Review: Saban’s Power Rangers

It’s Morphin’ Time!

Saban’s Power Rangers is the modern reboot of the campy 90’s TV show. The film tells the origin story of the Power Rangers. It stars Jason (played by Dacre Montgomery), the classic all-star athlete’ who makes a major mistake with the law. It results in house arrest and detention every Saturday for the rest of his senior year. Jason begins to make some friends in detention and they are given extraordinary superhuman powers to save their city.

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Saban’s Power Rangers. By the way it was marketed, I thought it was going to be a children's property turned into a horrendous PG-13 reboot (ex. Transformers). But in reality, the film is a fun action flick that was surprisingly entertaining. The acting was also not lousy. I was under the original assumption that Director Dean Israelite, hired cheap no name actors, with little talent. In reality, they seemed to know what they were doing over the majority of the time. These high school heros had a lot to carry because, they honestly aren't the Power Rangers for the majority of the film. They had emotional bonding throughout the feature. It was interesting to see characters who didn't care about each other at first, transform into having a family-like connection. Bryan Cranston was a major highlight in the film as Zordon, the previous Red Ranger. But, the standout by far was Alpha 5 (played by Bill Hader). Hader brought a great amount of light-hearted humor during the film. Also, as a whole, the majority of the comedy worked. During my screening, the jokes had the crowd laughing. Saban’s Power Rangers surprised me, like the 2010 release Kick-A**. They both looked like stupid, over the top, cheesy, superhero flicks. But they ended up working.

Now this film does definitely have it’s stupid and cheesy moments. There were quite a few jokes that just fell flat, as well as, some over the top acting. Ultimately, I think the acting was the director's fault for giving them a bad direction. Also, Elizabeth Banks seemed to be working just for the paycheck, and was definitely not giving her all as Rita Repulsa. Her costume, at points, specifically stood out with a lack in quality, as well as, the Rangers suits. During some of the action scenes, the visual effects would occasionally stand out. With a $100 million budget, that really shouldn't happen.

Over all ,I have to admit I would recommend Saban’s Power Rangers to anyone with low to mid range expectations. It was pleasantly able to keep away from the campiness of the television series but, yet still maintain the same vibe and feel. I am one who did not grow up watching Power Rangers but, I did enjoy this film. It did a great job explaining the lore for those who are unfamiliar with the property. It is great for kids and teens, as well as, fans of the older series!

All this being said, I will give Saban’s Power Rangers a 3/5

What would I have changed? (Spoilers)

Click here to read what I would Change

Well, I really wish that all the cheesy jokes, that just weren't funny, were cut out. And, I think either a better villain should have been chosen or, they should have casted an actress who would have performed better in the role. I also thought that the high schoolers were honestly stupid in a lot of their decision-making. I don’t know why it was never addressed that their parents did not ever wonder where they were or, even cared where they were, especially during the final battle scene. The last thing I really wished was changed is when Rita Repulsa had the Rangers tied up on the boat. Why wouldn't she have killed them? She attempted to kill Billy and knew the Rangers would grow stronger. So why wouldn't she just get rid of them while it was easy? That scene was not thought through.

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Cabell (Contributor) is a filmmaker from Tampa, Florida. He will watch just about any film but when he's not reviewing the latest hits he spends time directing films of his own.