Power Rangers Review: 7 Ups & 4 Downs
Surprisingly satisfying fan service.
The long-awaited, much-discussed and undeniably controversial big-screen Power Rangers reboot is finally here, and critics have been unsurprisingly divided on its merits so far.
It's so frequently a cop-out to say that a movie "isn't for critics" or was "made for fans", but it's certainly interesting to observe the disparity between the critical and fan reaction so far.
No, Power Rangers is not a great movie, but it is a damn sight more nuanced and entertaining than many were probably expecting. It is a movie that actually invests you in the people at the forefront, and also delivers the cartoonish mayhem fans will expect.
Against the odds, Power Rangers is a blast for nostalgic fans of the source material that should also play well with that lucrative teen market. A new cinematic franchise is born.
Downs...
4. The Obnoxious Krispy Kreme Product Placement
Product placement is nothing new in Hollywood blockbusters, but Power Rangers' blatant product placement for Krispy Kreme doughnuts is some of the most flagrantly obnoxious paid promotion seen in any tentpole movie of the last few years.
Not only is the company name-dropped about a dozen times (often in the same sentence), but Angel Grove's Krispy Kreme establishment actually serves as a major plot point in the film, even having the half-hilarious, half-awful audacity to feature Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks) stopping to munch on a donut during the final battle.
It's eye-rollingly intrusive and howlingly transparent, and had it been anymore aggressive, it probably would've sunk everything good this movie does (which is a surprising amount).