Power Rangers: toujours vers le futur

This is my first review here... As most of the others - I watched the original series back when I was in elementary school.

Watching Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always brought back some childhood memories (and I am really grateful for that), but the overall impression is that for 2023 this was pretty bad... Plot is shallow, acting is not at it's best, some of the graphics are like the same as they were 30 years ago... And they could have made this an awesome movie !!!!

For above stated reason I would give it 4/10, but then after the last scene I have seen that Thuy Trang and Jason David Frank are not with us anymore and this was a big shock for me since I had no idea :(

I even stumbled upon some video of Jason David Frank like a year or two ago, and seen that he was at the moment still involved with Power Rangers franchise which made my day :) Seeing that he passed away... I was speechless :( I started crying for two of them, may their souls rest in peace !!!! :( Out of pure respect for them, I am raising my rating to 6/10.

For Thuy Trang and Jason David Frank !!!

Once a ranger, always a ranger !!!! :(

I was interested to see where this special would go, being advertised as a slightly more mature version of the old MMPR, whilst being stuck between having a nostalic love for the good old series from my youth and some remnant doubts from knowing Jason David Frank had his issues with this special (especially since his passing, which affected me more than I would have expected it to)

Overall it felt like an extended, slightly more mature version of the old episode, in both its strengths and weaknesses. They kept the structure and storytelling alive whilst telling a slightly darker story with some tones of loss, grief, vengeance and acceptance in it, whilst also staying true to the tone of the old series, including its campiness at several points.

It was good to see some of the old crew back, and especially have Zach some extra moments to shine. The story was good enough to carry the special, though my strongest point of annoyence was David Yost's acting, which felt like "I AM NOW READING THIS LINE" at a lot of moments. Even with that issue it certainly was good to see him back and getting a chance to shine, especially how the past did him wrong.

I was kind of worries how they would handle the green ranger after JDF's death, but I think they struck an OK compromise. I somewhere would have wanted something more, but doing it to everyone's liking would be impossibly hard.

Also bonus points for netflix for neither ruining an original casting nor getting overly political in a place it does not belong. (I feel there is one moment some people are gonna complain about, but I think it was actually neat)

In conclusion, I really enjoyed this special. It is mostly for fans of the old Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and delivers for those fans, it probably is not for you if you did not grow up watching Power Rangers in the early 90's, which I consider to be a case of "knowing your audience and targeting them well" in this case (same as Kung Fury did); It is a good watch for it's target audience, and I'd definitely like to see more.

Go, go Power Rangers!

Great bit of fun and exciting childhood nostalgia. Yes some of the acting and effects are a little bit dodgy, but I don't think anyone is expecting Avengers: Infinity War here. Was great to see some of the original cast, especially the legend that is David Yost, and some from other incarnations of the show. The way they wrote out Trini, and paid homage to Thuy Trang and Jason David Frank, with a song sung by fellow original Amy Jo Johnson, was beautiful.

If you're a fan of the shows, especially the original, then just enjoy it for what it is.

Once a Ranger, always a Ranger.

I never thought I would ever write a review about a Power Rangers show, but hey, I can actually recommend watching this reunion special!

Honestly, you don't even have to be an actual fan to enjoy these 55 minutes.

Is it cheesy? Sure! Does it have some awkward one-liners? Of course it has, it's Power Rangers! Does the 90s nostalgia hit you right in the face and bring back childhood memories (which also make you feel really old at the same time)? Absolutely!

BUT on top of that, it's so much better than the show which was Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in 1993. You can tell that in contrast to the TV show, the returning cast members and the crew deeply cared for this production. (Although to be fair, never seasons like Beast Morphers and Dino Fury have improved immensely compared to the past!) There's lots of fan service in the best way and not at the expanse of the story. In fact, the story is so tightly-knit and moves at a fast pace (without feeling rushed) to fit everything that happens into 55 minutes.

In contrast to the TV show, where nobody ever died and stayed dead, this reunion special has real stakes and consequences, and after 30 years in which they were never allowed to use the words "kill" or "die" on this show, these words suddenly become quite meaningful.

The special is still suitable for the target audience of the TV show, aka primary school kids, but you can tell it's mainly made for these 90s kids who are in their late thirties or even older now. As another fan pointed out: It's wild seeing these weapons suddenly CUT INTO opponents instead of just slashing past and causing some sparks which sent the monsters flying.

So, if you are up for a nostalgia trip into your childhood, go watch this 55 minutes special. I definitely had fun (and also shed some tears).

More or less exactly what you'd expect of a one-hour special celebrating 30 years of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, for better or for worse. Once & Always may have a serious subject at its core, but it still remembers to have plenty of fun. There's playful martial arts action, weird monster villains, and colourful settings galore. As one would expect from a 30th-anniversary special, it goes hard on the nostalgia, I can't be the only one who started jamming the moment the theme song kicked into overdrive. As with MMPR, Once & Always embrace its cheesiness but with its emotional core brings about a truly heartwarming reunion special that despite the real-world loss of two of its stars, never feels like it's taking advantage of them, merely respecting them even as our cast mourn their losses.

An extremely wholesome special that delivers on the Power Rangers goodness we all loved, Once & Always is a real special of a special. Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger.