I'm a guy in his early forties who usually loves (good) superhero movies. I've only caught a few episodes of Power Rangers here and there over the years, found it campy, predictable fun, but wasn't really a fan. I write this so you know where this opinion comes from. So after a promising start in the distant past and some high-school hi-jinks with a bunch of misfits/rejects, something strange started happening. As more and more fantastical elements were introduced, the more I felt underwhelmed and doubtful. Not quite sure when it started, but it was particularly obvious with the introduction of the Zorgs (robot-dinosaur vehicles) that was very lacklustre. The Zorg designs might have been too "detailed", but I even had trouble making out what dinosaur they were supposed to be. To be fair, I love the new Ranger outfits although, once again, their first appearance was kind of muffed.
The plot that seemed not so bad at first with actual character building got stupid and corny pretty fast with dumb decisions from both the heroes (yes, let's all jump) and the lame main villain (let's end all life on Earth with me on it, because, uh...). The actors certainly tried hard, were probably better than standard TV actors, but they didn't sell the touching or dramatic scenes to me. Then again, I also blame the script. However, the highlight acting-wise was the young black man called RJ Cyler in an autistic role (despite too much makeup). But beyond the plot and acting, kind of secondary in that type of film, there should have been a building sense of wonder and excitement that wasn't really there for me. The visual effects were hit (Zordon on the wall) and miss (the Zorgs). The fights that should have been thrilling seemed mostly unexciting and uninspired to me, especially the last one. So without the nostalgia factor in its favour, this big-budget remake didn't make a Power Rangers fan out of me.
Rating: 3.5 out of 10 (mediocre)
P.S. A really obnoxious product placement actually got some of the few good laughs.
The plot that seemed not so bad at first with actual character building got stupid and corny pretty fast with dumb decisions from both the heroes (yes, let's all jump) and the lame main villain (let's end all life on Earth with me on it, because, uh...). The actors certainly tried hard, were probably better than standard TV actors, but they didn't sell the touching or dramatic scenes to me. Then again, I also blame the script. However, the highlight acting-wise was the young black man called RJ Cyler in an autistic role (despite too much makeup). But beyond the plot and acting, kind of secondary in that type of film, there should have been a building sense of wonder and excitement that wasn't really there for me. The visual effects were hit (Zordon on the wall) and miss (the Zorgs). The fights that should have been thrilling seemed mostly unexciting and uninspired to me, especially the last one. So without the nostalgia factor in its favour, this big-budget remake didn't make a Power Rangers fan out of me.
Rating: 3.5 out of 10 (mediocre)
P.S. A really obnoxious product placement actually got some of the few good laughs.