NYCC Power Rangers Trailer
Thanks to NYCC, we now have access to the first Power Rangers Movie trailer! If you're anything like me, you've been psyched since the announcement, but even if you're a bit apprehensive about the way this film is going to be handled, it's still a singular experience to see how everything has unfolded up to this point. And now that we've seen a glimpse of what is yet to come, it's of course time to analyze every detail to an unnecessary degree. Sound like fun? I think so too.
Right off the bat we have elements that are pretty clearly sourced from Power Rangers as a show, but they are mingled with the parts that are a bit more original. From the beginning the Rangers are shown as set apart from their peers; they're misfits in one way or another. This brings Dino Thunder to mind most strongly, but I couldn't help but remember the episode A Bad Reflection on You where the Rangers get detention. Speaking of mirrors, the scene where Kimberly cuts her hair (with pink scissors) feels like maybe the Rangers will be going through a figurative as well as literal transformation through the story. There are some nice character beats as well; Jason protecting Billy from bullies is a nice callback to the show where he does exactly that. Trini's a bit condescending, which is also similar to the show. Truthfully, Kim feels a bit more like late S3 Kim, because she has a more melancholy vibe, and we don't get a lot of Zack.
I'm of two minds regarding how the coins give the Rangers powers as civilians. I do feel like the powers they have here are mostly all-around stat boosts, so they're basically just much stronger/faster/more agile, but won't be shooting lasers from their eyes. If that's true, they may increase the power of the foot soldiers (in whatever form they'll take; I'll assume Putties) to somewhere between the strength of a normal human and the strength of a monster. It'll make it understandable when normal civilians run away from grunts, but the real threat should come in the form of the monsters and thus make morphing necessary.
At the same time, the realization scenes are very, very Spider-Man. Breaking a sink with one's unforeseen strength is not necessarily a rip-off, nor is schooling a bully in school with one's newfound gifts. Both together in quick succession makes this a slightly different situation. I do think that the fact that they're a team and can agree or disagree with one another sets it apart; for the most part Raimi's Spider-Man didn't have anyone to bounce hero things off of. I'm excited to see how they go forward discovering their powers together.
From what I can see, the acting and directing look pretty solid. The characters are well-drawn, fully distinct characters. You can feel Jason's guilt and desire to do the right thing, Billy's inquisitiveness and apprehension, and Kimberly's isolation and resolve in just a few scenes. As I said, Zack and to a lesser extent Trini aren't as heavily featured in this, though we get a bit of sarcasm from Trini which works for me. The lighting is kind of...trademark Lionsgate, for lack of a better way of putting it. It's very gray-filter and dismal at times with splashes of color (usually associated with the Rangers themselves, which I'm assuming is intentional). I like this aspect of it, but I know some people are worried about it due to tonal issues. I think it was probably necessary to draw a line between the movie and the show and to establish this as an adaptation, rather than as a straight high-budget runback of Day of the Dumpster.
So quickly on the heels of the Shyler resolution we get the hint of another Red-Pink romance. I think this was pretty well predicted for the most part despite Jason and Kim never actually being together (unless you count the Turbo movie, which you probably should if you have eyes and a brain). I'm also torn a bit on this. I feel as if triangles are pretty hard to do convincingly without making at least one person (usually the person in the middle) look super selfish and insufferable. At the same time, I'm willing to give this the benefit of the doubt, because I don't think that a triangle automatically ruins a story. I also enjoy a little romance with my super-heroics, so as to humanize the people in the armor. And in any case, this wasn't the most important ship that was born from this trailer.
This was.
On a more serious note, how much do I love Rita? (The answer is a lot.) I love everything about her that's shown here. The way she's floating above Trini like an angel of death, the creepy whisper she has, her lack of anything approaching boundaries, this is what I want an evil witch to be. I love the direct interaction between the Ranger(s) and Rita, because she almost always dealt with the Rangers on the show at a distance. Since the earlier release of information involving a scene with Becky G and Elizabeth Banks, we knew there would be a confrontation in Trini's home, but the tense, claustrophobic atmosphere established here is so much more than could be conveyed by a BTS still or an interview. And the implied threat in Rita's whispered "I've killed Rangers before" speaks volumes and throws so many questions in the air. How many other Rangers have there been? How many has she killed? Does this have anything to do with the Green Ranger Coin in this universe? How does Trini escape?
This rendition of Power Rangers is what I've been waiting for. I have no intention of speaking on behalf of the entire fandom, but I'm ecstatic about what I see and totally looking forward to getting some answers to the questions. If the point of a teaser is to whet an audience's appetite, I am salivating buckets here. Disgusting metaphors aside, this trailer did a great job of showing us a peek at Power Rangers, establishing the world and characters, and letting us see just enough of Jason morphing to get me fanboying. I'm on my eleventh run-through of the trailer or so, and after another eleven I think I'll be ready for the next snippet of info we get. So join us on this road to March Madness, and check out Angel Grove High School's website in the meantime.
