Review Roundup: Critics are very divided on Power Rangers

The Power Rangers have been around for a long, long time. It was a big part of many people's childhoods and continues to be a part of other generation's lives through new TV shows, video games, and now a big-budget Hollywood film.

Many have pondered if a Power Rangers movie was needed. Would it be able to capture the spirit of the original TV show for those who want a nostalgia trip or would it suffer from bad reboot syndrome? A handful of reviewers have gotten the chance to see the new film and the consensus is pretty mixed. Some think it does a good job of what it sets out to do while some think it's pure schlock.

At the moment, the movie has a 50% rating from critics with 14 total reviews on Rotten Tomatoes but more will come in throughout the week. Below you'll find some excerpts from a number of reviews for the film (both positive and negative).

The Hollywood Reporter

"For longtime fans, the newest installment preserves some of the most beloved characteristics of the original franchise, updated to reflect technological advances. The Rangers’ color-coded power suits now benefit from nanoparticle properties and the robotic mecha assault vehicles known as Zords that they pilot take on enhanced battle capabilities, while Rita’s menacing sidekicks the Putties and the gigantic warrior Goldar get more polished, fluid CGI representations. (And yes, the “Go Go Power Rangers” theme song makes a triumphant return.)

Screenwriter John Gatins succeeds in effectively distilling the Power Rangers’ sprawling mythology into a manageable scope and dialing back the campy humor and martial arts fixations that characterized the TV series and liberally informed the feature films. The current version instead emphasizes more realistic dramatic situations by imbuing each Ranger with some type of personal issue."

"Whether they’re dealing with bullying, alienation or sexual orientation, these teens are more three-dimensional than their Ranger predecessors, but eventually this repetitive effort to emphasize their relatability becomes so heavy-handed as to appear transparently manipulative. However, some judiciously timed humor, frequently aimed at Billy’s tech obsessions or Zordon’s sarcastically judgmental attitude toward his young proteges, helps curtail the self-consciously jokey tone of the earlier films."

No Score

The Wrap

"There’s plenty about “Power Rangers” that could have been improved, from the selection of the film’s least interesting (yet whitest) character as team leader to the clunky world-building that happens in any movie that’s thirsty for sequels. But the film has plenty of interesting little touches, like editors Martin Bernfeld and Dody Dorn cutting from an exploding building to a campfire. And when our teen heroes are opening up to each other around that campfire, we get a moment of genuine human contact that papers over the film’s many flaws.

This quintet of actors is so empathetic and engaging that they more than hold up the John Hughes end of the movie. And if you’re not seeing this for the acting, then at least you get five brightly-clad heroes driving dinosaur-shaped spaceships that eventually meld into one giant, sword-wielding robot. If that’s what you paid to see, then “Power Rangers” delivers it, dollars to donuts."

No Score

IndieWire

"The film is a blast during the few brief moments when it embraces the cartoon craziness that’s made the television show into such a cultural fixture, but it sheepishly backs away from every one of these giddy indulgences as if it’s afraid of getting caught with a hand in the cookie jar; why play the series’ unforgettable theme song (“Go Go, Power Rangers!”) if you’re going to cut it off after just a few bars? If only “Power Rangers” had the courage to put down its mask and work with its audience. It may not be possible to cram a ton of crayons in a butt, but that doesn’t mean we should settle for anonymous photocopies, instead."

C-

IGN

"Power Rangers likely won’t do much for those who never liked the property in the first place. But for those who grew up with it, or found it through the many different incarnations throughout the years, it provides the kind of passionate, loving reboot that we very rarely see from the studio system nowadays – one that goes deeper into its mythology without ever losing the camp element that made it so much fun in the first place."

7/10

Variety

"The thing is, it’s all franchise window dressing. What it can’t cover up is that the characters in “Power Rangers” have all the depth and idiosyncrasy of walking talking robo-teen action figures. How will a movie like this one do? In the minds of the people who made it, it was obviously conceived to be a blockbuster, one that would cut a swath across the demos and generations. But it seems likelier that the movie will earn the 2017 equivalent of the so-so grosses the 1995 movie did. The irony is that 25 years ago, “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” was launched as superhero fodder for kids, and there was indeed a place for it, but we’re now so awash in superhero culture that kids no longer need the safe, lame, pandering junior-league version of it. They can just watch “Ant-Man” or the PG-13 “Suicide Squad.” Safe, lame, and pandering have all grown up."

No Score

USA Today

"The last half hour is filled with cheeseball visual effects, B-movie monsters and Banks — by far the most enjoyable aspect — hamming it up the best she can, even chowing down on a doughnut mid-battle. (Give it up for Krispy Kreme, which not only gets prime product placement but also finds its way into the narrative as an important plot point.)

There’s an admirable commitment to absurdity, yet it belies the thoughtful coming-of-age journey for the five teens up until they hit “morphin time." The first half boasts a realism reminiscent of Chronicle in how youngsters deal with the responsibility of having nascent superpowers, and John Gatins’ screenplay creates surprisingly touching relationships between the kids. There’s even a discrepancy in color palette — with the initially dark and muted tones moving to a rainbow of vibrancy as the film turns toward the silly — but the film lacks a certain confidence by not taking either tack.

Anybody who screamed “Go, go, Power Rangers!” as a kid will find all their favorite things still here, and the movie is a serviceable introduction to a new generation who want to check out cinematic superheroes without “Marvel” in the credits.

For everyone else? Hope you take your Zords with a large helping of cheese."

2/4 Stars

Power Rangers hits theaters on March 24th, 2017.