Review - Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995)

          Hey guys, Chuck here, and now that we're done with Disney Renaissance Month, I wanted to take a look at another relic of my childhood: the Power Rangers. Last year, I gave my review of the 2017 reboot film Power Rangers starring Dacre Montgomery and Naomi Scott. Today, however, I'll be taking a look at the 1995 film Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, which would feature the lead actors from the television series at the time, which were Jason David Frank, Johnny Yong Bosch, Karan Ashley, Steve Cardenas, Amy Jo Johnson, and David Yost. Also in the cast are the likes of Paul Schrier, Jason Narvy, Paul Freeman, and Gabrielle Fitzpatrick. 

         The movie starts off with a Star Wars style opening text crawl, where we learn that an interdimensional being called Zordon of Eltar, along with his robotic assistant Alpha 5, set up a Command Center on the outskirts of the city of Angel Grove, and recruited six teenagers to aid in a battle against evil, utilizing massive assault vehicles called Zords to aid them. After this bit of exposition, we meet our six Ranger teens: Tommy Oliver, Kimberly Hart, Billy Cranston, Rocky DeSantos, Aisha Tyler, and Adam Park, along with their schoolmates Bulk and Skull, about to partake in skydiving for a charity fundraiser for the Angel Grove Observatory. And while the six Rangers make the target, Bulk and Skull drift so far off that they arrive at a local construction site instead, where the construction crew uncovers a mysterious metal hand holding a giant purple egg. 

      While rollerblading through Angel Grove, the six Rangers are called to the Command Center for an urgent briefing by Zordon. Zordon informs them that Six thousand years prior, a morphological being called Ivan Ooze ruled the world in a reign of terror, and was beginning construction of his massive machines called the Ecto-Morphicons: Hornitor and Scorpitron. Ultimately, it was Zordon and a team of warriors that sealed Ivan in a hyperlock chamber and buried him underground before the Ecto-Morphicons were completed. But, the construction crew uncovered the hyperlock chamber (the purple egg in the giant hand we saw earlier), and the Rangers must now send it back underground before Ivan is set free. Zordon warns caution, because Ivan is "an evil that is beyond all imagination." 

        That evening, Lord Zedd, Rita Repulsa, Goldar, and Mordant arrive at the construction site, and Zedd uses his staff to put the security guards to sleep, and open the egg containing Ivan, setting the morphological villain free. Seeking to repay Zedd for freeing him, Ivan lets out a rageful scream at hearing Zordon's name, agreeing to wipe Zordon out to the point where it would be as if he never existed. Zedd, Rita, and the others depart, and the Rangers arrive. Ivan, under the guise of a security guard, reveals himself to the Rangers, and unleashes an army of Oozemen to fight the Rangers. And after putting up a decent fight, it, of course, is Morphin Time. The Rangers morph into their Ranger suits, and okay let's address the elephant in the room. On the TV series, the Rangers suits were spandex, whereas in this movie, it's more of an armor-plated look. And, even as a kid, I thoroughly enjoyed the armored look more than the spandex look. 

      Anyway, the Rangers follow the Oozemen, dispatching them a handful at a time, eventually destroying them all. And it's here where we see some new gadgets not featured on the television series at the time, such as Billy's Stega-Stinger, Kimberly's Pterodactyl Thunder Whip, Aisha's Power Beam, and Rocky's Power Scope. The only one to appear in the movie from the series is Tommy's sword Saba. However, the Rangers lose their powers and de-morph. Why? Because while the Rangers were fighting the Oozemen, Ivan broke into the Command Center to confront Zordon and destroy the place, referencing everything that he missed out on in the past six millennia, specifically the Black Plague, the Spanish Inquisition, and the Brady Bunch reunion. Okay, that last one was pretty funny. The Rangers, realizing something is wrong, hurry back to the Command Center and discover Zordon no longer in his time warp, and now aging rapidly and dying. Alpha reveals that there's only one thing that can save Zordon: the ancient power hidden on the planet Phados. Alpha is able to transport the Rangers to Phados, but they must find the Great Power to get back to Earth. Alpha warns the Rangers to hurry, as Zordon doesn't have much time left. 

        As the Rangers teleport to Phados, Ivan enters Zedd's palace where he opts to take command, zapping Zedd and Rita in a snow globe, offering Goldar and Mordant a choice between serving him or "joining these insufferable dingle-dorks." Choosing to side with Ivan, Goldar inquires about the Power Rangers, with Ivan creating a new army, this one consisting of Tengu Warriors, and dispatching them to Phados to find and tear apart the Power Rangers. On Phados, the Rangers look around, with Tommy reassuring Kimberly that everything will be fine. The Tengu show up,.and the Rangers hold their own, but are outmatched without their powers. Ultimately, a hooded warrior shows up, and she dispatches the Tengu. Initially warning the Rangers away for their safety, the warrior identifies herself as Dulcea, and after learning of Zordon's condition and Ivan Ooze being set free, she agrees to help the Rangers. At an ancient Ninjetti temple, Dulcea points out a massive monolith containing the Great Power within, and helps them to awaken the sacred animal spirits within them, with Tommy being the falcon, Aisha the bear, Billy the wolf, Adam the frog, Kimberly the crane, and Rocky the ape. With their new Ninjetti suits,.the Rangers head off to face the obstacles of the jungle and reach the monolith. 

      Back on Earth, Ivan takes over an abandoned factory, mass producing Ivan's ooze to sell to kids across Angel Grove, with the aim being for their parents touching it and falling under Ivan's hypnotizing spell, forcing Angel Grove's parents to dig up and rebuild the Ecto-Morphicons. One of the kids in town, Fred Kelman, learns of Ivan's plans and tries to recruit the rest of the kids to save their parents from leaping to their deaths, Ivan having ordered them to do so after having finished building the Ecto-Morphicons. Back on Phados, the Rangers face many obstacles, including a reanimated dinosaur skeleton, and the guardian gargoyles of the ancient monolith. Having proven worthy of the Great Power, the Rangers see their new Zords,.and get their armor back. Now fully repowered, the Rangers head back to Earth, where Ivan's Ecto-Morphicons have been on a rampage throughout Angel Grove. 

        Summoning their new Zords, the Rangers take on the Ecto-Morphicons, destroying Scorpitron with much difficulty. Enraged, Ivan merges with Hornitor, forcing the Rangers to form the Ninja Megazord. And, while the Rangers fight Ivan, Tommy heads off to the broken monorail track, allowing the train to pass safely over to get where it's going, which is for Fred, Bulk, Skull, and the kids to reach the construction site to save the parents, with Fred using a pressurized water cannon to hold the parents back. Tommy, rejoining the Rangers, helps to form the Ninja Falcon Megazord and fly the Rangers into space, luring Ivan away from Earth. Setting them to aim directly into the path of Ryan's Comet, the Rangers lure Ivan into their trap, and Aisha uses an emergency button to break Ivan's grip by kneeing him in the groin. Yeesh, great lesson for the kids, movie. Anyway, Ivan is destroyed, the parents are saved, and the Rangers return to the Command Center, using the Great Power to restore it and save Zordon. 

        At the Harbor, the Rangers celebrate their victory, and watch a celebratory fireworks display, with a message reading "Thank You, Power Rangers." And all of this while the song "Dreams" by Van Halen is playing. In a mid-credits scene, Goldar assumes command, but panics as a now free Zedd and Rita show up, angry at Goldar and Mordant's earlier betrayal. 

      Okay, so looking back, this movie is odd, but fun. Admittedly, it's not exactly canon with the series, as we'd see a different means of the Rangers gaining their new powers during the third season. However, as a tease of the new powers and the new Zords, it's fine as a project in a separate continuity from the series. 

       It was definitely smart to have the actors who were in the series at the time be in this movie, as in terms of continuity, it wouldn't have made sense for Austin St. John, Walter Jones, or Thuy Trang to be in this movie as Jason, Zack, and Trini, as all three were no longer on the show. Plus, at the time in the series where this movie picks up from, Tommy is the White Ranger and not the Green Ranger. So, despite being in a separate continuity from the series, the filmmakers did their best to at least maintain continuity with the Rangers themselves. 

        As for the main villain, Paul Freeman was definitely an excellent villain as Ivan Ooze. The fact that this marks one of the few times where the villain completes his goal, only for him to be defeated in the end, is actually kinda cool. I like that through his aim for revenge against Zordon, Ivan also brought the Rangers to a low point by proxy, something that had rarely happened on the show. I also enjoyed Gabrielle Fitzpatrick as Dulcea, and she definitely showed some fighting prowess as a master warrior. Although, admittedly, she was definitely a bit too scantily clad for a family film, but I ain't complaining. But, seriously, she was definitely a great addition to the movie. The characters of Fred and his dad definitely give the movie an anchor point, adding to a sense of dread at just how much power Ivan Ooze really has. And I think that Jamie Croft did a really good job as far as kid actors go. And believe me, there are far worse performances by kid actors in Power Rangers. 

        Now, as for the six Power Rangers themselves, the acting was pretty much what one would expect if they were actively watching the show at that point. Jason David Frank and Amy Jo Johnson were both fantastic as Tommy and Kimberly, and both had great scenes together. Both Steve Cardenas and Johnny Yong Bosch had great quips and one-limers as Rocky and Adam, and both definitely worked well as a duo. And both Karan Ashley and David Yost were fantastic as Aisha and Billy. Bulk and Skull were definitely decent as far as comic relief, and Paul Schrier and Jason Narvy were hilarious. But, I honestly feel that they were thrown in just for fan service. However, they do have a role in the climax, so I give 'em a break. 

         As for the special effects, the practical effects hold up far better than the digital effects. Unfortunately, the CGI used for the Zords, the Ecto-Morphicons, and the gigantic Ivan/Hornitor hybrid just look really bad and definitely don't hold up anymore. However, the Rangers suits, the Oozemen, the Tengu Warriors, and the makeup effects for Ivan all still hold up, and are easily the better effects in the movie. 

       The music in the movie was also a highlight, with composer Graeme Revell's score being absolutely fantastic, and the soundtrack being pretty kickass as well, with such bands as Van Halen, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Devo, They Might Be Giants, and Power Jet all having fantastic songs on the soundtrack. And, of course, there's the cover of the famous "Go Go Power Rangers" theme used in the movie, which was recorded by The Power Rangers Orchestra. Honestly, it's easily my favorite rendition of "Go Go Power Rangers," and is definitely version I go back to listen to the most often. 

        Overall, director Bryan Spicer did a really good job bringing the Power Rangers to the big screen. Truthfully, however, this movie is probably more preferable for fans of the Power Rangers franchise, and not so much for newcomers. So, I'm giving Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie a rating of 4.05/5. 

        Anyway guys, that's gonna do it for me today. I definitely plan to talk about Power Rangers a lot more, especially with the 30th Anniversary Special Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once and Always debuting on Netflix next month, as well as the new season, Power Rangers Cosmic Fury releasing this Fall. So, yeah, I definitely will be talking about Power Rangers as the year goes on. Until then, however, be sure to join me on Saturday for my review of the new movie Creed III.