"Saban's Power Rangers" Review (Spoilers)
Jan. 12th, 2020 12:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matt_zimmerAlso a review for the latest episode of Big Hero 6: The Series.
Saban's Power Rangers
That was too dark and edgy for its own good. This is not the right franchise for all of that. I mean there HAS to be a halfway point between the Rangers meeting and geeking out over Santa Claus and Kimberly sending revenge porn against a classmate. Am I nuts in thinking that or what? The franchise shouldn't have to either be dumb, or decent but super dark and inappropriate for kids. It's no wonder the movie bombed. There is no market for a grown-up version of a franchise previously aimed at four-year-olds. I don't ever expect to see a PG-13 Blue's Clues movie either, much less a hard PG-13 one. I can't think of who it would appeal to.
I'll say this: Rita and Zordon had a MUCH better origin story than the show ever gave us. The first episode of the first series is comically ineptly written and put together. It's so appallingly bad that you'd never believe that specific show would last 30 years if you saw it back in the day. I like that Rita used to be a Ranger, and the color scheme I got there was Green, which is perfect.
Bryan Cranston is good as Zordon, but Elizabeth Banks sucks as Rita Repulsa, although to be fair there has never been a single role Banks has ever done that I've actually liked. She is a very hard to like and root for actress who seems most comfortable being cast as characters the audience is supposed to hate. Bill Hader didn't wow me as Alpha 5 either.
Is Jason played by the kid who was Max's dirtbag brother on Stranger Things? I think he was.
David Denman who plays Jason's father is best known as Roy on The Office. But he will always be the demon Skip on Angel to me.
Loved the unbilled cameos from Jason David Frank and Amy Jo Johnson at the end. Johnson was pretty much disgusted with the franchise for the way it treated David Yost and hasn't been back since, but I'm glad she hasn't turned her back entirely on it after all. I want Kimberly to come back someday on the actual show, although whether I'll still be watching it is an open question. It's pretty bad, and has been for years.
I like Billy's outrage at Zack saying he was black. That was funny.
I don't know how well the Rangers work as The Breakfast Club, but that is essentially what they are. The whole "Teenagers with attitude" thing was the biggest lie the old show ever told us, but this isn't exactly the solution, is it? A happy medium is all I ask for.
Next reboot I want either a soft PG-13, or even a PG. I would love a project in this franchise with both passable writing (which this admittedly had) and appeal for kids. It's amazing the show has been on the air for 30 years and we still haven't gotten that. I don't think that's too much to ask for, and this wasn't what I had in mind when I lamented the franchise has been too dumb and badly written over the years. There has to be a middle ground somewhere. ***.
Bonus Outtakes:
Blooper Reel. I like that they bothered to partly animate some of Bill Hader's outtakes. Alpha 5 raises a good point. If man evolved from monkeys, why are there still monkeys? I never got that bit. They actually put a bit of effort into this which is appreciated. ****1/2.
Bonus / Deleted / Extended / Alternative Scenes:
Literally a half hour was deleted from the film and it still feels overlong. The test screenings must have been bad. Most of these were wise cuts. The joke about the cow having a happy ending was funny though, and Johnson and Frank's cameos were initially supposed to happen earlier in the film. There is a lesbian subtext between Rita and Trini in the deleted scenes. Most controversial of all is that there is a kiss between Jason and Kimberly that leads to them almost having sex. If anything says this movie doesn't get this franchise, it's that. Kimberly seems even more horrible for the revenge porn in the extended scenes. The scenes in the caves in the movie were already long and boring, and it's amazing how much footage of nothing actually happening was cut. It's basically ten minutes of the kids walking around the cave, which is beyond monotonous. These scenes are mostly bad and let us know the movie could have been a lot worse. **.
Big Hero 6: The Series "Portal Enemy"
I became much less concerned about Megan learning the truth as the episode went on. Unlike her father, she is reasonable.
Taking a reporter into the lair is a rookie mistake.
Where did Hiro get the extra helmet for Megan?
I love the episode ending on the reveal of where the original Baymax wound up. The whole episode felt like good wrap-up for a lot of the film.
This was a good episode. ****.
Saban's Power Rangers
That was too dark and edgy for its own good. This is not the right franchise for all of that. I mean there HAS to be a halfway point between the Rangers meeting and geeking out over Santa Claus and Kimberly sending revenge porn against a classmate. Am I nuts in thinking that or what? The franchise shouldn't have to either be dumb, or decent but super dark and inappropriate for kids. It's no wonder the movie bombed. There is no market for a grown-up version of a franchise previously aimed at four-year-olds. I don't ever expect to see a PG-13 Blue's Clues movie either, much less a hard PG-13 one. I can't think of who it would appeal to.
I'll say this: Rita and Zordon had a MUCH better origin story than the show ever gave us. The first episode of the first series is comically ineptly written and put together. It's so appallingly bad that you'd never believe that specific show would last 30 years if you saw it back in the day. I like that Rita used to be a Ranger, and the color scheme I got there was Green, which is perfect.
Bryan Cranston is good as Zordon, but Elizabeth Banks sucks as Rita Repulsa, although to be fair there has never been a single role Banks has ever done that I've actually liked. She is a very hard to like and root for actress who seems most comfortable being cast as characters the audience is supposed to hate. Bill Hader didn't wow me as Alpha 5 either.
Is Jason played by the kid who was Max's dirtbag brother on Stranger Things? I think he was.
David Denman who plays Jason's father is best known as Roy on The Office. But he will always be the demon Skip on Angel to me.
Loved the unbilled cameos from Jason David Frank and Amy Jo Johnson at the end. Johnson was pretty much disgusted with the franchise for the way it treated David Yost and hasn't been back since, but I'm glad she hasn't turned her back entirely on it after all. I want Kimberly to come back someday on the actual show, although whether I'll still be watching it is an open question. It's pretty bad, and has been for years.
I like Billy's outrage at Zack saying he was black. That was funny.
I don't know how well the Rangers work as The Breakfast Club, but that is essentially what they are. The whole "Teenagers with attitude" thing was the biggest lie the old show ever told us, but this isn't exactly the solution, is it? A happy medium is all I ask for.
Next reboot I want either a soft PG-13, or even a PG. I would love a project in this franchise with both passable writing (which this admittedly had) and appeal for kids. It's amazing the show has been on the air for 30 years and we still haven't gotten that. I don't think that's too much to ask for, and this wasn't what I had in mind when I lamented the franchise has been too dumb and badly written over the years. There has to be a middle ground somewhere. ***.
Bonus Outtakes:
Blooper Reel. I like that they bothered to partly animate some of Bill Hader's outtakes. Alpha 5 raises a good point. If man evolved from monkeys, why are there still monkeys? I never got that bit. They actually put a bit of effort into this which is appreciated. ****1/2.
Bonus / Deleted / Extended / Alternative Scenes:
Literally a half hour was deleted from the film and it still feels overlong. The test screenings must have been bad. Most of these were wise cuts. The joke about the cow having a happy ending was funny though, and Johnson and Frank's cameos were initially supposed to happen earlier in the film. There is a lesbian subtext between Rita and Trini in the deleted scenes. Most controversial of all is that there is a kiss between Jason and Kimberly that leads to them almost having sex. If anything says this movie doesn't get this franchise, it's that. Kimberly seems even more horrible for the revenge porn in the extended scenes. The scenes in the caves in the movie were already long and boring, and it's amazing how much footage of nothing actually happening was cut. It's basically ten minutes of the kids walking around the cave, which is beyond monotonous. These scenes are mostly bad and let us know the movie could have been a lot worse. **.
Big Hero 6: The Series "Portal Enemy"
I became much less concerned about Megan learning the truth as the episode went on. Unlike her father, she is reasonable.
Taking a reporter into the lair is a rookie mistake.
Where did Hiro get the extra helmet for Megan?
I love the episode ending on the reveal of where the original Baymax wound up. The whole episode felt like good wrap-up for a lot of the film.
This was a good episode. ****.
