While Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers might have been enjoyable to watch, it was hardly upheld as a fine example of character-driven writing; more like, enjoyable fight sequences that were great to reenact if you were a kid at the time. With Saban’s Power Rangers reboot, though, things are a little different. As has already been explored in trailers, each Ranger has a distinct personality and set of characteristics that make them stand out, meaning we really do get to see five individuals coming together as a team.
Power Rangers introduces a cast of relative unknowns in the lead roles; Dacre Montgomery as Jason, the Red Ranger, Naomi Scott as Kimberly, the Pink Ranger, RJ Cyler as Billy, the Blue Ranger, Ludi Lin as Zack, the Black Ranger and Becky Gomez as Trini, the Yellow Ranger, which gives each actor the chance to bring a unique take on their character without past castings influencing an audience’s perception of them.
According to Scott (Pink Ranger), speaking in an interview with W Magazine, the new, modern-day Rangers have depth, and she’s enjoyed exploring that on screen:
It’s good to hear Scott praising the maturity of her character; the majority of the audience for Power Rangers will be older, having grown up with the franchise on TV. It’s fair to say that we want that extra depth in things we watch, now, and we want to see that maturity reflected on screen.
“I have an opportunity here to maybe delve a little bit deeper. I love her because I think she’s real. I think she’s really smart. And I think she’s got a maturity as well.”
“I always want to play a character that’s saying something. Why is this female here? Is she just here to be female, to look pretty, or there to make the guy funny?”
Of course, it wouldn’t be Power Rangers without epic monsters and villains to battle against, and the Rangers’ biggest nemesis comes in the form of Rita Repulsa, played by Elizabeth Banks. According to Scott, such a physical role meant that her and her fellow co-stars were effectively sent to ‘boot camp;’ working out three times a day, including running and strength training, and then three weeks of intensive fight training while on location in Vancouver for filming.
Scott says she had never filmed a fight scene before signing on as the Pink Ranger, but maybe all her training, coupled with her obvious knowledge of her character, will pay off. Though the female Rangers’ costumes have come in for some criticism owing to the unnecessary ‘boob armor’, and the suits overall have been accused of being ’too Iron Man,’ Power Rangers looks to be a movie worth watching, and one that doesn’t take itself too seriously. In fact, its newest trailer even pokes fun at the movie’s Iron Man similarities.
Saban and Lionsgate are hoping to spawn a new franchise with this Power Rangers reboot, and they could well manage to achieve it, too - if they really can offer strong characters, along with everything that always made Power Rangers so much fun to watch in the first place.
Source: W Magazine
