"Power Rangers" | MOVIE REVIEW

You know, the only thing that's truly surprising about these Rotten Tomatoes scores is that critics were expecting to like a movie based on the original Power Rangers TV show. Just think about that; critics were expecting to like a movie based on this:

I wonder why they didn't like this one.

Power Rangers is a new movie based on the old Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers TV show from the 90's and, much like the source material it's based on, it revolves around a group of teenagers who get powers and team up to become a unit of superheroes. This one's directed by Dean Israelite (Project Almanac) and stars RJ Cyler, Dacre Montgomery, Ludi Lin, Becky G, and my favorite actress in the movie, Naomi Scott.

I love her.

Like most kids, I was a Power Rangers fan growing up, so when it was announced that they were making a big-screen version of the show, I was immediately on edge. My experiences with childhood icons being brought to the big screen were't entirely pleasant. Transformers was enjoyable, but its sequels sucked. I avoided the new Ninja Turtles movies and haven't heard too many good things about the first one. To my surprise, this one actually looked promising, so I thought I would give it a shot.

And, I actually thought it was worth it.

I was genuinely surprised with how much I liked this movie.

First of all, let's get this straight out of the way - if you're going into Power Rangers expecting something along the lines of Transformers or Ninja Turtles, you're not gonna get that. It's not a straight-up action film with massive, over-the-top set-pieces, and neither is it a movie that tries to copy the MCU formula. The direction they went with this one was to deliver a character movie about how these five kids become the Power Rangers, and I thought it worked for this movie.

We get to spend a lot of time to the characters that we're introduced to in this movie and develop a connection to them. It does something that I feel a lot of cinematic universe-building movies in recent memory failed to do, and that is invest us in these characters that we're all supposed to root for. The movie does a great job at making you want to see them succeed, and I thought that was awesome.

Not only that, the five Rangers were actually all very well-acted by some very good actors. Seriously, they're all good.

Some look very good, too.

I only knew two of the main actors before going into Power Rangers - those being RJ Cyler (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) and Naomi Scott (Lemonade Mouth) - and had no clue who the rest were. Coming out of this movie, I was glad that I knew who they were. I like having that sense of discovery coming out of movies like these, so that's always a plus.

Bryan Cranston was great as Zordon, and, although I do feel like a lot of people will be annoyed with Alpha-5 - you know, that scrawny little CGI robot - in here, I actually thought he was pretty entertaining, and that Bill Hader did a great job playing him.

And, in true Power Rangers spirit, we once again have another super hot Pink Ranger to gush over.

Seriously, though. She is amazingly hot.

I also liked the amount of indie flavor and flair that director Dean Israelite brought to the movie. There were a lot of really good action sequences and a lot of moments of just really, really good directing. I'm not even kidding you - there's this one really intense scene in the beginning that reminded me of the hallway scene in Netflix's Daredevil. Good stuff. Really good stuff, I might add. And all this flavor made the movie feel unique while still being apparently influenced by a lot of other movies. And, personally, I thought the movie hit all the right notes that a live-action Power Rangers movie should be hitting, and I enjoyed the hell out of it.

That doesn't mean it's perfect, however. I do have some annoyances with this movie.

There are times wherein the CGI feels kinda uneven and, you know, CGI. Some of the visual effects in this movie were kinda off, too. Like, there's this one scene wherein they jump into a pit and it looks as if they're falling faster than the background is moving. I found that a bit weird.

I found this one small fight sequence to be a bit of a let-down, too, in that you couldn't see anything that was happening on screen. Like, remember that one lightsaber fight scene between Anakin and Count Dooku in Attack of the Clones?

You know, this?

It was kinda like that. It was constantly jumping from dark wide shots to some really poorly-lit close-up shots of individual actions, and it was jarring and took me out of the movie briefly. So, that kinda sucked.

I wanna touch on Elizabeth Banks' take on Rita Repulsa in this movie, too - it's something that needs to be addressed. I'm gonna be completely honest here; she was quite over the top. I know, I know, that shouldn't be a problem in a Power Rangers movie, but when the actors playing the Rangers are all serious and giving it their all, Rita being over the top kinda sticks out like a sore thumb.

She reminded me of a mix of Jim Carrey's Riddler and the Sisters from Kubo and the Two Strings, just not in a good way.

Also, it really should be mentioned that, if you're going into this expecting some cheesy Power Rangers throwdowns, you don't get them until the last forty-five minutes. This movie compensates for that, at least, by giving you time to invest yourself in the characters.

Overall, Power Rangers was better than I thought it was gonna be, and I genuinely really enjoyed it. It reminded me of X-Men: First Class, in that you get a really good story of a group of people who come together to form a band of superheroes. Is it a perfect movie? Hardly.

Seriously, though, since when did the Power Rangers mean the pinnacle of perfect anything?

Is it an enjoyable origin story with great characters who are all developed really well? Yes, yes it is. And, for my money, I was happy with Power Rangers, and I will say it's worth seeing and a Jar Jar thumbs-up.

I'll tell you what is perfect, though.

She is.

So, Power Rangers. Go see it, if you haven't already. And, if you have, I wanna know what you thought of it. Leave a comment below, let me know. And, as always, this has been Rafa. Stay classy.