USA TODAY International Edition
Youthful ‘ Power Rangers’ invades the packed superhero movie space
In 1993, Mighty Morphin Pow
er Rangers was the cream of the on- screen superhero crop.
Since then? The youngsters have taken a back seat in pop culture to six X- Men movies, five Spider- Man films, a Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy and 14 projects released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The color- coded warriors get a more grounded reboot with Pow
er Rangers ( in theaters Friday), and the key to its success in a packed super- powered marketplace is differentiating the group from the likes of Iron Man and Captain America by embracing the intimate and personal, says director Dean Israelite.
“If you’ve ever been a kid, or are a kid, you’ll be able to identify with these characters,” says the 32- year- old filmmaker, who grew up on the original Power Rangers TV show in his native South Africa. “A lot of the superheroes in the other universes are great but they always feel outside of my experience. This has a different
quality and you have to define yourself in that way, or it feels like you’re making another superhero movie just to make another superhero movie.”
Power Rangers centers on five disparate, disenfranchised teenagers ( Dacre Montgomery, RJ Cyler, Naomi Scott, Becky G and Ludi Lin) in small- town Angel Grove who have to come together and form a team to fend off the nefarious machinations of Rita Repulsa ( Elizabeth Banks).
It’s a clean slate from the campy TV series ( versions of which have been airing for more than 25 years) and two movies in 1995 and ’ 97, and the new franchise- starter broaches such young- adult subjects as cyberbullying, autism and questioning of sexuality, where most super- hero films have yet to go.
“We got the chance to actually create these 17- year- old kids, going through things happening in this day and age,” says Scott, who plays Kimberly the Pink Ranger.
The power of Rangers always has been tapping into “the fundamental wish fulfillment of being a superhero with your friends — to think you could be called upon, if you were worthy, to become a Power Ranger,” says producer Brian Casentini. And in that sense, these five big- screen teens are “more relatable than many of the superheroes you see who are adults and billionaires and defrosted World War II supersoldiers. And we don’t take place in a galaxy far, far away.”
The nostalgia factor is there for Power Rangers, as are brand recognition and a strong mainstream interest in superheroes overall, says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. “It’s a pretty bold and auspicious step. But to rise above in this very competitive space, that’s a tall order.”
Plus, kids are one of the primary audiences for the movie, adds Jeff Bock, senior analyst for Exhibitor Relations. “What we’re talking about is 6- to 9- year- old boys. Guess what? That’s not enough to drive a franchise.”
Yet the goal was never to be The Dark Knight. “We can’t just do the pure serious take. People would reject it as not being Power Rangers,” Casentini says. “The kids struggle humorously and seriously to master their powers, and they have a blast kicking monster butt once they do.”
Adds Lin, who plays Zack the Black Ranger: “It’s like life — there are difficulties and hard parts and challenges, but it’s still fun.”