I will not lie, I grew up a Power Rangers fanatic. Sure, I was not around when the original series was on, but I grew up with Ninja Storm and Dino Thunder, two epic iterations of the series. Last year, it was announced that Lionsgate (known for The Hunger Games series) and Saban (creators of the Power Rangers) would be teaming up to bring a new take on the rangers to the big screen. Following this announcement, we received official word that two of the most talented blockbuster writers had joined the film, and would develop the screenplay. Star Trek producer Roberto Orci also joined the film as a producer, and while many had a problem with The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the film was not Orci’s fault, with the star of the film, Andrew Garfield, even calling Orci’s original screenplay “beautiful.”
Now, on paper this film seems to have a lot going for it: The writers of X-Men: First Class and the first Thor film, as well as in the hands of a studio who really understands franchises and how to make them truly succeed. However, it appears, that with the Power/Rangers short-film that was recently released onto YouTube, has somehow had a fairly negative affect on people’s ambitions and hopes for this upcoming reboot. But that is why I am here today. I am here to discuss why I believe the upcoming Power Rangers reboot will be one of the biggest films of next year, and why it is perhaps the best up-and-coming franchise Hollywood has to offer… Get keen, people.
I am not an idiot, I get that the Power Rangers are extremely cheesy, but so is everything else. I mean go back to the 60s, and read some of the original Spider-Man comics, or further back and read the original Batman stuff. Cheesiness, or corniness, whatever you want to call it, has been around comics and franchises ever since the get-go. A lot of people want this new reboot to be grounded, and dark, and a feature-length version of the short film. But, that simply will not work. The Power Rangers have never been portrayed as a serious concept, and honestly, I think it should. I am not talking serious to The Dark Knight-levels, but I am talking about serious to the levels of The Amazing Spider-Man or even X-Men: Days Of Future Past. Funny that I should mention X-Men…
I have always found the Power Rangers to be extremely similar to the X-Men. They are both extended metaphors for being accepted, and being true to yourself. Beautiful stuff. I feel like Lionsgate are really going to bring out this side of the franchise in their upcoming reboot, and will truly explore the high school angle of these “teenagers with attitude.” I mentioned The Amazing Spider-Man earlier, while most people on this site hate the film (I get that it’s opinion and all, but it’s really great) but the film actually has a really fantastic tone. And when I say fantastic, I do not mean great, because that is not the true meaning of the word. I mean fantastical. The Marc Webb-directed film is set in a world similar to our own, and yet explores supernatural themes that we would never encounter, akin to the whole Power Rangers law.
While I am mostly in support of the franchise, there are a ton of things this film needs to change. For instance, please, do not make the Yellow Power Ranger an Asian. I mean, come on people, we are better than that. Do not even get me started on the Black Ranger. I mean, I want to give the original series the benefit of the doubt, but I really cannot. It is actually astonishing how terrible those two ideas were. So, in order to make a unique change, why not make the Red Power Ranger African American, and the Pink Ranger Asian, not racist, not stupid, just normal.
On the grand scheme of things, a Power Rangers film makes a ton of sense. Teenagers will eat the film up, especially if it appeals to them from a visual and storytelling perspective (just look at the success of The Maze Runner), and children would devour the film for simply being a Power Rangers film. The beautiful thing about the Power Rangers, and I do not know if Lionsgate has considered this, but it is that the film is about teenagers finding themselves, it is, at it’s core, a coming of age film. Sure, the show did not explore their background (i.e. Family life) but, from all the time they spend with their friends, you could assume their home life kinda sucked.
Explore that sh*t.
This new Power Rangers film needs to establish some key ideas. It needs to explore things that make for an interesting movie. For instance, establish these five teenagers as (sort of) strangers. Sure, the Yellow Ranger and the Pink Ranger could know each other, heck the Red Ranger is the most popular kid on campus, so he’s probably met the two girls before. But establish a unit that are not friends. Some people will probably complain about how this is “not following the source material” but the source material simply does not work. Why would a nerd be best friends with two of the hottest girls in school? Why would the school jock be best friends with the school nerd? The original series is such a flawed invention that, if you want to make a great film, you need to take liberties. I would love to see a Power Rangers film where the team is not a team at all, but rather individuals, who cannot win the battle until they work together, similar to Guardians Of The Galaxy or The Avengers.
The Power Rangers, as I stated earlier, is a coming of age property. You look at that genre, and there are barely any blockbusters that come to mind. The first Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man, are the only two I can really think of, which has got me thinking: Why not follow in their footsteps? Why not tell the story of five teenagers who are given these powers and must come together, despite being so apart, and using their new found gifts to change the world? I would watch that, in fact, I would watch a lot. Have the Red Power Ranger be a bully, make the Blue Power Ranger a nerd, who is so scared of the Red Ranger that he refuses to stand up for himself. Make the Black Power Ranger the Judd Nelson of the group. The Pink could be the Molly Ringwald, and the Yellow could be the ass-kicker with a smart mouth. If we are talking about influences for this film, then look no further than Josh Trank’s Chronicle. Make it dark, make it edgy, but for the love of God, have some fun.
So Saban, Lionsgate, if you are listening, tell a story that resonates with teenagers, do not focus on selling toys, or marketing to the TV shows’ audience, be braver and go bolder. As I have said earlier, this film has the potential to jack-start an entire franchise we have yet to explore on the big screen, so make it count. You (the studio) could be looking at the next Hunger Games if you play your cards right, and with a franchise that has an average gross of $700 million+, who wouldn't want to be apart of it?