Power Rangers is one of the oldest action series, and based on the popular tokustatsu franchise Super Sentai. Surprisingly, there have only been three Power Rangers movies since the franchise adaptation to an American audience. Even more shocking is that only one of those films is actually canon to the larger series. Given the beloved nature of the series, Power Rangers movies often garner more criticism than the other parts of the franchise.
Of all the films to be released, only two can be considered remotely successful and one remains a box-office failure. The 2017 Reboot is decidedly everything the franchise doesn't need, and fans seemed to share the sentiment. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Movie and Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie are both fine, but the franchise is in desperate need of an actually well-thought-out film adaptation.
3 The Power Rangers (2017) Doesn't Do the Original Franchise Justice
Power Rangers 2017 Has Tarnished the Series' Reputation More Than the Creators Could Have Forseen
The 2017 Power Rangers film is meant to act as a hard-reboot of the franchise and was set to spawn a series of film adaptations following the same beatz as the new film. There are many differences from the original series, and many fans argue that Power Rangers 2017 doesn't necessarily fit into the original Tokusatsu genre. The film had a lot of potential, but decidedly failed to live up to any of it.
The Zord designs remain one of the only positives about the film. Aside from the potentially more mature take on the franchise, nothing really landed its mark. The effects were obviously a step-up from the normal series, but that doesn't make up for the lack of a cohesive plot. Instead of making a remake of the original premiere, The Power Rangers tried to do its own thing, which simply didn't work.
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Power Rangers 2017 had several incredible ideas, but they didn't really pan out. Everything the movie attempted to do differently felt disastrous and everything it tried to do the same felt disingenuous. To lengthen the film and up the stakes, the Rangers even have trouble morphing, which is easy in every other adaptation. This might be a more mature version of the original Rangers, but the teenagers have a little too much attitude.
Obviously, the film flopped. The Power Rangers didn't just flop at the box office, it was hated. Audiences everywhere grew to hate the film, and it remains one of the most controversial parts of the franchise as a whole. Fans couldn't empathize with the Rangers, they weren't convinced by the villain, and not even Bryan Cranston's Zordon could win them over.
The flop was supposed to create another entire film series of Power Rangers films. It performed so badly that the entire idea was scrapped. Since then, there have been no efforts to create another Power Rangers film. Given the amount of time it took for this one to get made, there's no telling how long it could be before the next film.
2 The First Ever Power Rangers' Film Has Nothing to do With Canon
The MMPR Movie is a Retelling of the Ninja Rangers' Origin Story
The original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers film is one of the most interesting iterations in the Power Ranger's repertoire. The movie is not canon, but is another retelling of how the Power Rangers attained their ninja powers. The film is a decidedly better rendition of events than what happens in the actual series and many fans choose to see it as canon, despite the discrepancies with the original show.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie is an incredible achievement for the original series as it doesn't use any footage from the original Super Sentai series. This is one of the only instances of Power Rangers to completely "act alone". The film features an original villain, as well as incredible original footage. As far as Power Ranger films go, this is incredibly well done, but sadly it isn't canon.
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Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie not being canon is really the series' only mistake. That, and the film had many of the series' add-on rangers instead of the original cast paired with the project's low budget. Other than those reasons, the MMPR movie is an otherwise incredible eye-focused look into the franchise. Sadly, the film didn't take off in the way it was meant to.
The low-budget and poor CGI ultimately caused the movie to suffer. The film would do fine at the box office, but wouldn't live up to its potential. That said, the movie has done surprisingly well retrospectively. Longtime fans of the franchise have come to really appreciate the movie. Ultimately, the movie remains a great part of Power Rangers history, but lacks the weight of the series' only additional film.
1 Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie is the Franchise's Only Popular Film
The Film Serves as the Introduction to Power Rangers Turbo
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Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie is meant to serve as the transition between Power Rangers Zeo and Power Rangers: Turbo. This is the only time this has been done, and marks the complete transition of powers between iterations. Interestingly enough, the film does not introduce the Rangers that would take over for the promoted Zeo Rangers.
The movie is an incredible depiction of everything that makes Power Rangers great. There is a definite reason it is the only canon picture in the franchise. Tommy Oliver does a fantastic job as another Red Ranger, leaving some disappointed when he leaves the role to TJ Johnson in the actual series. Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie has epic battles, and introduces the new big bad, but falls decidedly short of what could have been a normal Power Rangers special.
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Many fans' complaints about Turbo: A Power Rangers' Film come more from the television franchise. The audience originally wasn't happy at the apparent downgrade in Turbo. The Zeo crystals were supposedly the most powerful devises in Power Rangers history, but fans were expected to move on without giving them a second thought. Other than that, the movie is blamed for a cheezy tone that always follows older Power Rangers projects.
Fans' perception of the film is decidedly vague, but it remains the only canon Power Rangers movie. This makes it extremely valuable in the eyes of both classic and modern fans. It's an incredible shame that more of an effort hasn't been made to create a film in a more meaningful way. Based on the way audiences reacted at the time, showrunners simply decided that making more movies wasn't worth it.
Power Rangers
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- March 24, 2017
- Runtime
- 124 minutes
Cast
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Elizabeth BanksJason Lee Scott / The Red Ranger -
Bryan CranstonBilly Cranston / The Blue Ranger -
Becky G.Zack Taylor / The Black Ranger
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Naomi ScottKimberly Hart / The Pink Ranger
