Power Rangers 30 Years Later Random Thoughts

 

Today is the 30th anniversary of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie. I remember my uncle, my cousin and I going to see the movie. I also remember 9 year old me, itching after the movie was over to go outside and live out my Power Rangers dreams.

In celebration of 30 years, I decided to watch it and offer some random thoughts I have as it's playing. So away we go.

1. The opening scrawl that starts the movie is very well done, and helps expand on the franchises lore. Unfortunately it'll never get the credit it deserves.

2. The Rangers are all under 18, how are they are skydiving with no supervision?

3. To be young again, go skydiving and then 10-15 minutes later rollerblade across the city without breaking a sweat.

4. It was never explained why Mordant was added to the film. He could have been used more than comedy fodder.

5. You could see the Ivan Ooze-Lord Zedd power struggle coming from a mile away.

6. While not really practical for everyday combat. Those leatherish power suits, as opposed to the spandex ones were fire.

7. You would think the command center would have been more fortified. Especially after thr green with envy storyline from the TV series.

8. The heightened sound effects when the rangers move their arms and such...can quickly become more annoying in my washed age.

9. The fight scene against the oozemen at the construction site still holds up.

10. Did Lord Zedd and Rita really think Ivan Ooze would work for them?

11. Again, that youthful energy. By time The Rangers got to the new planet. They didn't need a nap?

12. Yeah I know Zordon is on borrowed time, but they did have a busy day. And have been up 24 hours.

13. Better yet, they didnt need anything to eat to keep up their energy?

14. Dulcea defender of Phados, a skilled warrior who fought battles alongside Zordon. She deserved a deeper backstory.

15. This is news to me, but Mariska Hargity better known as Olivia Benson from SVU. Was cast as Dulcea and filmed some scenes before being let go.

16. When Ivan Ooze was pushing his product. None of the Angel Grove kids heard of Just Say No or stranger danger?

17. So Fred is the only child in Angel Grove that used his thinking cap and realized something not right?

18. The dinosaur skeleton scene definitely took inspiration from Indiana Jones films of the world.

19. The Rock guard fight scene is the best battle scene in the movie. It still holds my attention like I've never seen it.

20. I could have done without some of the corny one liners in the scene though.

21. The CGI is very dated but in 1995, this was some cutting edge stuff.

22. I know it's a kids movie, but Ivan Ooze was too campy. They could have made him just a pinch more diabolical.

23. How did the kids know water would get their parents out of their trance? Or did I not pay attention in science class.

24. It was nice to see Bulk and Skull as component good-doer's for once.

25. Ryan's Comet taking out Ivan Ooze was a cop-out.

26. The Ranger's bringing Zordon back to life..is still a feel good moment.

27. Now that I realize the Rangers went a day or so without eating. Their spread at the ending celebration makes a lot of sense. 

28. Somewhere in my nine year old mind. I really was waiting for a storyline where Fred became a power ranger.

29. This movie actually had a very good rock heavy, but diverse soundtrack. 

30. Welp, of course as an adult I see flaws in the film. But, the film and the franchise was a staple of my youth and I still love the film.

 For the 30th anniversary of the film Thank You Power Rangers for all the years of joy and imaginative playground battles saving the day you've given me.

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A Zordon Origin Film? I'd Watch It

 

We live in a age where intellectual property (IP) is king, companies love mining from the archives looking to revive a property or use characters to spin off something new. Especially in this streaming environment, where streaming services constantly have to churn exclusive quality programs to justify people continuing to pay for them.

I was watching the 2017 Power Rangers movie recently, which deserves more love by the way. It got me thinking, why hasn't an Zordon movie or series been created yet?

As the thousands of years old mentor of the Power Rangers, Zordon has a lot of story to tell before he was banished to that chamber. Particularly during his battles against Rita Repulsa on his home planet of Eltar. The mythology of the series has alluded multiple times he was a legendary wizard, warrior and commander. 

It was briefly mentioned in the original series, it was mentioned in the 1995 Power Rangers film, and the 2017 film changed things to Zordon being a ranger himself. In 2016 Boom Studios released a comic book series that gave Zordon an extensive backstory.

Incorporate the best of his backstory from the various properties. Include his allies starting with Alpha 1 down to Alpha 5,  Dulcea (from '95 movie), and even King Lexian (Masked Rider series). Notable villains such as Goldar, Rito Revolto and Lord Zedd along with Rita Repulsa have to be included too. And it could make for an very entertaining story. 

I believe Paramount has the rights to the Power Rangers franchise, they honestly could make it an animated film like the upcoming Transformers One movie. Or make it a animated series and release it on Paramount Plus to entice subscribers and content is king. If they don't see the value, I'm positive Netflix would and scoop it right up.

If someone ever makes this an reality I'd watch it.

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Why The Green Ranger Is A Legend

 

90's kids took a shot to the heart last Sunday when Jason David Frank better known as Tommy from Power Rangers passed away. For a good 3-4 years, Power Ranger mania took over the world and he was a huge reason why.

The Power Rangers as a collective were cool as hell and heroes we looked up to, but Tommy Oliver was simply that guy. He was the team leader, a bad ass fighter, the personification of the "teenagers with attitude" motto, that had a bit more edge than the rest of the team. About as much Edge as he would get on a kid's TV show.  Let's not forget The ladies namely Kimberly and later Kat loved him, and likely a host of fans.

When we played as Power Rangers on the playground, all the kids wanted to be him, for those exact reasons. Let's not forget his Shield and Zords that made him stand out from the rest. I mean he was so cool and admired. He even hosted a karate training session on VHS, so more kids could learn karate just like him. I proudly bought it one year with my own money, in my mind on my journey to being a power ranger. It's a very cheesy cash grab looking back, but for it's time in a kid's mind hot damn it was worth it to start my "training".

His story arc even introduced us to serialized long term story telling and we didn't even realize it. Green with evil was a five part series. One guy gave all five rangers a run for their money, and drew fans in his over the top acting, but hey he was cool. Subsequent episodes regarding him losing his powers had us tuned in as well. When the Green Ranger disappeared, The two-part White Light series that marked his return as the white ranger had us excited he was back.

When he returned to the franchise in Dino Thunder . I was an young adult way past watching Power rangers, but deep down I was excited he came back home. From what I know his time on that series only grew the legend of Tommy Oliver.

The man behind the helmet was said to be very grateful and generous to his fans. Which is all we really ask for when we meet our "heroes". From what I've read about him, all the love he received from fans was an additional spark in his life. 

credit: @custompowerrangers instagram

Often times as an adult you forget just how much your childhood influences shaped who you are. To this day I unapologetically love franchises like Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers, I secretly wish I was a ranger getting summoned on my communicator to save the world. Tommy Oliver the power ranger of various incarnations along with his teammates was a huge part of my youth, fans will always celebrate the Legend of him. 

May The Power Protect Him.

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G.I. Joe The Rise Of Cobra Deserves A Second Look

Today marks 10 years since G.I. Joe The Rise of Cobra was released in theaters. Highly anticipated when it was released due to being a live action interpretation of the beloved G.I. Joe brand and the flashy trailers highlighting plenty of action. The film was trashed by critics, while receiving mixed reviews from fans upon it's debut. Looking back at it ten years later the film definitely has it's flaws but it actually deserves a second chance, here are three reasons why.

Action Scenes

The beginning of the film starts off very brisk substituting providing much of a plot to get to the point of action. The first action scene in the film is a very exciting scene, and sets the tone for what I believe the film was going for. A modern day "roller coaster" adventure film containing just enough story to move the plot forward and head to the next action beat. The martial arts scenes between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow did not disappoint at all, and Ray Park was born to play Snake Eyes. The chase through the streets of Paris no matter how cartoonish, outlandish and all over the place it  was, is alot of fun and a highlight of the film. 

Live Action Cartoon

While many adaptions and reboots today take a darker more serious tone (i.e. Power Rangers released in 2017). G.I. Joe tried to maintain the feel of a live action cartoon. This included some very corny dialogue and callbacks to traditional G.I. Joe slogans. The film tried it's best to pay homage and include G.I. Joe code names, and locations/headquarters. Some of the sets including the G.I. Joe headquarters and the submarine of Destro along with some of the science in the film had cartoon elements to it. The film isn't really grounded in reality but I believe that was part of the point.

Technology

Released a year after Iron Man spearheaded the MCU and a year before it's sequel, the technology in the Rise of Cobra rivals that of a world inhabited by Tony Stark. With the combination of technology and weaponry used in the recently released "Hobbs & Shaw", this film may have been ahead of the curve in the marriage of weapons and technology. G.I. Joe features nanotechnology called "nanomites" that can be programmed to attack and "eat" through any material. Or it can be used as a mind control device once implanted into a subject. In addition holographic communication, laser guns, devices that can read and display the memories of a dying villain. Fighter jets that rely on voice activation and commands to fly and shoot sonic missiles. Mechanical accelerator suits that provided superhuman abilities to the wearers.  Underwater headquarters, secret bases with state of the art technology. A technology geeks wet dream is displayed in this film.

Overview

Surely the filmmakers made a huge mistake with their handling and backstory of Cobra Commander. Making him a doctor gone "crazy" as opposed to a maniac who just wants to take over the world. Altering his mask for the worse was not a smart decision at all. This iteration of Cobra Commander was a far cry from the Cobra Commander everyone loved to hate. Making Duke and Baroness lost lovers also was a unnecessary subplot. A few years later a sequel G.I. Joe Retaliation  was released that attempted to rectify some of the issues. While that movie was more grounded in reality and generally more well received it still had it's share of problems and the planned franchise was halted. Hasbro and Paramount are developing another G.I. Joe film and planned spinoff, hopefully they can find the right components of The Rise of Cobra and Retaliation to make a truly great G.I. Joe film that satisfies all fans.

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