The Boss Baby

DIRECTOR:  TOM MCGRATH  CAST: ALEC BALDWIN, STEVE BUSCEMI, MILES BAKSHI, JIMMY KIMMEL, LISA KUDROW, TOBEY MAGUIRE  SCREENWRITER:  MICHAEL McCULLERS   PRODUCER:  RAMSEY ANN NAITO  EDITOR:  JAMES RYAN  MUSICAL DIRECTOR:  HANS ZIMMER, STEVE MAZZARO  GENRE: COMPUTER ANIMATED COMEDY  DISTRIBUTOR: DREAMWORKS ANIMATION, 20^TH CENTURY FOX  LOCATION:  UNITED STATES  RUNNING TIME:   98 minutes

Technical assessment:  3

Moral assessment:  3

CINEMA rating:  V13

Narrator Tobey MacGuire says the last thing seven-year-old only child Tim Templeton (voiced by Miles Bakshi) wants is another baby in the family, for he is enjoying the undivided attention of his parents Ted and Janice (voiced by Jimmy Kimmel and Lisa Kudrow).  Then one day a baby brother—Boss Baby (voiced by Alec Baldwin)—arrives, threatening to turn Tim’s world upside down, more so because this is no ordinary baby but wears a business suit and carries an attaché case filled with crayons and a nursing bottle.  One day Tim discovers that not only can his baby brother talk like a bossy adult, but that he is actually in the Templeton home on a mission!  Tim resents the brat’s invasion but the two become allies once Boss Baby admits that if he fails in his mission, he will have no choice but to remain in the Templeton household.

The voice cast is excellent, and the characterization consistent, but Boss Baby being an animated comedy, the movie can’t help but throw in potty humor, childish gags, and a silly chase to advance the plot.  (What Hollywood movie can survive without a chase of some kind—whether it involves cars or cats?)  The weirdness of it all may make the movie be dismissed as forgettable fun, disposable entertainment, but a closer look at the ending (or maybe a second viewing of the whole thing) will reveal that the silliness is intentional, for Boss Baby aims to prick adult conscience while giving kids the laughs.

Boss Baby addresses four issues: 1) where babies come from; 2) the trauma of an only child over the arrival of a younger sibling; 3) society and laws being more protective of dogs/puppies than of human babies; 4) the emptiness of worldly achievement without love.  CINEMA cannot explain more without revealing spoilers, so we leave it to the viewer to put the “weird” and “silly” pieces together and listen to the final song in order to see the movie’s worthwhile message through the “flimsy plot”.     

Can't Help Falling in Love

DIRECTOR:Mae Cruz-Alviar  CAST: Kathryn Bernardo, Daniel Padilla, Mateo Guidicelli  PRODUCER: John Leo Garcia  SCREENWRITER: Carmi Raymundo, Kristine Gabriel  GENRE:  Romantic Comedy  PRODUCTION COMPANY: ABS-CBN Film Productions, Inc.  DISTRIBUTOR: Star Cinema  COUNTRY:Philippines  LANGUAGE: Filipino  RUNNING TIME:79 minutes

Technical assessment: 2.5

Moral assessment: 2.5

CINEMA rating:  V14

MTRCB rating; PG13

Kapwa lango sa kalasingan ang dalawang estranghero na sina Gab (Kathryn Bernardo) at Dos (Daniel Padilla) nang katuwaan silang ikasal ng mayor na kasama nila sa inuman. Nakatakda na talagang ikasal si Gab sa US-based niyang fiancé na si Jason (Mateo Gudicelli). Sa pagkawala ng kanilang kalasingan ay magkakasundo sina Gab at Dos na gawin ang lahat ng paraan upang mapawalang-bisa ang nasabing kasal. Ipagtatapat ni Gab sa fiancé ang ginawa niyang paglalasing subalit maduduwag siyang sabihin ang aksidenteng pagpapakasal kay Dos dahil ayaw niyang tumalikod ito sa itinakda nilang kasal.  Samantala habang tinatrabaho nila ang mga proseso ng annulment ay malalaman nila na ang taong makakatulong sa kanila ay nasa Cebu.  Bibiyahe sila sa Cebu kasama ang dalawang kaibigan para hanapin ang taong ito.  Habang nasa Cebu ay magkakalapit sila at tuluyang mahuhulog ang loob sa isa’t isa. Subalit paano na ang nakatakdang kasal ni Gab kay Jason? Kasabay nito ay mabubunyag din kay Gab na may maselan palang kalagayan si Dos na maari nitong ikamatay ano mang oras kung di sasailalim na matagumpay na operasyos sa ulo.

Mababaw at di kapani-paniwala ang kwento ng Can’t Help Falling In Love. Tila sinadya lang gawin ang pelikula para makita ng mga fans ng sikat na tambalan ang kanilang mga idolo sa big screen. Madalas na close-up ang mga individual na kuha ng camera kina Padilla at Bernardo at mukhang oportunidad ito ng dalawa para magpa-cute sa screen at magpakilig ng mga fans. Pero sa acting ay walang masyadong ipinakita ang ang dalawa. Maganda naman ang mga malalayong kuha ng kamera sa mga tampok na lugar sa Cebu kasabay ng paglalarawan sa mga ito sa pamamagitan ng voice over ni Padilla. May ilang eksena na epektibo ang lighting katulad ng break-up scene nina Gab at Jason, tuwing gigising si Dos at nagte-thank you kay Lord, at ang wedding scene. Tama lang sana ang mga inilapat na musika at kanta maliban sa eksena ng pagkanta ni Gab na naka-microphone at bulaklak bago ipasok sa operating room si Dos na medyo corny ang dating.

Paulit-ulit na eksena sinasambit ang “thank you Lord” sa pelikula ng pangunahing tauhan na si Dos tuwing gigising siya dahil may sakit siya. Pero may sakit man o wala ay maganda na simulan ang araw ng nagpapapasalamat sa Diyos. Samantala, pangunahing tema ng pelikula ang pagpapakasal.  Maaring itong gawin ng madalian subalit hindi ang pagpapawalang-bisa. Ang kasal ay isang seryosong kaganapan sa buhay ng dalawang tao at marapat na gawin ng may lubos na kamalayan at pang-unawa.  Samakatuwid hindi talaga ito pwedeng gawin kapag hibang sa kalasingan ang isang tao kahit nasa tamang edad pa ito.  Gayundin din naman, ang sinumang tao na nakatakda nang ikasal ay dapat maging maingat upang huwag mapasubo ang sarili sa mga situwasyong alanganin.  Sa isang relasyon ay mahalaga na isaalang-alang ang kalayaan ng bawat isa at pagkasunduan ang mga limitasyon upang maging maligaya at panghabang-buhay ang samahan. Naghatid din ang pelikula ng mensahe ng pagtatapat, pagtanggap, at pagpapatawad sa pagitan ng mga magkatipan, ng mga magulang at anak. Sa kabuuan ay positibo ang hatid na mensahe ng pelikula.  Bagama’t maituturing na maganda ang mensaheng ginustong ihatid ng Can’t Help Falling in Love, nalilmliman ito ng kababawan at labis na paglalabas nito ng mga eksenang “pangiliti” at “pampakilig”—hindi mabuting itanim sa kamalayan ng mga musmos na manonood na ang pag-aasawa ay ganon-ganon lamang, romansa, komedya, kasalan na!

Ghost in the Shell

Direction: Rupert Sanders;  Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Michael Pitt, Pilou Asbeak, Chin Han, Juliette Binoche; Screenplay: Jamie Moss, William Wheeler, Ehran Mruger;Based on Ghost In A Shell by Masamune Shirow; Editing:  Neil Smith, Billy Rich; Producer: Avi Arad, Steven Paul, Michael Costigan; Music: Clint Mansell, Lorne Balfe; Genre: Sci-Fi Action; Distributor: Paramount Pictures; Location: Japan;  Running Time: 106 minutes

Technical assessment: 3

Moral assessment: 3

CINEMA rating: V14

Ghost in the Shell is based on the Japanese manga by Masamune Shirow. It is set at a time where people have a bit of robot in them—either as physical aid to a disability or an augmentation to enhance their capability. The Major, Mila Killian’s (Johanssen), is the first to have a human brain transplanted into a robotic body. She is an experiment to develop a counter-operative cyborg.  But beneath the metal shell are fragmented memories of the ghost of the person she used to be. The film follows her battles as an instrument of violence and aggression to  her quest to discover her identity and humanity.

Undeniably, the movie is a visual feast with a roller coaster of spectacular interpretation of the future and the original anime. It stays faithful to the Japanese concept but in staying too faithful the movie fails to come into its own. The iconic Japanese story is nothing new as it resounds other movies of above average spies who are always too willing to set aside their powers and skill in exchange for knowing who they are and how it is to be human (think Bourne Identity, Total Recall, Unknown, and others). However, while the film surpasses them in its visual techniques and production values, it misses the heart of the narrative—that which drives a person to be human and to be with a family.

The message of Ghost in the Shell is everyone's struggle—to find one's identity, to discover the meaning of humanity, and to be one with society. Every person, over time and through the advancement of technology, becomes cold and calculating like a robot. When people start to neglect another person’s feeling in favor of his own, when they set aside natural and Divine laws in the pretense of order and discipline, when the rights of another are trampled to benefit the self—we become less human. But, even in a society where the true self seems to be vanishing – there will always be a Major trying to break free from the shell of corruption, apathy, and oppression in order to discover what it means to be a person.

The Case for Christ

DIRECTOR: Jon Gunn  LEAD CAST: Mike Vogel, Erika Christensen , Frankie Faison, Faye Dunaway, Robert Forster, L. Scott Caldwell  SCREENWRITER: Brian Bird  PRODUCER:  Elizabeth Hatcher-Travis, Karl Horstmann, Michael Scott, David A. R. White,. Alysoun Wolfe, Britanny Yost  EDITOR:  Vance Null  MUSICAL DIRECTOR:  Will Musser  GENRE: Drama, Religion  CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Brian Shanley  DISTRIBUTOR: Pure Flix Entertainment  LOCATION:  USA  RUNNING TIME:   112 minutes

Technical assessment:  3

Moral assessment:  4

CINEMA rating:  V14

The Case for Christ narrates the true story of Lee Strobel (Mike Vogel), a self-proclaimed atheist and award-winning investigative journalist with the Chicago Tribune.  While dining out with his wife (Erika Christensen) his five-year-old daughter Alison (Haley Rosenwasser), is saved from choking to death on a large gumball by a black woman.  When thanked by the tearful mother, the life-saver Alfie (L. Scott Caldwell), a nurse, promptly states that it was Jesus who did it, adding that she and her husband had meant to go to another restaurant but she had a God-given feeling that she would be needed there instead.  Strobel sneers at all this, but later on Leslie would join Alfie’s church.  “You’re cheating on me, with Jesus!” he says in one of their many fights, and proceeds to dig up evidence disproving Jesus’ existence and resurrection.

A true-to-life story translated to film gains power when the actors perform with conviction.  Those are the two big things going for The Case for Christ which easily overshadow the movie’s technical loopholes.  The period dressing (early 80s) is on point, and the over-all acting is good, although Forster as Strobel’s pathetic father is moving.  It’s not the movie’s fault that it has earned very few reviews from First World critics—it’s just that these (apparently nonbelieving) critics tend to avoid touching faith-based filmmaking.  And rightly so, for religion is beyond their purview, thus their critique may be crippled by a merely technical assessment of the film’s artistic merit.

The Case for Christ is a conversion story that highlights its emotional drama more than its theology but has apparently pleased its target audience, debuting to $3.9 million at the box office— an accomplishment for a movie made on a $3 million budget.  This may be saying something about the movie-going public’s hunger for faith-friendly films.  CINEMA watched the movie on its 6^th day of showing; we were rather surprised that the handful of viewers with us then applauded as the credits rolled—pretty unusual for a Filipino audience (who would giggle, sigh, shriek, and swoon to a local romantic comedy, but applaud, never).  We understood then that the applause was for the real-life Lee Strobel who since his dramatic conversion has gone on to become a zealous pastor, authoring several award-winning books on Christian apologetics.  From atheist to Christian apologist—that’s the story that the audience applauds, and the applause signals the need for more edifying filmmaking.  The Case for Christ is a rich source of discussion topics: marital fidelity, the dynamics of conversion, pride and humility, the wounds caused in the child by absent fathers.           

Smurfs: The Lost Village

DIRECTOR:  Kelly Asburi  VOICE CAST: Demi Lovato, Joe Manganiello, Jack McBrayer, Danny Pudi, Mandy Patinkin, Rainn Wilson  SCREENWRITER: Stacey Harman & Pamela Ribon  PRODUCER: Mary Ellen Bauder, Raja Gosnell, Jordan Kerner & Ben Waisbren  EDITOR: Bret Marnell  MUSICAL DIRECTOR:  Christopher Lennertz  GENRE: Fantasy/Adventure/comedy  DISTRIBUTOR: Sony Pictures  LOCATION: USA  RUNNING TIME: 90 minutes

Technical assessment: 3

Moral Assessment: 3

CINEMA Rating: V13

MTRCB Rating: GA

The film starts with Papa Smurf (Mandy Patinkin), the fatherly and protective leader,  describing the Smurf Village as a caring, happy and peaceful community of extremely small creatures. Among them are Clumsy (Jack McBrayer), Brainy (Danny Pudi), and Hefty (Joe Manganiello).  The only girl Smurfette (Demi Lovato) is not a real Smurf, but a creation of Gargamel (Rainn Wilson), a vicious human magician who wants to capture all the Smurfs and take their essence to become the most powerful wizard.  Instead of spying on the Smurfs, Smurfette is transformed by Papa Smurf to be one of them.  She will soon be joined by Clumsy, Brainy and Hefty on a mission to find the Lost Village and to warn them against Gargamel. The problem is, Gargamel’s bird and cat friends see the Smurf quartet, thus this villain moves to beat them to the Lost Village.

Smurfs: The Lost Village, the third offering of the animation film series, focuses on the character of Smurfette. Despite the twist, the plot is predictable and some of the scenes are recurring and can be boring.  The movie tries to highlight woman power through a character capable of calling the shots, conscientisizing, and bravely engaging in heroic acts. The computerized production design is no better than other animated films, but some impressive visual effects help up things a bit, like the entertaining multi-function Bee-machine. Voicing is likewise good, dialogues are meaningfully delivered thus easily defining the good and the bad characters. The musical score, sounds, and lighting are fine and somehow contribute as the saving grace of a mediocre storyline.

The search for self-identity can be a meaningful journey if you choose it to be so. While others’ sensitivity and acceptance of what you are going through are instrumental to your success, more important is your acceptance of your very own existence—you must have the awareness and proper motivation to do what you can for yourself and for others. Smurfs: The Lost Village is a very positive film that highlights the successful search for self-worth as the main theme and the triumph of good over evil as a sub-theme.  In the course of fighting evil the qualities of kindness, strength, sacrifices, and prayers prevail.  Greed has no place if there is unity, truth and determination. The film may be intended for child viewers, but there are messages that need guidance of adults to explain. An example is the scene when Smurfette pretends to submit to the reprimands of Papa Smurf but obviously deceives the elder together with fellow violators.  Woman power is another sub-theme of the film but considering the origin of Smurfette, an adult companion may explain to young viewers that regardless of characterization, women’s capabilities depicted in the film reflect real life situations.

Northern Lights

DIRECTOR:    DONDON S. SANTOS  LEAD CAST:   PIOLO PASCUAL, YEN SANTOS, RAIKKO MATEO  SCREENWRITER: ONAY SALES  PRODUCER:  MANNY A. VALERA  EDITOR:  CHRISEL DESUASIDO  MUSICAL DIRECTOR:  FRANCIS CONCIO  GENRE:  ROMANCE, DRAMA  CINEMATOGRAPHER:  ZACH SYCIP  DISTRIBUTOR: STAR CINEMA  LOCATION:  ALASKA, NEW ZEALAND  RUNNING TIME:   100 MINS.

Technical assessment: 3

Moral assessment: 3

CINEMA rating: V14

MTRCB rating: PG

Matagal nang naninirahan si Charlie (Piolo Pascual) sa Alaska. Naiwan niya sa Pilipinas ang kanyang anak na Charlie (Raikko Matteo) rin ang pangalan, at matagal nang hindi niya ito nakikita. Sabik ang bata na makapunta na sa Alaska para makilala ang ama at excited din itong masaksahan ang northern lights sa Alaska. Laking gulat ni Charlie nang malaman na magbabakasyon mag-isa ang anak sa Alaska. Sa kanilang pagkikita, alangan si Charlie sa anak. Hindi nito alam kung paano ito patutunguhan at umiiwas din ito sa mga tanong ng anak lalo’t patungkol sa dahilan kung bakit sila nagkalayo.  Malayo ang damdamin ni Charlie sa anak at mas interesado pa ito sa kanilang bisita na si Angel (Yen Santos) na nagkataong nakasakay ng batang Charlie sa eroplano. Ngunit hindi rin pala bakasyon ang pakay ni Angel. Tulad ng batang Charlie, mayroon din siyang hinahanap.

Kung tutuusin ay napakasimple naman ng buod ng kuwento ng Northern Lights: A Journey to Love—tungkol ito sa mag-aama at mag-iinang nagkalayo at kapwa mga naghahanap ng kasagutan sa mga naiwang puwang sa kanilang puso. Pinakamaganda at pinakamabigat sana kung nanatili sa batang Charlie ang sentro ng kuwento at punto de bista—nasa kanya naman talaga ang bigat ng kuwento. Bagama’t nabigyan ito ng mga maningning na sandal, nalihis pa rin ang pelikula nang mapunta ang kuwento sa pag-iibigan ng matandang Charlie at Angel—bagay na pinilit isingit para lamang lagyan ito ng romansa.  Sayang, sapagkat isteryotipikal na romansa rin ito, samantalang mas mabigat ang mga binitawang tema ng pelikula tungkol sa pamilya, mga Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), single parents, atbp.  Mahusay pa rin si Pascual bagama’t hindi gaanong bagay ang kabuuan ng karakter sa kanya. Isa namang rebelasyon si Matteo. Si Santos ay may mga mannerisms pa lalo na sa pagbibitaw ng linya—kulang sa pagka-natural. Kamangha-mangha naman ang napili nilang kalugaran at na-maximize naman nila ito ng husto maging ang metaporya ng northern lights. Sa kabuuan namaý masaya pa ring panoorin ang pelikula dahil may mga sandali itong talaga namang pupukaw sa damdamin ng manonood. Mahalaga ang mensahe ng Northern Lights: A Journey To Love patungkol sa pamilya. Tunay na nag-iiwan ng maraming puwang ang pagkawala ng ina man o ama sa pamilya. Sa hiwalayan ng mga mag-asawa, unang naaapektuhan ang mga bata. Kaya’t sa anumang sitwasyon, mahalaga na laging isaalang-alang ang kapakanan ng mga bata—dahil maari nilang pasanin hanggang sa kanilang paglaki ang poot at sakit ng pag-iwan ng kanilang magulang. Binigyang diin din ng pelikula ang kahalagahan ng pagmamahal at pagpapatawad na kaakibat nito. Dahil kapag poot at galit ang pinairal sa puso, wala itong ibubungang maganda. Sa bandang huli, sinasabi ng pelikula na wala sa lugar o panahon ang pagmamahal—lagi itong mahalaga at maipapamalas saan mang sulok ng daigdig. May mga eksena nga lang sa pelikula na sadyang di angkop sa mga bata—at hindi rin maganda ang mensahe nito ukol sa sekswal na relasyon ng dalawang taong hindi pa naman kasal. Isang malaking kasayangan din ito dahil maganda na sana at malinis ang mensahe ng pelikula kung hindi hinaluan ng eksenang kagaya nito. Kung kaya’t ang pelikula sa ganang CINEMA ay nararapat lamang sa mga manonood edad 14 pataas.

Chips

DIRECTOR: Dax Shepard  STARRING: Dax Shepard, Michael Peňa, Vincent D’Onofrio, Adam Brody, Rosa Salazar, Vida Guerra, Kristen Bell  PRODUCER: Ravi D. Mehta, Dax Shepard, Andrew Panay, Rick Rosner  SCREENWRITER: Theodore Melfi, Allison Schroeder  BASED ON: Chips by Rick Rosner  MUSIC: Fil Eisler  CINEMATOGRAPHER: Mitchell Amundsen  EDITOR: Dan Lebental  GENRE:  Action Comedy  PRODUCTION COMPANY: Primate Pictures, Panay Films, RatPac-Dune Entertainment  DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros. Pictures  COUNTRY:  United States  LANGUAGE: English  RUNNING TIME: 101 minutes

Technical assessment:  3

Moral assessment:  2

CINEMA rating:  V18

MTRCB rating:  R16
A former biker, Jon Baker (Dax Shepard) and an FBI undercover agent, Frank "Ponch" Poncherello, joins the California Highway Patrol for different reasons. Jon aims to make things right in his life especially his marriage while Ponch is investigating on an anomaly inside the CHP. As they both try to focus on their goals, they clash rather than unite when they were partnered for duty and to catch the bad guys.  The Catholic News Service of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops classifies Chips as “O”, morally offensive.  Topics for discussion include failed marriages, Highway Patrol, second chances, sex addiction, friendship, perseverance at work, homosexuality, homophobia, masturbation, sex-objectification of women, etc.

Life

DIRECTOR:  Daniel Espinosa.  CAST:  Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare, Olga Dihovichnaya  SCRIPTWRITER:  Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick  PRODUCER:  Bonnie Curtis, Julie Lynn  MUSIC:  Jon Ekstrand  CINEMATOGRAPHY:  Seamus McGarvey  EDITOR:  Frances Parker, MaryJo Markey

PRODUCER:  David Ellison, Dana Goldberg  DISTRIBUTOR:  Columbia Pictures COUNTRY:  USA  GENRE: SciFi, suspense  RUNNING TIME:   103 minutes

Technical assessment:  3

Moral assessment:  3

CINEMA rating:  V14

MTRCB rating:  R13

Aboard an International Space Station, a six-member team tasked to retrieve an unmanned space capsule carrying soil sample from Mars. The team’s biologist, Hugh Derry (Ariyon Bakare) successfully revives the dormant organism, later named “Calvin” by schoolchildren on Earth.  While jubilant that they are in possession of the first proof of extra-terrestrial life, the astronauts implement a safety protocol to ensure that the experiment is contained in the spacecraft’s laboratory.  Calvin grows amazingly fast from single to multi-celled organism, turns hostile, and fatally attacks four of the crew members, starting with Derry followed by American systems engineer Rory Adams (Ryan Reynolds),  Russian commander Katerina Golovkina (Olga Dihovichnaya), and Japanese space pilot Sho Murakami (Hiroyuki Sanada).  The remaining crew members, British quarantine officer Dr. Miranda North (Rebecca Ferguson) and American senior medical officer Dr. David Jordan (Jake Gyllenhaal), separately take two emergency escape pods—one to take Calvin to deep space away from Earth, the other one to return to Earth and report the fate of the mission. 

The opening scene takes the viewer to a dizzying upside-down zoom of the space station. While all too familiar, the shots nevertheless are meticulously rendered and the camera succeeds in giving the viewer a feel of life in space.  Although editing and cinematography are good, the music tends to distract.  The actors struggle with poor script that make them—especially Bakare, Dihovichnaya, and Sanada—sound like they are reading their lines straight from a scientific journal.  Character development, however, is sufficient as a palette for when complications escalate in the story that has Calvin as the star outsmarting the human experts.  Director Espinosa takes care not to let Life become another guess-who-dies-next thriller by maintaining a sober tone and presenting capable characters who problem-solve at the skill level demanded by their profession.  The suspense aspect succeeds in giving thrills to the viewer, with the final sequence sealing Life as a dark, intense, and ominous film.  

There is only one Creator of life—God, and not even the most highly educated human scientists.  Scientific research should be carried out from God’s gifts of knowledge, talent and skills to mankind.   Life delves into the broader theme of bioethics, demonstrating how man uses biology and medicine to create new life. The intent of the mission’s team is noble: to test, to culture, and possibly to evolve an organism that may someday help mankind.   In the film, nature destined the organism from Mars to remain dormant in space, but man interfered and changed the ecosystem.  Hence the destruction. The film does not prevaricate in showing the destructive side of the issue, and for that it is commendable.  Commendable, too, is the willingness of the members of the space mission to sacrifice their lives to contain the alien life form in space and keep it from invading earth.

Power Rangers

DIRECTOR: Dean Israelite  LEAD CAST: Elizabeth Banks, Bryan Cranston, Dacre Montgomery, RJ Cyler, Naomi Scott, Ludi Lin, Becky G.  SCREENWRITER: John Gatins  PRODUCER: Haim Saban, Brian Casentini, Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey  EDITORS: Martin Bernfeld, Dody Dorn  MUSICAL DIRECTOR:  Bryan Tyler  GENRE: Action/Adventure  CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Matthew Lloyd  DISTRIBUTOR: Lionsgate  LOCATION: USA  RUNNING TIME: 123 minutes

Technical assessment:  3

Moral assessment:  3.5

CINEMA rating:  V13 (Viewers 13 and below with parental guidance)

MTRCB:  GP

Five high schoolers in Angel Grove, California find themselves drawn to an abandoned gold mine: jock Jason  (Dacre Montgomery), who is at odds with his father; Billy (RJ Cyler), a nerd who happens to be black; Kimberly (Naomi Scott), an ostracized cheerleader; Trini (Becky G), who has communication issues; and Zack (Ludi Lin), outwardly cocky but is a devoted son.  They find and come to own five colored stones which they discover soon give them incredible physical strength.  They decide to go back to the mine where they disover further superhuman abilities.  Exploring the area leads them to an underground spaceship where they meet Alpha 5, a talking robot (voiced by Bill Hader) who introduces them as to Zardon (Bryan Cranston), mentor of the Power Rangers.  They are told they are the “chosen ones”—the Power Rangers whose mission is to save the planet from a 65-million year old “fallen” Power Ranger Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks).   

Power Rangers’ most valuable asset is its simple plot.  While the candy-colored superhero outfits are slick, the CGIs are not really that impressive; other superhero movies have offered bigger spectacles and more earth-shattering battle scenes.  However, the movie shows sincere effort to blend teen drama and superhero mythos that is cohesive enough to advance the narrative, resulting in an entertaining, relatable presentation. That the five protagonists are relatively unknown helps to heighten the credibility of their roles.    Banks is topnotch as Rita Repulsa the repulsive villain (as her name implies)—a bit hammy but effective, and qualifies her to play against the Joker in some foreseeable future.

There are two outstanding lessons taught in the movie.  The five teenagers chosen to become the Power Rangers are each a misfit or a social outcast.  Burdened with their individual angst, and coming from different racial backgrounds, it is obvious that these “teenagers with attitude” compose a mismatched team.  But they are warned that they cannot morph into Power Rangers unless they first learn to be a team—only in harmony with one another can they succeed in their mission of saving Earth.  This underscores the need to selflessly focus on a goal bigger than oneself if one must make a difference in the world.  They are also repeatedly reminded to be humble, to “live humbly” among ordinary mortals, and not to flaunt their powers—an advice which they take to heart until they mature from the high school kids wildly trying their new-found abilities into the real heroes gaining depth and wielding their powers with grace and anonymity.