This past weekend, I mustered the courage to go to the movies and by an IMax ticket to Power Rangers (2017). Before I left the house, I called my mother and told her I was coming late because I was going to the movies. When I told her what I was going to see, I was met with a rather snarky, “I guess there’s still a child in us all.” Perhaps. But both the child inside and the child outside are screaming. Well. Not screaming. More of a deep-bellied sigh, a lot of questions, and not so many answers.
I’m struggling to give a definitive answer of whether or not I liked the film, having grown up zealously attached to the Power Rangers franchise. As a loyal fan for nearly sixteen of its twenty-four seasons (and counting), the franchise was a big part of my childhood. Basically a reboot of the original series in the form of a modern-day, blockbuster film, Power Rangers (2017) hit some rather curious notes.
Though the original MMPR was inclusionary with its casting, the 2017 reboot took it a step further. RJ Cyler plays Billy Cranston the Blue Ranger who is introduced early in the film, meticulously organizing his colored pencils, among other habits that earn him the ire of the class bully. As the movie progresses and
team-leader and Red Ranger, Jason Scott befriends Billy, the latter shares with him in a rather heavy-handed way that “He is on the spectrum,” and that he doesn’t pick up on jokes or sarcasm well. Then there is Becky Gomez who plays the Yellow ranger, Trini Kwan. In this adaptation of the original series, Trini alludes to a distinct distaste of labels in regards to her sexuality with the implication being either that she is bisexual or gay.
One of my questions is why avoid labeling Trini’s sexuality, while very happily labeling Billy’s character as autistic? In many ways, a film like Power Rangers is trying to do something unique by providing a relatable character for individuals who’ve never had one on the big screen before. Unfortunately, they’re only interested in doing it if it will make them money and avoid too much controversy. Because they never directly state Trini’s sexuality, they can simply fall back on the ambiguity of her characters interests to avoid the movie being banned in areas or parts of the world where they would be more likely to protest/pull it from theaters (as Russia has already done, by raising the age-restriction of the film). This wishy-washy way of depicting characters, characters who are fully capable of being complex, unique, and realistic individuals who are more reflective of our modern day, is a dangerous game to play that really jars many parts of the film for me.
The film is weird to say the least. It is the Breakfast Club meets Mighty Morphin Power Rangers meets Transformers, which is a lot to juggle in a 2-hour window. There is this
incongruent clashing of old and new cliches throughout the film that left me uncomfortable and confused, annoyed that in their attempt to create a new, relatable version of a pillar in the childhoods of many they couldn’t even be definitive in their choices.
Also, I’ll never forgive the consistent name-dropping of Krispy Kreme in the third-act of the film who clearly put a lot of money into its production. The final battle itself was staged around the donut-selling chain and featured a completely unnecessary and frustrating scene where the Rangers main-villain, Rita Repulsa, slowly eats a Krispy Kreme donut as her giant monster levels the town in the background.
Sigh.
It’s Morphin Time,
Christopher LaSasso
The Junction Journal 