'Power Rangers' Movie Review

Hello, fellow moviegoers!
   Power Rangers is directed by Dean Israelite, and it stars Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Elizabeth Banks, and Bryan Cranston. It is based on the incredibly popular TV series that began in the 90s, and it tells the story of five high school students after they discover ancient stones that give them incredible powers. Soon after, they discover that they must now become the Power Rangers to save the world from an evil sorceress known as Rita Repulsa. When this film was announced, many people dismissed it out of hand, but I actually wrote an article defending the idea. Was it worth it? Definitely. 

   This new Power Rangers film is a great example of how to balance nostalgia and the quality of a film. First and foremost, this film is tons of fun. All the action sequences are over the top (in a good way), and the humor consistently hits well. I had a big smile on my face from the moment this film started to the moment the credits rolled. In addition to the immense sum of fun, Power Rangers also has a surprising amount of heart to it. Throughout the film, I found myself legitimately caring about what was going on. I wanted to see what happened next, and I was rooting for these characters to succeed.
   Speaking of the characters, they are a large part of what gives this film so much heart. In the original series, for the most part, they were cliché cardboard cutout "Let's save the day!" superheroes. This film takes what people loved about those characters and adds to it without changing who they were at their core. Each of the five Rangers in this film was a fully fleshed out three-dimensional character. They had good things about them, they had flaws, and they had motivations. They felt like actual teenagers, which is the best compliment I can give to them. Since I became so attached to these characters, I cared about what was happening to them, and it added another layer of depth to the film that is missing too often in films like this.
   The most surprising thing in this film, to me, were the performances given by the cast. The entire cast that plays the Power Rangers in this film are complete unknowns to the general movie going audience, and they were all great! They each played their character extremely well and helped to differentiate the characters from one another. In the original series, it was just people in brightly colored suits kicking butt. In this new film, each Ranger had their own unique character traits, and those traits were portrayed wonderfully by the cast. All five of these actors and actresses, if they play their cards right, could become big names in Hollywood!
   As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, Power Rangers shows how to perfectly balance nostalgia and the quality of a film. This film mainly concerns itself with actually making an enjoyable film that can introduce these characters to a new generation, but it also works very hard to keep its original audience happy. There are many moments in this film that are callbacks to the original series. Whether it’s a cameo from an actor or actress, a visual or audio cue, or an obscure reference, there were several moments in this film where I found myself and several other audience members really geeking out.
   Overall, I thought Power Rangers was really good! I went into this film hoping to get some fun and a little bit of reminiscence out of it, and I was pleasantly surprised when it actually had well-developed characters, an interesting plot, in-depth world building, and an incredible amount of heart. Power Rangers is a really fun time at the theater, especially if you’re a fan of the original series. I would definitely recommend this film if you enjoyed the show. If you haven’t seen the show, I still think you can have a lot of fun with it. I loved Power Rangers, and I really hope to see this become a big film franchise!
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8.5/10

​   So what did you think of Power Rangers? Did you love it as much as I did? Let me know by commenting on this post! Also, if you enjoyed this review, share it on Facebook and Twitter! It really helps! Don’t forget, I post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so check back then for more movie reviews and miscellaneous movie thoughts!

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