalled for. Acting performances by all, yes, all the junior artists are horrendous! Zords be jumping around & kids be dropping by at a restricted gold mine area with no one noticing or whatsoever! Citizens taking photos of the Zords after a hefty rescue mission, seriously? Villain trespasses Trini's house, tosses her around & shatters the walls, but no one else in her residence could hear it. Rita can make a monster out of gold, but can't figure out where's the location of the Zeo Crystal. Before going to Krispy Kreme, Rita has to drop by the same gold mine to forge her monster buddy. Why the similar location every single time? The cheesiness on Rita is unbrainable. Do you have any idea how laughably bad these are to watch?

It is only at halfway past Plot Point I does the picture improves a little. Training montages are okay. Zordon's pixelated face on the wall, metallic spaceship staging, Alpha 5 (Bill Hader), coloured coins, first morphing attempt & armour suits are decent. Zords, Megazord, swords & Goldar versus Zords are cool! The ultimate morphing finale tailed by the original Power Rangers theme song as well as the contemporary one sends goose-bumps all over body!