5) Teenagers With Attitude
Infamously, the intro to Mighty Morphin featured that benevolent head in a jar Zordon deciding that he needed to recruit new warriors in his fight against Rita Repulsa. Tasking his loyal robot Alpha 5 with finding the perfect candidates, he specifically asked for “teenagers with attitude.” In the event, he got Jason, Kimberly, Billy, Trini and Zack – some of the squarest young people on television. They could do kung-fu but they didn’t really have much in the way of personality.
The new movie, however, seems to be really trying to live up to Zordon’s original instructions. Chiefly, none of the teenagers seem to be friends – the only thing they have in common is that they’re all flunking school to the extent that they need to take extra lessons on Saturdays. Jason (Dacre Montgomery) is no longer the blandly heroic leader but a juvenile delinquent with a history of trouble with the police. Becky Gomez’s Trini isn’t just a bit of a swot but is now the recipient of death threats written on her school locker. Kimberly isn’t just a popular Valley Girl and is clearly just entering a rebellious faze.
It’s odd to see the Power Rangers having colour added to their characters rather than their suits, but it’s definitely refreshing and gives us hope for the movie. Superhero ensemble films are big right now, and Power Rangers will need some strong characters if it’s to go toe-to-toe with the likes of the Avengers and the Justice League.
