Sunday, April 2, 2017

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.