Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Once and Always Review: Starring Walter Emanuel Jones, David Yost, Johnny Yong Bosch, Karan Ashley, Catherine Sutherland, Steve Cardenas, Barbara Goodson, Charlie Kersh and Benny Joy Smith alongside other cast members, this film is directed by Charlie Haskell. Becca Barnes and Alwyn Dale join the crew are screenplay writers. Ollie Jones is the director of photography, while Brad Davidson joins as the editor with music by Ron Wasserman.
– The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once and Always Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –
While children who saw this film grew up and became adults, the nostalgia doesn’t die. Nearly every aspect of the Power Rangers universe is left exactly the same. The writing and the storyline all tie up together in a neat little bow. Even if kids now didn’t know who these people were, their parents would have surely done a good job summarising it. Hell, the movie does a good job of summarising exactly what kind of show it would have been.
The early 90s may have come back in fashion, but not so much when it comes to the writing and the filmmaking. This is still a mighty throwback to the Disney channel genre, including that of Wizards of Waverly Place and some new ones too, like Zendaya’s KC Undercover. Obviously, using the same standards as they did in the 90s does perpetuate the same kind of stereotypes they dealt with at that time, and instead of changing them up or making them better, it was still left the exact same.
Black Power Ranger by the token Black Guy, and the Yellow Power Ranger by the token Asian character. Even when times evolve, nostalgia doesn’t. It may have been satisfying to see the characters all come together and fight for justice, but that word still leaves a bitter taste in the mouth if the genre doesn’t evolve to be inclusive. However, this argument can be retired because the film wasn’t taking itself too seriously. It was doing exactly as it was supposed to do, which was ironically cringe and makes viewers feel good about their childhood.
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Even the action and the cinematography style hadn’t changed. Moreover, the dingy and shiny costumes that have become the Power Rangers staple were featured in this modern rendition of the children’s show. This 30-year reunion could have been something similar to what they did to the Harry Potter Reunion, where they brought back the cast members to talk about the films and what it meant to be such a driving force for young people.
Since this was also a remembrance for two of the cast members who had passed since the release of the show, this film does a good job of extending their legacy. It would have been better if the people who set this film in motion used the budget to create something truly nostalgic for the fans, maybe even taking them behind the scenes. Having adults speak and behave like ‘teenagers with attitude’ should have been retired too long ago. If anything, this film is a wonderful example of why something like this shouldn’t be done in 2023.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Once and Always Review: Final Thoughts
As the title said, the nostalgia is truly enough to carry the film because it is potent, like syrup. The taste of childhood will rarely leave the screen. This film was made for a very specific audience, and that audience will particularly enjoy it because it has managed to cater to their very extreme need. While it doesn’t shy away from being itself completely, it does remind some people why the nineties children’s television content seems somewhat obsolete right now.
This writer stands by their opinion that if this was all about fan service, then it wouldn’t have been such a big deal, but considering the ending and the set-up created in this project, it is entirely possible that fan service was just the tease of what they might want to bring to this universe and that is a scary thought for the rest of Netflix.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Once and Always is currently streaming on Netflix. Do you think this film fulfils the nostalgia quota? Let us know in the comments below.
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