Power Rangers (2017) Review

Summary:
                In this 2017 reboot of the popular television show from the 1990’s gives a whole new look at the teenagers with attitude from Angel Grove. When Jason, a star football player for the local high school, finds himself in trouble with the law he is given the penalty of serving Saturdays in a detention facility with a group of teenagers, all of them find themselves as the outcasts of their own social groups.
                Jason soon meets Billy, a highly intelligent young man who deals with autism. While hanging out one night, Jason and Billy find themselves mining in a nearby mountain range. Before they know it an explosion brings the five rangers-to-be together. Soon, they find the power crystals that Zordon placed on Earths generations prior.  Over the next few days the group tries to figure out what these crystals are and why the teenagers have gained super-human strength and other powers since finding the crystals.
                When the team-to-be returned to the location that the crystals were found, they discover a large spaceship, where they meet Zordon and Alpha 5. Before they know it, the teens are soon training to become the Power Rangers, in order to defend Angel grove from the destructive grasps of Rita Repulsa.  
How does it hold up?
                For a die-hard fan of the ’93 television show there is a lot to feed your geek-heart. There are many references to the original show that makes Power Ranger fans smile ear-to-ear. Yet, there are enough new materials and concepts that the average viewer won’t become uninterested.
The rangers:
The first really enjoyable concept that strengthened the film  the concept that the teens were not friends at the beginning of the movie, throughout the film they had to develop the trust and relationship that one would see in the original television show. For instance, the team bonds through an over-night camping trip; where the rangers decide to take a leap of faith and share their true selves with each other. Each ranger shares something personal to the group, whether it is a tale of teenage angst or feeling misunderstood by friends and family. Due to this moment, the audience is able to gather an understanding of how the tees bonded together, making the story even more relatable for the audience.
Secondly, it was a great touch to have such a wide range of personalities within the Rangers’ team. Jason was a caring young man who stood up to those bullying those who were smaller or considered odd or strange. Jason also dealt with the pressures of being the popular, all-star football player that adults admired and kids looked up to. Throughout the film the audience gets a sense that Jason does not like all of the attention that he receives from football, which could explain his self-destructive behavior.
Billy is a highly intelligent young man who happens to be autistic. Billy instantly pursues a friendship with Jason. As he learns about the reality of the Power Rangers, Billy instantly becomes excited about the idea of being a super hero. This shows two things: Billy enjoys life like a young child, meaning he doesn’t take life too serious, he enjoys having fun. The second this shows is that Billy desires to be a part of something that helps people. Billy desires to be a part of something bigger.
Zack is perceived as a tough kid with a tough past. When we are introduced to him he is laying on the roof of old shack in the middle of nowhere, near the location where the rangers find the power crystals. Due to his tough guy persona, Zack shows no fear when in the face of a new adventure, such as leaping off of a cliff in to the abyss below. He carries around a “why not?” attitude. We soon learn that Zach doesn’t normally go to school because he cares for his sick, possibly dying mother. Throughout the film, Zack shows a soft, tender side that blended well with his tough guy persona.
Trini was often referred as “Crazy girl” by Zack because she was quiet and reserved, yet adventurous. Throughout the film, the audience gets the impression that there is a secret deep within her that is not being expressed. The audience comes to find out that Trini felt misunderstood by the kids at school as well as her parents. At first glance, the audience may just see Trini as a punk chick that walks to the beat of her own drum and does not concern herself with the worries of others. Although in the midst of a scene with Trini sitting at the dinner table with her parents and two younger brothers we get a better understanding of Trini and her struggles. In the scene the parents are trying to communicate with Trini. When she does not respond, the parents show their frustration through yelling and demanding that Trini express herself and talk to them. In a out lashing of bottled frustration Trini revealed to her family that she identified as gay and that she felt that they would not understand what she was thinking or feeling. 
Rita and Zordon:
Secondly, the audience was treated to a multitude of back stories for the origin of the rangers’ team as well as Zordon and Rita. We learn that power ranger teams have been assembled for generations to protect planets and people throughout all space and time. The audience is also treated to an origin story of Zordon, who was once the leader of one of the previous rangers’ teams. In the beginning of the film we see Zordon armored in his rangers’ armor in the midst of a large war. This gives a logical reason to the long-term question: How does Zordon know so much about the Power Crystals and the Power Rangers?
Another very important question was answered: Who is Rita Repulsa? As one reminisces of the 90’s TV show, one would realize that we never got a proper introduction to who Rita was. All the audience received was news that she was evil and that she needed to be stopped. In the 2017 film we learn that Rita and Zordon once worked together to protect the world as Power Rangers. Even though they were once partners, Rita was drawn away from her promise to protect the world and she soon began to plan to take over the world to gain power. The audience soon discovers that Rita’s greed for power caused her to take a path into villainy.
What was the lesson learned?
                As with so many stories, there is a lesson to be learned through this movie. Audience members both young and old can walk away with a new perspective or a lesson that that expound upon as they further contemplated the movie. It seems that the main theme of Power Rangers was teamwork.
                Teamwork is defined as, “a cooperative effort by a group or team.” Or “work produced by a group or team.” Teamwork is very important in a movie like this, but before you can have a cohesive team, the team must be able to work together and trust one another.  As was stated earlier in this review, the teenagers really didn’t know each other before the formation of the Power Rangers; therefore there is no reason why they should trust one another.
                Also, with the use of each teenager’s back story, the audience realizes that these characters have their own struggles, trials and tribulations; because of that each character has their internal walls built up to protect themselves from further hurt. This was a great touch to the character development. In order to fully build up trust amongst the rangers, Zordon had to push them in their training. Besides that, the team needed to take time to build their relationship through training, activities and dealing with difficult times. The movie did a great job with giving each of the five rangers’ time to express their story in an appropriate manner where it didn’t feel rushed or unrealistic.
                The film also taught its audience that trusting someone is a two-way street. On one side, when you have a secret that you wish to be shared, you are making a choice to be vulnerable with the person or people that you are sharing with. On the other side of the road, those who are hearing the secret, they have the choice to accept you and your secret and support or they can reject you and mock for your secret. This lesson is very evident in the scene with Jason and Kimberly, where Kimberly was finally revealing the reason why she had been assigned to detention. The audience can see that Kimberly was struggling with this secret and didn’t want to share, but she knew that she had to, not only for the team’s sake but for her own sanity. After hearing the reason as to why Kimberly had detention, Jason made the choice to comfort her and show her compassion, making her feel cared for and part of the team.
                Throughout this film the audience gets to see this group of teenagers build a very authentic friendship through their trials and tribulations. The “teenagers with attitude” showed the audience the true steps of building trust and developing an honest portrayal of how friendships are created. The teenagers also showed the audience the importance of empowering each other to be a part of something so much bigger than they ever imagined.    
                Isn’t that what humans ultimately all want; to feel cared for and to be a part of a team? In order to connect with someone on a deeper level one must being willing to become vulnerable with their friends and family, regardless of the fear that may compel them to avoid the situation. When the human race allows themselves to build these connections with people, they can be used to do great things with our lives, whether that be saving the world as a Power Ranger or impacting the world for something bigger.