Movie Series Review - Power Rangers

It's Morphin Time!! So I missed the cinema run of last year's film so I figured why not do a series review that covers the other two films. I have watched quite a lot of Power Rangers shows and I think we can all agree that the majority of them are very silly, bizarre, camp but above all, fun. I wouldn't call myself a true fan to Power Rangers, but I have watched enough to be able to review the films. As bad or good as they are, let's see if they live up to expectations:

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie

Set in the original TV series universe, the Power Rangers participate in a charity skydive alongside Bulk (reprised by Paul Schrier) and Skull (reprised by Jason Narvy) to help fund the Angel Grove observatory in anticipation of Ryan's Comet which is scheduled to pass in two days. But when Bulk and Skull accidentally land in a construction zone, the enemies of the Power Rangers find a giant egg and crack it open to release Ivan Ooze (played by Paul Freeman), an old enemy of Zordon (played this time by Nicholas Bell) who uses his newly found powers to make the Rangers powerless and almost kill Zordon. Zordon however manages to send the Rangers (with help from Alpha 5, played this time by Peta-Maree Rixon) to the distant planet of Phaedos where they can go to save Zordon before Ivan does what every supervillain would do, take over the world. As far as Power Rangers is concerned, this film manages to retain everything we know and love about the franchise and also gives us a more realistic Zordon as opposed to a disorientated face as seen in the show. Its not the best film in the world, but it does what many Star Trek films have failed to do in that it has a connection to the show, but feels very much like a blockbuster film with its production values being very high up. Probably best suited for the fans, but I'm sure most movie goers will find this enjoyable even if it's not up to scratch. 7/10

Turbo - A Power Rangers Movie

Set as a bridge between Zeo and Turbo, we meet this wizard named Lerigot (played by Jon Simanton) who is being hunted down by a space pirate who seeks his gold key to traverse through an inter-dimension portal where a demon promises to grant the pirate riches and power. Lerigot escapes and lands on Earth in Africa where he is taken in by a family of chimpanzees. Meanwhile in Angel Grove, the Power Rangers are once again doing a charity event which is shortly interrupted when Zordon (this time played by Winston Richard) sends them to find Lerigot. A lot of hostage negotiations then take place and battles soon take place while the Rangers learn of their Turbo powers. In comparison to the first film, this one is lacking in quality. Zordon is now back to being a disorientated face and the majority of the film feels like a made for TV film than a big blockbuster. That being said, its still just as camp and fun as before. But this is one film that doesn't have the Turbo power it needs to be great. Though fans will still enjoy it however. 6/10

Power Rangers (2017)

So believe it or not, this is in fact the first Power Rangers film to not be tied to any TV show to do with the Rangers which allows for some originality and other things for both fans and movie goers to enjoy (or hate). So following a similar prologue to how every Transformers film by Michael Bay plays out, we come to the Cenozoic era where the Power Rangers are tasked with protecting the world and the so called Zeo Crystal. But when the Green Ranger Rita (played by everyone's favourite female rebel master builder with a name that sounds like a DJ, Elizabeth Banks) betrays the team to dominate the universe, the Red Ranger Zordon (this time played by the man who knocks, Bryan Cranston) hides the power source of the Power Rangers away and orders Alpha 5 (this time, voiced by former SNL member Bill Hader) to orchestrate a meteor strike that kills him and the dinosaurs while banishing Rita to the depths of the ocean. Many years later in Angel Grove, we meet a group of teenagers who have been given detention and it is here where we see them become the new Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as Rita emerges from her presumably watery grave ready to continue her plans for universe domination. As the first film to not be tied or set into any of the franchise's TV shows, its actually pretty good. It starts off strong before we get all the usual school cliches and it actually manages to do more original things than expected. One of the Rangers is autistic while another questions her sexual orientation which gives the film a bit of diversity and showing that anyone can be a Power Ranger no matter what they are. The suits look a bit over the top, but manage to keep with tradition by having some notable differences to previous costumes. It's not a perfect Power Rangers film, but as the first one not to have any connection with any of the TV shows, it's not bad and the casting is well thought out too. 7/10

So Power Rangers isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, but they are fun to watch. Each of the films are best described as being for the fans more than for general movie goers, but each one tries its best to do something different. The new one goes above and beyond to reinvent the team in many creative ways while the original two retain what's great about the many TV shows and doing what it can to be great films. All of them are not perfect, but they are fun and that's what matters most as well as continuity and staying faithful to the franchise as a whole. 7/10