ForComicJunkies: JJ'S REACTION TO THE POWER RANGERS TEASER

After a long while, Lionsgate/Saban has finally released a teaser trailer for the new Power Rangers film coming out in March 2017. I was one of the lucky ones to see it firsthand during New York Comic Con (which was then released online like a minute later) during the Power Rangers panel. As I've said before, I'm a sucker for a good teaser. In my mind, Power Rangers had one of the best teaser trailers I've seen in a long time. It was well crafted with a mysterious tone and just enough footage to get us excited without giving anything away, which is all too rare these days with trailers. While not a lot of footage was shown, I was very excited by the implications the teaser gave us. I'd like to share with you my thoughts on it and what I think we can expect from the movie next March.

THE BREAKFAST CLUB

A good chunk of the trailer does have a certain Breakfast Club feel to it. Truthfully, I was hoping for something like that. You get the sense in the trailer that each of these kids has their own unique quirks, problems, and struggles. Obviously that's very important when making a movie about teenagers. That's the time of your life when you start to discover who you are and what makes you special. The challenge with doing that is that everyone around you is also figuring out who they are and they may not like what you are becoming for whatever reason. That was definitely something I struggled with as a kid. One of the best examples of this particular struggle was shown in The Breakfast Club. Those were five teenagers that never would have ever gotten together under any circumstance but that day they became lifelong friends. I think that Power Rangers is going to give us a similar story - 5 teenagers from different walks of life, rebelling against the system, their parents, their friends, etc and then they find each other. Then of course they become super heroes . . . Just like in The Breakfast Club.

WAS IT FATE? WAS IT AN ACCIDENT?

The official synopsis for the film states that the teenagers are chosen by fate to become Earth's protectors. However, in the teaser it looks like the kids accidentally stumble upon the power coins and then gain their powers. So . . . which is it? Most likely, it's some sort of combination of the two. Perhaps Zordon is a bit more of a puppet master and leads the kids to the Command Center and they discover the power themselves. I'd like to think of it like a Green Lantern / Thor's hammer combo meaning that the power chooses them (and is never wrong) but they also have to be worthy of its power. I'm pretty sure the film will go in that direction. We won't know for sure until the next trailer or possibly even the film itself. It would be kind of a let down if they just stumbled on the power rather than earned it or were chosen. To me, that's much more interesting. They have to be worthy of the power. After all, the teaser shows them as good kids, even if they have rough pasts, so it should be interesting no matter what happens.

POWERS OUTSIDE OF THE COSTUMES

This is something that I've always wanted from Power Rangers but never got - they have superpowers outside of their costumes. It's probably somewhat implied in the show since there are quite a few times they fight the Putties without their costumes on. I always kind of suspected they were given powers and the suits just enhanced them. However, it was never directly stated. It's unclear from the trailer if they are all given different powers or if they might have individualized powers. After all we see that Jason has super strength, Billy is invulnerable, and they all seem to be able to leap a great distance and survive underwater. That's pretty damn awesome if you ask me. Hopefully the film will elaborate on just how powerful they are. In the series, it seemed like they had powers but it was never really said how much. Then again, for the purposes of a 30 minute action series, I suppose they didn't really need to get into it.

SOMEWHERE REAL

Clearly the Batman Begins era of inspired reboots is still going strong. What I mean is that the world of Power Rangers seems placed in reality just like Christopher Nolan placed his version of Batman in reality. There seems to be a grounded nature to the film. Angel Grove feels like a real small town, as opposed to the city from the series. This type of trick can help the audience relate a little better to the story and to the characters, "Hey I grew up in a town like that!" or something like that. Again, because of the low budget nature of the show and the fact that it was spliced with Japanese footage, Angel Grove never really felt like a real place to me. I enjoyed the show, but I didn't care about Angel Grove. However, in Batman Begins or Man of Steel despite the fact that Gotham City and Metropolis are not real cities, I still worried for them when the villains were trying to destroy them. It looked and felt real to me in the theater and made the suspense that much more exciting. I'm hoping for something similar in Power Rangers.

RITA IS TERRIFYING

This is something I spoke about in a previous blog post - I never felt afraid of Rita Repulsa. I always thought Zedd was cool and Goldar was scary but I was never afraid of Rita. I just didn't get how the Power Rangers acted like she was so tough. She was kind of embarrassing as a character. It's most likely due to the Japanese footage and the quick cuts of it, but I never liked her. I don't know. However, that's all gone out the window now. I'm a huge fan of Elizabeth Banks and I can't wait to see what she does with the character, which to me, is kind of a blank slate. Although her appearance in the teaser is very brief, it's pretty memorable. I think, unlike previous adaptations, we'll see Rita as a genuine threat to the Rangers. I also like that she is taking an active interest on Earth and is willing to get hands on and dirty with the Power Rangers. In the teaser, we see her attacking Trini in her bedroom. That makes for a truly scary villain. She knows where you live and can come for you whenever she feels like it. It has been confirmed that Goldar and the Putties will be in the film, but it's still cool to see Rita be an up close and personal threat to the Power Rangers.

SUCH A TEASE

Like I said, this was definitely a teaser to remember. We only get the briefest of glimpses at the Power Coins, Rita, The Command Center, and then the Rangers' morphing. It's exactly the kind of teaser trailer I wanted. Just when it's getting good it cuts off. So far of what I've seen has gotten me really excited for the new film. There's so much that we haven't even seen yet! Where are the Zords? Alpha 5? Zordon? Goldar? The Green Ranger? While the Green Ranger has not been confirmed for the film he has also not been denied so it's possible that the Green Ranger may show up in some form or another. But at this point it doesn't matter. This teaser gave us just enough information to get us all excited and held back a lot. That alone wins it points in my book. But then again, I'm biased. So far, this looks like the Power Rangers story I always wanted to see.

I'm definitely looking forward to the new film. From every little announcement, image released, seeing the action figures on display at New York Comic Con and now the teaser has just got me super amped up! I can't wait for next March!