Movie Review: Power Rangers

 

After watching Transformers fans get their dreams repeatedly crushed by Michael Bay, Power Rangers fans can take solace in the fact that director Dean Israelite (Project Almanac) and screenwriter John Gatins (Flight) took the time and effort to faithfully adapt this widely beloved series. Power Rangers makes you feel like it's a Saturday morning in the early 90's with its infectious, goofy spirit, emphasis on the power of teamwork and of course, a beautifully over-the top villain in Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks at her scenery-chewing, scene-stealing finest). It's pretty much exactly what you'd expect out of a big-screen adaptation of Power Rangers and in my eyes, that's the biggest complement you can give a film like this.

Where Power Rangers surprises is with the effectiveness of its backstory. Gatins' script devotes a good chunk of time to developing the relationships between the Rangers and thanks to the strong camaraderie between its five leads (Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G and Ludi Lin), it mostly works. The time the film takes to explore each Ranger's backstory combined with the level of authenticity each actor brings to their respective role (Cyler's portrayal of the autistic Blue Ranger Billy Cranston is particularly convincing) makes it really easy for the audience to get invested in this group of flawed yet charismatic characters. The success of these smaller character moments more than makes up for its shocking lack of memorable action sequences. Even with its choppily-shot and relatively underwhelming fight scenes, Power Rangers manages to be an entertaining blockbuster that compares favorably to other recent superhero origin stories.   
3.5/5 Stars