New 'Power Rangers' Clips Show Off Zord Action, Teen Angst
Ever since the first teaser trailer, it's been obvious that director Dean Israelite's upcoming Power Rangers movie was going for something of a Chronicle vibe, blending science fiction and adventure with down-to-earth teen angst. A new series of clips manage to simultaneously stick to that tone while also presenting something a whole lot goofier. Let's give them a watch and pick them apart, shall we?
The Clips
Let's start with the most action-packed of the bunch, which finds Zach (Ludi Lin) in the cockpit of an out-of-control Zord, barreling through the countryside and having a very close call with the rest of the team. The whole scene is very silly and very loud and very much in-line with what you'd expect from a Power Rangers movie. And then there is Bill Hader's Alpha 5, who seems to be riding a very fine line between amusing and punchable.
The next clip is a little more dramatic, focusing on the five main kids as they encounter some kind of weird underwater barrier. Honestly, a similar effect was utilized in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (on a larger scale), but it's still pretty nifty.
And finally, there's this character-driven clip, where Dacre Montgomery's Jason and Naomi Scott's Kimberly (soon to be the Red Ranger and the Pink Ranger) chat about their crummy hometown and whether or not they'll ever be able to escape. Teen drama!
Let's Talk About 'em
It's been a long, long time since I've laid my eyes on an episode of any Power Rangers television series, so my memories of the show exist only in occasional flashbacks to the early '90s, where I was the right age to watch the first iteration of the show for about a year or so. There's a strong chance I'm the target audience for Power Rangers: someone who remembers the show vaguely enough to understand the basic gist without having a knee-jerk reaction to the film one way or another.
So how do these clips read to me, a non-fan with that basic understanding of this world and these characters? That first clip feels very much in-line with what I'd expect from a Power Rangers movie. It's loud and silly and cartoonish, seemingly put together for young children...and that's a good thing. If you're making a Power Rangers movie that only appeals to nostalgic adults, you're doing it wrong. The last thing the world needs is a deadly serious movie about color-coded teenagers who battle aliens using giant dinosaur robots. Let the children have a slice of this pie, guys.
The other two clips are, in this particular vacuum, a big departure from the arch, live-action cartoon tone of the original show. The final clip almost feels like a rough draft from Friday Night Lights – young teens stare at the invisible walls surrounding their existence and ponder their escape from a small town that can be suffocating. The banter is fine and the performances seem fine and it all seems fine. While I definitely believe this movie should be silly, this looks like it could also be the very first Power Rangers anything to actually ask you to care about the kids in those suits, who were pretty much interchangeable on television. I wonder if they can pull it off.
I honestly hope to be pleasantly surprised by Power Rangers when it opens on March 24, 2017. If you want to see more, there's always this other previously released clip.