My Review of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once And Always (2023)

 

Written by Becca Barnes And Alwyn Dale

Directed by Charlie Haskell

Zach: "Like I said, Minh. We always save the world."

Well, this was something of a nostalgia trip. Like a lot of kids in the early to mid 1990s, I was obsessed with Power Rangers but eventually grew out of it. It was the Mighty Morphin range that was for me and I haven't really paid too much attention to subsequent shows if I'm being honest.

A couple of years ago for the 25th anniversary some of the original cast appeared in the current show and some even had briefly appeared in the 2017 reboot movie, which despite being a fun entry didn't do enough to warrant a sequel. For this 30th anniversary special, the focus was on the first show with Billy Cranston/Blue Ranger (David Yost) effectively leading the team here.

Billy was leading the team against their most iconic enemy - Rita Repulsa (Barbara Goodson) in a new robotic body and her minions, Snizzard (Daniel Watterson) and Minotaur (Ryan Cooper) but it's an encounter that led to the death of Trini Kwan/Yellow Ranger (Thuy Trang). It also left both Billy and Zach Taylor/Black Ranger (Walter Emanuel Jones) in the position having to tell Trini's daughter, Minh (Charlie Kersh) about her mother's death.

A year then passed and Minh was determined to follow in her mother's footsteps by becoming the new Yellow Ranger. Except for the fact that both Billy and Zach were against the idea and the morpher wouldn't accept her either. Meanwhile Robo Rita kidnapped a few favourites and had her own plans for revenge against the group that consistently thwarted her past schemes.

With certain Rangers taken off the table, others were added into the mix. Not other Black and Yellow Rangers - Adam Park (Johnny Young Bosch) and Aisha Campbell (Karan Ashley) as they were stuck up in space but other Pink and Red Rangers - Kat Hillard (Catherine Sutherland) and Rocky DeSantos (Steve Cardenas). With the team reassembled and the assistance of Alpha 9 (Richard Horvitz), the Rangers decided to strike before Robo Rita could complete her plan.

Siphoning energy from the Rangers she kidnapped, Robo Rita was going to go back in time and contact her younger self (Machiko Sogo, archive footage) so the latter would be prepared to take out the Rangers before they even became Rangers to begin. It was a plan that nearly worked, until a heroic sacrifice from Minh was enough to get her to take on her mother's legacy, help Billy and company defeat Minotaur and Snizzard before taking Robo Rita out of the equation to boot.

A good portion of this special felt like pure build up with a bit of a rushed final battle between the ,ix of older and new Rangers but it mostly worked nonetheless. Trini's legacy was honoured through Minh and her scenes with Billy and Zach (who basically became surrogate dads to her) were the highlight and I was happy to see Rita, even if she was a robot for this one. I am surprised that she didn't try to take a younger human body for herself though. 

- The episode ended with an In Memory card for Thuy Trang and Jason David Frank (Green & White Ranger/Tommy Oliver). We also saw archive clips of them as well as Kimberley Hart/ Pink Ranger (Amy Jo Johnson) and Jason Lee Scott/Red Ranger (Austin St. John).

- Billy has his own tech company, was trying to find Zordon and went back to space as well as having an old fashioned flying car. Zach was in Congress and Cat had a son with Tommy named JJ.

- A little bit of gay representation here as Minh managed to save a gay couple from bring attacked by Putties.

- Chronology: Archive clips to 1993 but mainly set in 2023. Well, it is the 30th anniversary special.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once And Always was a satisfying nod to the past, present and future and honestly, it feels like the exact same show from my childhood. Cheesy as hell, silly puns, daft monsters but also amusing fight sequences and a great sense of family. This was definitely a diverting nostalgia trip.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Power Rangers (2017)

Written by John Gatins & Matt Sazama & Burk Sharpless & Michele Mulroney & Kieran Mulroney
Directed by Dean Israelite

Zordon (to the Rangers): "This is your destiny... This is your time."

Oh, the 1990's. How I love thee. I was a kid back then and there have been certain things from that period that I've now learned to appreciate a lot more than before and things I've been looking back with joy as well.

Power Rangers was one of those shows back then I was pretty much into but only the first three or four seasons (and the 1995 movie) and like certain things, it was also something I drifted away from. So while the franchise has had multiple spin-offs (and still counting), a reboot of the original team has now become the focus of this movie.

I'm wary of reboot, but I'm hardly unique in that respect but after watching this two hour affair, the one thing I came out with was that if you're going to modernise a franchise like Power Rangers, this is exactly how you do it. No, this movie really is that good.

To sum up the main players very simply, you have former football stud, Jason Lee Scott/Red Ranger (Dacre Montgomery), cheerleader turned social pariah, Kimberly Hart/Pink Ranger (Naomi Scott), gadget making Billy Cranston/Blue Ranger (RJ Cyler), the new kid for three years,Trini Kwan/Yellow Ranger (Becky G) and the somewhat reckless Zack Taylor/Black Ranger (Ludi Lin) as the five meet up through a series of events, find some colourful coins and gain superpowers and a whole new mission along the way of getting to know each other.

First of all though, the characters. It's without a doubt the movie gets effortlessly right as each of the Rangers comes across as a real person and the friendships forged between the pair are organic and grow beautifully within the movie itself. The themes of autism, sexuality, revenge porn, ruining your future and being a young carer are also explored with great depth that enhances the respective characters without ever patronising the audiences.

The argument that audiences can't deal with diversity in a mainstream superhero gets blown away here as this movie absolutely proves that they can. There isn't a single Ranger that doesn't feel like a real person and it's hard to pick a favourite because they're all so good to watch. Seriously, every single one of them steps up to the plate in terms of character and performance. There's not a duff performance in sight.

Of course being Rangers isn't an easy feat. It actually takes until the final twenty minutes of the movie and a tragic moment (that's also reversed) in order for the gang to be able to morph into their armour and while the various training montages are excellently done, the new team up of Zordon (Bryan Cranston) and Alpha 5 (Bill Hader) take a little getting used to but again they work pretty well with getting the gang to accept their new destiny and prepare for the big battle.

As for the villain of the piece, I loved Rita Repulsa in the original series and Elizabeth Banks certainly brings a lot to the piece. The new backstory with Rita being the original Green Ranger whom Zordon defeated is a nice twist and while I think the character could've done with more screentime, whenever Banks is on the screen, she's a delightfully OTT villain to watch, very much like Rita was in the original show itself.

Rita's general plan is fairly basic. First she eats up enough gold and people to restore herself and then she uses both her putty creations and the giant Goldar in order to get the Zeo Crystal and destroy all life. The sequence where Rita and her army rampage Angel Grove in order to get to the crystal is pretty stunning as the Rangers mobilise together as a team and we get to see them in their Zords as they battle to save the day.

Of course Rita is defeated but not completely taken out of the ongoing story. With five sequels alleged planned for this rebooted franchise, I imagine she'll be back to cause more mayhem and with the mid credit sequence setting up something else, I really cannot wait to see more of this new generation of Rangers on the big screen.

- Both Amy Jo Johnson (original Kimberly) and Jason David Frank (original Tommy Oliver) made a cameo appearance towards the end of the movie.
- Speaking of Tommy, the mid credit scene set up the character to appear in the second movie. There's a chance though the character might be gender swapped.
- Marvel fans will like the Iron Man and Spiderman references the movie made.
- There was a kiss between Jason and Kimberly that was cut from the movie. There's an implied attraction between the two nonetheless though.
- There's references to some of the more recent spin-off shows in the movie if you can spot them.
- Standout music: You've got a modern version of the classic theme by Brian Tyler, also Fitz and the Tantrum's Handclap and Bootstrap's version of Stand By Me.

Like I said earlier in the review, this is exactly how you reboot an old franchise. Power Rangers felt distinctively like the series it originated from but with a very contemporary twists. The Rangers have been excellently cast, are believable as characters and allies and develop brilliantly over the two hours they're given onscreen. While Rita could've had a little more screen time, she's an excellently updated antagonist with a new backstory that can be richly explored once another newcomer makes their presence known in a future release. Overall, a great movie for both kids and adults alike.

Rating: 8 out of 10