Review - Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always (2023)

            Hey guys, Chuck here, and it's finally here. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always, the thirtieth anniversary special of the Power Rangers franchise, is currently streaming on Netflix. I just finished watching it, and I'm here with my thoughts on this landmark special. 

         So, we open with the six Mighty Morphin Rangers in a fight against Robo-Rita, a robotic version of Rita Repulsa, and her Putty Patrollers. As she casts a lethal spell at Billy, Trini leaps in front of the spell, sacrificing her life. After the battle, Billy and Zack debate on whether to reveal the truth to Trini's daughter Minh, who overhears that her mother is dead because of Robo-Rita. 

        One year passes, and Minh has been training, hoping to join in the fight against Robo-Rita. Zack, her guardian, is adamantly against it, as he wants her to be safe. However, at the cemetery, Zack and Minh spot the other Rangers fighting Robo-Rita, the Putties, and returning foes Mighty Minotaur and Snizzard. Snizzard has been gifted a new ability, which allows the bad guys to capture Jason, Kimberly, and Tommy. Forced to retreat, Zack, Billy, and Minh take off in the Radbug 2 to regroup and strategize. At Cranston Industries, we see a recreated Command Center, and we meet Alpha 9. And it's here where we learn how Robo-Rita came about. Studying the Morphing Grid, Billy attempted to bring back Zordon, but instead brought back the evil energy of Rita Repulsa, split from her mortal form by the Z-Wave, and she takes over the robotic body of Alpha 8. Yikes. 

         With the Putties rampaging worldwide, Bandora Protocol is activated and Rangers across the world are called to action. And it's here where both Kat and Rocky are summoned, given the Tyrannosaurus and Pterodactyl Power Coins, which will allow them to morph. Nice. All the while, Minh takes up Trini's old Morpher and tries to become the Yellow Ranger like her mother. It doesn't work, unfortunately, and Zack reveals that the reason it won't is because Minh's motives are driven by revenge, and being a hero is a selfless act. 

        Utilizing cloaking tech designed by Billy's company for Adam and Aisha's new unit, Space Patrol Alpha, Zack, Billy, Kat, and Rocky sneak into Robo-Rita's palace on the Moon, and Minh decides to go after Mighty Minotaur and Snizzard herself, only to be caught by Robo-Rita. In the Moon Palace, the Rangers see how many Rangers have been captured, and what Robo-Rita plans to use them for. So, Robo-Rita's plan is to use a machine, powered by the Rangers' connection to the Morphing Grid, to traverse back in time thirty years when the two astronauts released Rita from her space dumpster, give her thirty years of knowledge, and kill the Rangers before Zordon can recruit them. A fight ensues to keep that from happening, and Rita casts the spell that killed Trini before. Minh, in a self-sacrificing move, leaps in front of Billy, taking the spell in his place. However, the Morpher bonds to her, filling her with the memories of when her mother, Trini, was a Ranger. Finally able to access the Morpher, Minh morphs along with Rocky, Kat, Zack, and Billy. 

        Alpha sends the Dino Zords to the Moon, and Billy and Minh bring them together to form Megazord to fight a colossal Snizzard. Zack, Kat, and Rocky defeat the Putties and Mighty Minotaur, eventually joining Billy and Minh in the Megazord to finish off Snizzard. Returning to the Palace, Zack and Rocky grab the other Rangers, and Kat destroys the machine. Zack blasts Robo-Rita, finishing her for good. Back at the Command Center, Adam and Aisha take their fellow Rangers to be restored on Aquitar, and Rocky and Kat return to their lives. At the Angel Grove Youth Center, Zack, Billy, and Minh enjoy some smoothies and discuss the future. The special ends with a scene from the original series, and a loving tribute to both Jason David Frank and Thuy Trang, with the message "once a Ranger, always a Ranger."

      Okay, so by comparison to previous anniversary specials for Power Rangers, this hour-long special feels almost specifically like a celebration of thirty years of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, which is why we see them in action primarily. Now, ultimately, there are a few Ranger actors who remain morphed when on-screen, mainly because the original actors were unavailable. Sadly, Thuy Trang passed away all the way back in 2001, and all three of Austin St. John, Jason David Frank, and Amy Jo Johnson were either unavailable for filming or passed on the project for personal reasons. To fill their roles out, stunt performers wore their Ranger suits and archive audio was used for the character voices. 

         As for the actors who returned, it was absolutely fantastic seeing them again. Walter Jones and David Yost were both the stand-outs here as Zack and Billy, and they're both at the front and center of the special. I also enjoyed the seeing Catherine Sutherland and Steve Cardenas both return as Kat and Rocky. One nice touch was that Kat reveals that she and Tommy have a son, JJ, who is a martial artist like Tommy. Also returning, albeit in only a couple of scenes, are Karan Ashley as Aisha and Johnny Yong Bosch as Adam. Neither of them morph in the special, but it's still great seeing them both show up. As the main newcomer of the special, Charlie Kersh is excellent as Minh. She definitely gets the biggest character arc in the special, going from a teen wanting revenge to a genuine hero worthy of carrying her mother's legacy as the Yellow Ranger. 

        We also get the returns of Barbara Goodson as the voice of Rita and Richard Steven Horvitz as the voice of Alpha, albeit this time around, Rita is Robo-Rita, and Alpha is both Alpha 9 and, in a brief flashback, Alpha 8. I'm definitely glad that they brought back Alpha in some capacity, and it's great getting his original voice actor to return. Now, I noted how the voice didn't sound like Alpha 5 and sounded more like Moxxie from Helluva Boss, but I actually give the difference in the voice a pass because it's not the original Alpha 5, it's a later incarnation of Alpha, so it's not the same. And Barbara Goodson still has that eerie, Wicked Witch esque voice as Rita that's still creepy and effective as a robotic version of the character. 

          And, I absolutely loved seeing the returns of the classic Mighty Morphin suits, weapons, and Zords. Seeing all the classic Zords, and of course Megazord, on screen again, albeit touched up with CGI, was fantastic. And while said CGI wasn't particularly cinema grade, it's still effective and I love getting to see the Megazord of my childhood back in action again. And I don't know if the suits are the ones from the original series or newly crafted based on the original designs, but it was great seeing them in action again either way. 

        Speaking of the action, we also get quite a few unmorphed fights in the special as well. Seeing Walter Jones and Steve Cardenas actually kicking ass together against the Putties in the Youth Center was fantastic, as we never got to see that happen before. Seriously, even though we saw Jason, Trini, and Zack pass their powers to Rocky, Aisha, and Adam during the multi-parter "The Power Transfer," we actually never saw Walter Jones, Thuy Trang, or Austin St. John on screen with Steve Cardenas, Karan Ashley, or Johnny Yong Bosch when it happened. Well, this changed with the special, as we do get to see Walter Jones share the screen with Ranger actors who came onto the series after he left it so many years ago. 

         The sets definitely feel familiar but upgraded. The Youth Center is very much the same, and the Command Center definitely has a mix of familiar and new, and Rita's Moon Palace also feels familiar but new at the same time. It's great that, while upgrading the looks with today's technology, we got to see the iconic sets from the original series. And, of course, it was great hearing the classic "Go Go Power Rangers" as performed by Ron Wasserman in the special. 

        Overall, I loved this special. Not only was it a celebration of thirty years of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, but it definitely was a celebration of the legacy of the Power Rangers franchise. I'm giving Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always a rating of 5/5. Definitely check this out on Netflix, especially if you're a fan of the Power Rangers. 

       Anyway guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys next time.