Power Rangers: Der Film

When I first heard about a Power Rangers movie (long ago), I was thinking, "Japanese footage on the big screen." When the movie came out, I decided to check it out.

The MMPR movie doesn't have much of a groundbreaking plot (bad guy is free, Rangers must kill bad guy, save world, blah blah) and the special effects aren't exactly awe-inspiring, but at least you know those are movie effects, not like Turbo's "big-screen television episode." The first film was clearly superior because of the time, effort, and money these people has put into making a film look better than the TV show it is based upon. Some of the fight scenes are better than on TV. The impressive final battle made up for an ugly Megazord (well, I thought it was ugly). The orchestrated soundtrack wasn't reused on television. And there were only two instances where we had to hear that damned "Go Go Power Rangers" theme song in the whole movie.

The MMPR movie isn't the greatest piece of work out there. It doesn't have any major elements that will introduce new fans into the world of spandex-wearing heroes fighting rubber monsters from Japan, but it makes for an enlightning ninety minutes.

Starting a movie off with Red Hot Chili Peppers is always a recipe for success.

Either you grew up with the Power Rangers or you didn't. If you didn't, this is one of the stupidest movies out there, but if you're like me and were a kid through the nineties there's a good chance you watched Power Rangers. As a result, I watched this movie a lot as a kid, and so even now it's packed full of nostalgia.

Ivan Ooze was a pretty good villain too with clever dialogue. After all, Paul Freeman was the villain in the greatest adventure movie of all time, that of course being 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'.

The CGI is pretty rough, but again it's 1995 and Power Rangers, so just enjoy it for what it is.

I saw this thing in the theaters, people. Can you believe it? And I actually took the material seriously and thought it was probably the single coolest thing I would ever see in my lifetime. Thank God I went on to my 11th birthday. One of my friends still digs all things Ranger, so he started playing it during play practice breaks. After having it sit on my shelf for so long (yes, we actually own the video...shut up), I couldn't believe how much I had forgotten. The horribly obvious wire work with Billy, the 'cool' new plastic suits (as opposed to the cheap spandex suits of ye olde television era), the offensively dumb Ivan Ooze villain, and especially the giant foam skeleton of a triceretops that attacks our heroes (wow, this movie has EVERYTHING!). The whole thing just screams Early 90's, when all kids could think of to do for fun was pretend to be Tommy and break their buddy's arm while pretending he was Lord Zedd (crap, I actually remember who Lord Zedd is!). Things are just corny from start to finish here, like the new and improved Ninja Rangers with their spiffy Early 90's Computer Animated Zords (gotta love the Frog Zord). From what I remember, Turbo was even more insipid than its big brother, so if you have to choose which one to watch during your Elementary School Nostalgia-Thon Fest Bonanza, go with this puppy. Trust me, even though it's Grade-A junk food, it will make you laugh with the memories. 2/4 Stars

Okay, if you forgive the banal dialogue and the plot contrivances, plus the fact the film tends to become silly and cheesy, it is really mindless fun aimed at kids. Yes the script is weak, and the story is suggestive of an extended TV episode, and does get very silly at times. Despite all this, it does have a sense of fun, and not as bad as the rating makes it out to be. The music is good, and an unrecognisable Paul Freeman as the villainous Ivan Ooze is surprisingly good, with some excellent delivery of the film's best lines. Ooze is not only scary but incredibly funny as well, and Freeman the great actor he is nailed that on the head. The performances on the whole are decent, certainly not Oscar worthy material, and there are some well staged fights, even if the effects are nothing special. I will confess I don't like the TV show that much, but despite the failings that this film has, it is fun to watch. 6/10 Bethany Cox.

As a kid, MMPR was like, my favorite TV show ever (as was every little boy's), and every day I would kung fu fight and punch and kick and have fights with my brother - he would be Jason, the red ranger, and I was Zach, the black ranger. And this was part of the reason I went to see the movie at the cinema.

The other reason was, because of it's violence, MMPR was cancelled here in New Zealand, before the end of the very first season. So, I was naturally interested in the new White Ranger, plus the addition of Aisha, Rocky and Adam, as I never actually saw Trini, Zach and Jason leave.

Okay, so the movie wasn't ever gonna win any Oscars or Golden Globes (maybe a Golden Raspberry, though!), but at the time I saw it (8) it was great fun and I enjoyed every moment of it from start to finish.

And while, the only ranger that seems to behold any acting talent behind those heavy-looking power helmets is Kimberly, the Pink ranger (Amy Jo Johnson - who also came to become part of the core cast for 'Felicity'), they're basically just fighting in it, so they really don't have to act an awful lot.

I've seen it quite a few times since my naive 8th year, but still like it (perhaps I'm in a state of reminiscing, or extreme denial) - it's fast-packed, funky and a good 90 minutes to keep kids quiet.