Power Rangers

This darker version of Power Rangers knows it's audience. It understands that those of us who grew up watching this series are more mature now and would hopefully be willing for something like this to be given a shot. I really enjoyed it! I felt that it wrapped up some stories pretty darkly but I'm all for that. The action was also just like the tv shows but a rated R version. 9/10, I would totally see a movie like this.

Before I start writing down this review I have to be honest from the currently fifteen series of this Franchise I have watched from start to finish the seven of them and if you include the original second season eight, so I have some knowledge for the source material. Any way this flick is one of the most famous and praised fan-films of all time and having watch it for a third time I can't disagree.

For starters this is made by Adi Shankar, the dude that made fan-films a respectable type of entertainment and I definitely can see why for the film rocks. In this flick we see a darker re-imaging of the original team of the Power Rangers in which the team no all grown up the war has ended and every member has taken his or her separate way in the dystonia setting of the film.

The actors do a fantastic job bring this iconic characters to life and as for the action scenes are expertly directed with stunts that many feature film would be shamed of and many bloody deaths.

The one quote that summaries the whole enterprise is for James Van Der Beek, who portraits Rocky, "When two empires declare war neither side is innocent". Wow I never though that in product with Power Rangers in its title would have such as statement!

If you are a fan of the series then go watch it and let's hope that the feature film ,which will come out in 2017 be as entertain as this one, though if it is less gory maybe deeded.

The battle ended. For them. They moved on, got jobs, tried to deal with having been child soldiers in a war that had nothing to do with them. But then they started dying off. Kimberly(Sackhoff, capturing the now hardened, sweet Pink) is being interrogated by Rocky(Van Der Beek, tough). Fingers are being pointed. They think it's Tommy(Bain, doing a lot with little screen-time), and they need her help to find him. To stop him.

This is a compelling, not to mention badass, gritty take on the franchise so many of us grew up with. It manages to fit in a ton of the aspects, characters and conflicts, without it feeling rushed or overstocked. Heck, each of our well-cast main rangers get credible follow-ups and at least some closure. Well, poor Trini is merely a still as we see her funeral, so, all except for her. We even get a few *awesome* fight scenes. Twists, solid dialog, great acting and incredible production values. Quality CG, well-integrated and not flashy.

There is a lot of brutal, bloody violence and disturbing content in this. I recommend this to every fan of the series who wants this kind of reimagining. Heck, check out all of the bootleg universe. Adi Shankar is the man. 8/10

Since the internet is full of chatter over this fan film being taken down due to a claim by Saban, the creator of the series, I will not take up too much time on this topic, suffice to say that when your fan film contains fantastic effects, high production values, and actors like James vander Beek and Katee Sackhoff, then perhaps the idea of "fair use" of IP doesn't have quite enough goodwill in it to totally cover you. Anyway, outside of the fuss, the short film is not only a fan film, but also a sci-fi actioner with good effects and action to cover up for it being a snippet rather than a whole narrative. In both cases such things are common on the internet, since shorts often turn to this genre to try to deliver fancy effects packages.

So, in terms of the reason for the huge numbers of views this got in a very short period of time, it is pretty clear it was the brand and the name that made it such a hot property – and thus easy to see why the actual owners of these got upset that someone else would profit off their work. Anyway, that is not to say that the film itself doesn't deserve credit for what it does – because although inherently the genre/concept is common, it is very well done. The narrative is very simple but I was engaged by the idea of these comical, tacky characters (in my opinion) suddenly placed into a much darker world. This also allows the atmosphere to work and the short feels wonderfully violent, impacting and impressive.

The special effects are part of that, since they are generally impressive, but it is the total delivery that makes more of them. The performances also help add strength to this – with Gamba, Lee, Sackhoff, and vander Beek all doing very good work it must be said. The film adds to these good bits of casting by also getting Pérez to reprise her role from the original cast, as well as yet more to talk about with former porn star Olson too. The thing is, whether I want to grumble about it being a clickbait piece of special-effects showing off, it actually does work, and I really enjoyed the dark tone, slick action, and violent content. It may or may not be easily available but it is worth having a look for what it is.

This is the Power Rangers Film we deserve...even if it isn't the one we need right now.

A seriously dark and dystopian take on the 'Teenagers with attitudes' that we grew up with.

It manages to get a hell of a lot of story into its short runtime...and luckily it's a great story too.

Impressive visual effects add to the film instead of being the basis for it. Sackhoff & Van Der Beek turn in good performances too.

The only downside for this film, is the fact that it gives us a taster of a fantasy product that we are never going to get; but one could say the same of a lapdance, yet the stripping industry still manages to get buy.