Power Rangers

2017  PG-13  ACTION  2h 1min

CAST— Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G, Ludi Lin, Bill Hader, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Banks

MUSIC— Brian Tyler  DIRECTOR— Dean Israelite  BASED ON— Super Sentai: Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger (television), Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (television)

     Hey kids, what time is it? If you guessed Howdy Doody time you may be off by a few decades. No (unfortunately) it’s morphin’ time, which can only mean that the Power Rangers have returned. This iteration has a group of troubled pretty kids accidentally finding ancient space coins that give them super powers. They look to Zordon, one of Earth’s former Power Rangers (now a giant sentient computer screen), for guidance and training. But they’d better hurry, for Rita Repulsa has returned, See, Rita was once a Power Ranger until she decided to kill the rest of her team and take over the world way back in dino times. She wasn’t able to finish the job then so she’s gonna try now, since this new team of Rangers have no idea what they’re doing. Under Zordon’s tutelage the kids train and train but the ever elusive ability to morph into armor-clad heroes continues to elude them. Maybe if they all band together and air their dirty laundry around a bonfire they’ll be able to get past their differences and be able to kick bottom… The trouble with the film is pretty much everything. Going in to this one most probably know that the film is gonna lack depth. But there is a serious deficiency of action, as well. Probably most insulting is the film fails to pay tribute to the corny nostalgia of the hokey '90s TV show from which it’s based. It’s also pretty obvious that the filmmakers view Michael Bay as history’s bestest and brightest, since the film practically screams Bay’s “more is more” ideals. All the more reason why these Power Rangers can go go. AKA Saban’s Power Rangers.

OUR RATING— * ½

ORIGINAL— Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995)