Power Rangers | Gryphon's First Impressions

-SOME SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW!!!-

There's something you need to know before you proceed with this review, my experience with Power Rangers is somewhat limited. As a kid, I remembered the show being on television but I never actually watched it. The only bit of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers I have clear memories of are the moment during the Season 3 opening when the zords come flying toward the screen and the Happy Meal toys they did when the first movie came out. It wasn't until I was a bit older I sat down to try and watch my first season of Power Rangers which happened to be 'Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue'. For what ever reason, I never finished it.
Since then, as the shows went on, I've been very on and off on watching them. the only Power Rangers shows I've watched all the way through are Time Force, Wild Force, Dino Thunder, SPD, Jungle Fury and RPM.

I'm went into this movie with little to no prior knowledge of the original 'Mighty Morphin Power Rangers', as a casual viewer who likes to watch people in brightly colored outfits beat up monsters and then do it a second time in a giant robot.

With all that said and done, is Power Rangers a good movie?
To some hardcore fans, their opinions might vary. Although a certain Kidd I saw the movie with is a big Power Rangers fan and he certainly enjoyed it, and so did I!

The main 5 teenagers are the reason to see this movie. They all portray their characters really well and give appropriate updates to them. They don't make them just vanilla goody-goods, they feel more like real people with real problems.
The one I wanna mention the most is Billy, played by RJ Cyler. He mentions that he is on the spectrum, meaning he is Autistic. Autism is a very complex mental disorder, different symptoms range from person to person and as someone who is on the spectrum himself, I found this portrayal to be done quite well. Billy stutters his words, fixates on things in a very specific way and doesn't always understand things like humor right away. Those are all things that I deal with myself.
It's funny since blue isn't exactly one of my favorite colors, I'd always thought of myself as a Red or Black ranger and now here I am identifying myself as a Blue one!

As far as Zordon and Alpha 5 go, I really liked them a lot and I'm glad they were given more depth and character then they probably were in the show.

Going in, I was not expecting Rita Repulsa to be a complete psychopath in this movie. There were moments where I was legit creeped out by her, but Elizabeth Banks still retains some of Rita's trademark over the top, silly moments.

Power Rangers is a show that is known for it's silly and over the top goofy moments and I'm glad that this movie still has it, although some jokes may not do it for some people. The bull scene, that's all I'm going to say.

Admittedly, the main 5 aren't in the suits or the Zord's for very long. I myself don't feel let down by that, the characters themselves are just as engaging without them. I'm reminded of a quote I heard during the making of the 2008 Iron Man film that went along the lines of "If we didn't make the audience care about Tony Stark, then they wouldn't care about seeing him in the suit." I agree with that, I don't think I'd enjoy the movie that much if I didn't enjoy the characters.
Think of this movie as your average 2-part Power Rangers pilot episode, except stretched to a little over 2 hours. Part 1 is character establishment and build-up and Part 2 deals with escalation of threats and the realization that the team has to work as one and that's when they earn the chance to wear the suits and pilot the Zords.

The one negative point I have with the movie are the choices of music that play. When you watch the Rangers fight Monsters, you usually get some energized rock music to complement the action. I don't get the same level of energy listening to kanye west. I think a certain orchestral rock theme that plays during the credits should have been played during the final battle.
The score itself is quite good and fits the mood of the movie well, I just could've used less pop trash.

 

If ya like Power Rangers, go see this movie. If ya like fun action movies, go see this movie. Even if you're not as big of a fan of the Mighty Morphin' era or are still on the fence about this movie, I still say give it a shot, I did and I would absolutely call it: Morphinominal! 
Now if you'll excuse me, this box of Krispy Kreme's I have isn't gonna finish itself. 

Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon

and I hope you've enjoyed your time here in my lair.
So long...

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