If you were a kid growing up in the 90s, like I was, odds are you were a fan of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I loved it. It was so much fun to watch. You could easily get sucked in and just enjoy the kick ass action. Granted, Power Rangers has not aged well. It's very cheesy, cliché, and corny. The three C's! Haha! Ahem . . . anyway . . . I remember going to the movie theater and seeing the original film with my mom. I was so happy. It was so much fun. I watch it now and still smile a little bit. Yeah it's cheesy but it's still fun. I mean when you're a kid the Power Rangers are so cool. They represent pure good and they always defeat evil. It was pretty inspiring.
These days, whenever you go to some sort of Comic Con, whether it's big or small you'll see people dressed as the Power Rangers or at least wearing Power Ranger T-shirts.
That's my friends and I from this past weekend at Steel City Con in Pittsburgh, PA. We actually got a lot of compliments and people wanted to take our picture. Even with just the T-shirts! That says a lot about the impact that Power Rangers has had on so many people over the years. When it was announced that a reboot was in the works, I became very excited. Like many fans, I'm very skeptical. However, I still have high hopes. But if I have any say in these things, and I don't, I'd like to offer my opinion on what I think could make the new Power Rangers film successful.
LET'S SCRAPE OFF THE CHEESE
The major complaint I have about the Power Rangers is that it's way too cheesy. I'm not necessarily talking about the special effects. I mean it's a low budget TV show, it's allowed to look a little cheesy. I'm talking about the dialogue. It's a whole other level of cheese. I can't take the situations that they are all in seriously because of it. I don't mind some witty banter during a fight scene, I mean I'm a comic book fan after all, but Power Rangers lays it on super thick. I love comedy during action scenes, I mean it helps to make the destruction and death light, especially in a kids' show, but for real . . . just chill with it this time. Having said that . . .
DON'T LOSE THE OPTIMISM
Watching Power Rangers now on Netflix, I can't help but notice how optimistic the show is. Although the city is constantly in danger and the Rangers are fighting evil every week, there is this overwhelming feeling of optimism. Good will always triumph over evil. Recent superhero TV shows like Supergirl and the Flash follow this formula. Even though there is a lot of danger every episode, the characters are happy, healthy, and willing to have fun. That's important to show kids. It's important that they remain optimistic even though life can be very cruel. The Rangers are constantly smiling and having a good time. They are all genuinely good friends and help each other out in every crisis, big or small. That's important to keep that in the new film. It doesn't have to be cheesy, it just needs to be real. They can all be great friends, full of optimism without being cheesy. Oh that reminds me . . .
GIVE THEM ALL DISTINCT PERSONALITIES
Another issue I have with the TV series is that the Power Rangers are pretty much interchangeable. They don't really have distinct personalities. Billy is supposed to be the brainiac, Zack is the cool kid, Jason is a jock (kinda), and Kimberly is the valley girl but for the most part, you could give their dialogue to another character and no one would be able to tell the difference. I saw an interview with the writers/producers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer where one writer confessed to giving a line of dialogue to another character and Joss Whedon found it immediately and knew what he did. I think that's something that needs to happen with Power Rangers. We should be able to tell the difference between each character, not because they're color coded but because they are all different people. They can all be very different and still be friends, that's realistic. It's more realistic than all of them being exactly the same and being instant best friends. I'd rather they learn to become best friends. That's how my friends and I are. We're all similar but have very different personalities. It helps add an element of realism to the craziness of what they're doing.
KEEP THE FIGHT SCENES AWESOME
After rewatching the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers movie I have to say that the fight scenes are really cool. I'm sure that this will not be an issue in the new film. Given that nowadays superhero films are known for including really incredible fight scenes, I'm hoping that tradition will continue with Power Rangers. The show was really good about showcasing the Rangers fighting the Putties or whatever monster individually and as a group. In keeping with my last request, let's see each Ranger fight a little differently. Each Ranger fights pretty much the same in the series with a few exceptions like Kimberly fights a bit more like a gymnast and Tommy does more, for lack of a better term, more aerial fighting techniques. It makes them look a little different from the others. I think, to enhance the fighting scenes, the characters should fight well individually but together they all look really cool and exciting. It would make the film look visually different compared to other superhero movies.
MENACING VILLAINS
I never quite understood how Zedd and Rita could never get one up on the Rangers. The closest Rita ever came was when she had the Green Ranger (more on that later). The closest Zedd ever came was the first time he faced the Power Rangers. When they joined forces it looked bleak for a second then the Power Rangers won again. And again. And again. It was just a teensy bit ridiculous. When I would watch Batman: the Animated Series, it seemed like there was genuine conflict. There were times where I believed that Batman may not win against the villain. However, I never thought that with the Power Ranger villains. Maybe it's because it was always Rita, Zedd, King Mondo, or whatever that was attacking them, but it lost its appeal. Elizabeth Banks has been cast as Rita Repulsa in the new Power Rangers film. I think that's great casting because she's great, but let's make sure that she's a believable threat to the Rangers. It would help to make the story much more exciting and the heroes' triumph all the more satisfying.
WHERE'S THE SIXTH RANGER?
Ok so not so much a suggestion as it is a question. In my opinion, the Power Rangers were always at their best when there was a sixth ranger. While the Green Ranger always felt like a bit of an outsider, probably because he started off evil and tried to kill everyone, the White Ranger always felt like part of the team. It's probably because of how the show was set up where Tommy lost his powers and then came back more powerful than ever, but that's how I always felt. The cast list for the new film only included the original five rangers. That's disappointing but understandable. Perhaps the Green Ranger story is being saved for the sequel. However, I hope that they don't wait to do the White Ranger. I'm hoping that the Green Ranger and the White Ranger battle in the next film. That happened in the series and still remains one of my favorite episodes. I'd like to see an updated, awesome version of that in the new films.
GOLDAR
I would argue that the best villain on the original series was Goldar. He loved torturing the Rangers, fighting the Rangers, and just being the villain. In the later seasons he became less threatening and more annoying. But the early episodes he was always front and center, beating up and torturing the Rangers. I'll never forget the Green With Evil episodes where Jason was trapped in a duel to the death with Goldar, without his powers. Goldar took a lot of pleasure in torturing Jason as well as beating the crap out of him. In my opinion, that's what made him so scary. He knew he was evil and loved it. He had no problems just tormenting the Rangers mentally and physically. I'd love to see him in the new film just rip the Rangers apart. If any of the original villains stand a chance of destroying the Power Rangers, it's him.
MAYBE A CAMEO OR TWO . . .
Over the past 20ish years, there have been many different interpretations of the Power Rangers. My personal favorite was the Power Rangers in Space. However, I did always love Power Rangers Zeo. The costumes looked so cool and the Zords were pretty bad ass. The Gold Ranger was so awesome looking. Between characters like Trey of Triforia (the Gold Zeo Ranger) and Andros (the Red Space Ranger) it always seemed to me like there were Power Rangers all over the galaxy. I'd like to see mention of them in the new film in some way. It could be a nod to the sixth ranger, which is very important to me, or just a way to give the Power Rangers a more universal feel. I like the idea that there are Power Rangers everywhere and maybe they're the only survivors of their respective crews. It's a way to make it realistic, tragic, but ultimately exciting when they embrace new team members. Plus, who wouldn't want to see a team up with multiple different Rangers? The Gold Zeo Ranger teaming up with the original Blue Ranger? Ummm . . . yes please! I mean they've kind of done stuff like that, but it would still be fun to see in live action and for real. Instead of just me playing with the toys . . . I MEAN . . . Uhh . . . anyway . . .
These are my ideas on what would make for a successful reboot of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in 2016 (or 2017) when the film is released. I grew up on Power Rangers. They're very near and dear to my heart. I recognize how cheesy/corny it is now, but it doesn't change the fact that I still love it. When my friends and I talked about wearing the shirts to Steel City Con I got so excited. It was something we all loved as kids and everyone took notice while we were there. I can't wait to see a trailer and pictures from the new film. I'm hoping for the best with it. After all, with Bat in the Sun making a really cool new Green Ranger suit, Kyle Higgins writing a bad ass new comic, and superheroes at an all time high, it seems logical that a new Power Rangers film will capture all our imaginations all over again . . .
Till Next Time! and may the Power protect you!
JJ - the Comic Junkie
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