Over the past couple of days, I’ve been toying with the idea of a new kind post for my website. The idea that I finally settled on was something called, “What’s Next?” So, what’s “What’s Next?” It’s a new series about what I think needs to happen in a follow-up to a film that I think could either use one, or one’s pretty much going to happen, but hasn’t been announced yet. I’m also going to go over stuff that I would really love to see in a follow-up film. These posts are only going to cover movies that have the potential for sequels or some kind of follow-up. So, movies like 2016’s Ghostbusters reboot aren’t going to count. Also, movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe are out of the question, because it’s almost guaranteed that any movie in the MCU is going to be getting a follow-up. Star Wars is out, too. The movies I’m covering in this new series are ones that aren’t necessarily ultra-successful. So, with that out of the way, let’s get into our first pick for “What’s Next?”: Power Rangers.
I have to be completely honest: When I heard that they were going to do a film reboot of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers tv show, I was a bit skeptical. What route were they going to go down? Who would they cast as the teenagers? Were they going to use Rita Repulsa as the main villain? What would the suits look like? When the first concept art of the film started coming out, especially Rita, I was rather intrigued. It was definitely going to be a different look for sure. Then they announced the cast. You have a bunch of unknowns such as Dacre Montgomery as Jason, Naomi Scott as Kimberly and RJ Cyler as Billy with bigger names like Bryan Cranston as Zordon and Elizabeth Banks as Rita Repulsa. Interesting. I’m starting to get sold. Then the trailers start coming out, and I’m cautiously optimistic, but unsure. When the film was released in late March, I was genuinely surprised at how well the film came together. The cast was very solid and the writing was actually pretty sharp. These kids felt like teenagers with real attitudes, which was more than I could say for the show. They all had their own real issues to deal with. I was rather surprised at how menacing Elizabeth Banks was as Rita. She’s far more intimidating in this film than anywhere else. She gets down and dirty, because she used to be a Power Ranger. THAT’S interesting. While the film had its problems, I was on board throughout the entire film. It was very good.
Unfortunately, the film didn’t perform as well as Lionsgate had hoped, but it was not really a flop. It was not the kind of performance that would guarantee six films like Saban had wanted. Now, the word is that Lionsgate is conducting negotiations with Saban on how to proceed with at least one sequel. If the sequel can do better than the original film, we may see more films in the franchise. There are a few things that need to happen, though. First of all, lower the rating to a PG. Don’t get wrong, I’m glad that Power Rangers was PG-13, but it probably scared away a lot of potential business, because the film get pretty damn dark. There were a few visuals that would’ve scared the youngsters. Those are the kinds of people you want to try and attract to your movie. However, a PG rating does not necessarily mean you have to be as cheesy as the 1995 Power Rangers film, but you have to take into account the audience you’re trying to reach. Next, you need to have more Power Rangers in your Power Rangers film. I mean, you need to have more action with the kids in their suits before escalating the fight with Zords. You also need to have more action. The action in the film wasn’t bad, I rather enjoyed it, but it took an entire movie to get to that point. They could have done a little bit better. With the stinger in the end credits, it’s guaranteed that Tommy Oliver is going to show up as the Green Ranger. For that to work, don’t try to copy what the original show did with the “Green With Evil” story-line. You won’t be able to improve on that story arc. Also, bring back Dean Israelite as the director. He did a fantastic job with what he was given, so I think he deserves another shot.
Let’s talk about what I want to see in Power Rangers 2. For one, I want to see Lord Zedd. Now, Mr. Israelite says he wants to bring in Zedd for the sequel, because that’s the next logical step in terms of the villains. For those of you who don’t know who Lord Zedd is:
The only question is, is what will he look like in the next movie? At this point, it’s going to be at least another year before we see anything. So, why bring in Zedd? What, aside from the fact that he is the strongest and most devastating villain that the Rangers have ever encountered? This guy managed to destroy the Dino Zords and eliminate the Green Ranger entirely in the show. Seeing Zedd would be totally awesome. Obviously, we want to see the Green Ranger in a new film. We briefly saw the design of the Green Ranger at the very beginning of the film when Rita was a Ranger. Some people want to bring in Bulk and Skull as the bullies. I don’t. They worked for the show, but they would feel a little out of place in the new film franchise. I would also love to see the Ultrazord at some point. Music-wise, Brian Tyler was a good choice for the film, so bringing him back as the film’s composer would make sense. Also, I would love for them to close out Power Rangers 2 with this:
Yeah, it may be a bit cheesy, but it’s epic and absolutely perfect for a Power Rangers movie. Also, no more post-end credits scenes. I loved the new movie, but I think a follow-up has to be a little bit more action-packed. Now, that they’ve established the world and the characters, they can focus on what really makes Power Rangers….well….Power Rangers. Also, the putties need to be redesigned. I’m not saying they should be the lame cannon fodder from the original show, but they need to feel a little bit more like they are actually there. So, some of the CGI needs to pulled back a little bit. So, in a lot of ways, Power Rangers 2 needs to be bigger, but in some ways, it needs to be a bit smaller. There’s a real potential for a film franchise, if they can get it right. This year’s film proved that they can, we just need to be able to get more people to see it.
That’s it for my first edition of “What’s Next?” So…what do you think?