Review- Power Rangers

Power Rangers is the film based on that show you watched as a five year old and really enjoyed but looking back know in your heart that it was kind of naff. The film, shockingly, is also fairly naff but in a somewhat enjoyable way. The story is pretty predictable if you've ever seen an episode of Power Rangers, although this is mainly an origins story with the predictable Power Rangers bit in the last half an hour. The film opens with an exposition bit set in the past, then a joke about jerking off a cow, then a car crash and then a Breakfast Club bit. It's tonally very confused to begin with but then they discover their power stones, Bryan Cranston's face in the wall and then even start to discover themselves. Bad Guy Rita Repulsa turns up and wants the crystal of maguffin that is (and this isn't a joke) buried under Krispy Kreme. Hand to hand combat ensues, followed by Powerzord combat, followed by Megazord combat. This film won't win any awards for story, even at a Power Rangers award show.

I expected to be able to trash the acting in this movie for obvious reasons but I find myself let down there as well, only because the acting is semi-decent. The five actors who play the Rangers are fairly entertaining, especially for newcomers and lend a believable edge to the film which, as a reminder, is about space suits that help teenagers punch rock monsters. I don't think I'll actively go seeking out films with these actors in them but, with that said, if I saw one and they were in it, I wouldn't be worried. Bryan Cranston is pretty depressed in this movie, clearly just here to pick up a paycheck and it made me a bit sad to see him here. Bill Hader fared slightly better as Alpha 5 but he is just comedic relief and slightly weak relief at that. Finally, Elizabeth Banks seriously chews some scenery here as Rita and while she is working on a slightly tone than everyone else in the film, she has fun and that came across for me.

What the film does do right (at least for me) is action because if you come to this film not looking for action, you are an idiot. Getting to watch the Megazord assemble on the big screen was a moment that made the five year old inside me very happy. It manages to avoid the miserable and confusing spectacle that the Transformers films are famed for in favour of enjoyably silly fare like Pacific Rim or Kong: Skull Island. Although, with that said, do not expect action close to the level of either of those two, this is action made for kids, despite the film not quite being for kids.

And with that, I am done with this film. I have run out of steam. I have nothing else to say. If you like Power Rangers, you know what you're going to get. If you have no interest in Power Rangers though, this isn't going to convince you at all. It's fine, just tonally mixed and not even as silly as I want it to be. I had some enjoyment but I can't express that in ways that make sense. That's it. Power Rangers gets a