There are times when we all just seem to connect with something and we become fans, it doesn’t always have to be great, as long as it has that one thing you can relate to or enjoy. But like with everything there are different levels of fandom. Those levels are shaped by a thing you love or nostalgia for a long thought lost love. Maybe it fills a void in your life, but more than likely you just get it and feel like it is the most important thing out there. For me shows like Transformers and G.I. Joe played a huge role in my childhood, and I still hold those shows in high regard, while still being fully aware that the quality fails to hold up. When later on movies were released based on those shows I was let down because they became something different and not what I remembered.
I was never into the “Power Ranger” craze, I was not in the age group that it was intended for. Although I was not a fan I was aware of it, because let’s face it, it was everywhere. Two forgettable movies, countless iterations, and over twenty years later the Rangers return to the big screen. We first meet Jason (Dacre Montgomery) and a friend who gets a little too hands on with a cow during a prank gone wrong. After being put into detention he sticks up for Billy (RJ Cyler) who then invites him on an excursion he has planned. That trip leads them to a gold mine where they meet Kimberly (Naomi Scott), Zach (Ludi Lin) and Trini (Becky G.), who all happen to be there for their own reasons. Billy finds something that will change the five of them forever. The next day they are all different and soon they find out why. They are the protectors of life on earth and they must stop Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks) from destroying the world.
Now the only thing I really knew about Power Rangers, were they wore brightly colored uniforms, kung-fu, giant monsters and a giant robot. I knew nothing of who they were and what their purpose was. Lucky for me the film spends more then half of its run time telling me that. We get the standard super hero origin story, they find the power, they learn the power, and then they learn that with great power comes responsibility. Then that is when the Brain, the jock, the princess, basket case and the wannabe criminal learn to be a team. It’s the building of that team that is hard to get through as that first half of the movie feels like it takes forever. Once they get through all of that then that is where the fun starts. Now I use the word ‘fun’ loosely because it feels like this movie was made for current fans and not so much to bring new ones in. The buildup from the first half also feels like it is just leading to the most expensive Krispy Kreme commercial ever. After all that though, I am not going to lie, I kind of liked the last twenty minutes in all of its B movie glory. It’s the other hour and forty minutes that are not very good, to the point I was laughing more at the movie than with it. I don’t think I will be eagerly anticipating the next chapter in this story, but for those fans out there, you should go go see this movie.