Scott told AFP she remembered playing make-believe "Power Rangers" with her brother as a child and was in awe of a rare depiction of female superheroes. theaters on Friday, "Power Rangers" follows five high school teenagers - played by Dacre Montgomery, RJ Cyler, Naomi Scott, Becky G and Ludi Lin - who unite to battle the nefarious Rita Repulsa, played by Elizabeth Banks. Lionsgate - whose youth-oriented blockbusters include "The Hunger Games" and the "Twilight" franchise - announced in 2014 it was partnering with Saban Brands, which owns the rights, to "re-envision" the saga.ĭue to hit U.S.
but we're now so awash in superhero culture that kids no longer need the safe, lame, pandering junior-league version of it," said Variety's Owen Gleiberman.Īdapted from Japan's long-running "Super Sentai" television series, the "Power Rangers" are a group of teenagers who "morph" into superheroes in bright spandex suits and helmets, ready to combat evil. "The irony is that 25 years ago, 'Mighty Morphin Power Rangers' was launched as superhero fodder for kids. Other writers have questioned its relevance in an era that has seen the release of more than 50 Marvel and DC movies, with the hotly-anticipated "Guardians of the Galaxy 2" and "Wonder Woman" due for release in the coming weeks. In an excoriating review, Telegraph critic Robbie Collin said the movie's "ugly and incomprehensible" climax appeared to have been "shot by the Hunchback of Notre Dame and edited by a monkey wearing oven gloves." Smelling a potential goldmine, Lionsgate has turned it into a US$105-million movie, but with poor early reviews and fierce competition in a market saturated by comic book characters, critics are asking whether it might be a superhero movie too far.ĭescribed by Britain's Daily Telegraph as "the most flabbergastingly misconceived reboot of recent years," the movie has an average rating of five out of 10 on online movie reviews collator Rotten Tomatoes. The show - which premiered in 1993 and promptly became a global hit, supported by a vast range of toys, video games and comics - is on its 24th season as "Power Rangers Ninja Steel" on U.S. A colour-coded, spandex-coutured smorgasbord of high camp and heroics, "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" has stood astride popular culture for a quarter-century as one of television's most successful franchises.