(SPOILER WARNING!!)
So, it seems I had my dates mixed up and Beast Morphers' premier episode, "Beasts Unleashed", released only yesterday (2nd of March, as of writing this) and next weeks premier for heroes in multi-coloured spandex was for Ryusoulger. It was just an honest mistake.
But yes, another year, another Power Rangers season. I wasn't planning on checking this season out, due to myself admitting to not being the biggest fan of Power Rangers or Super Sentai. I was just gonna let this show pass by and see how the fans would react to it by the end of the day. But the reactions to just the first episode were BEYOND crazy. People are already declaring it one of the best seasons in the franchise and the best since RPM.
And what do I think of it?
Maybe it's the lowered expectations or my lack of interest in the franchise, but I still walked away with little to praise and yet little to gripe about. But I suppose I should give more context behind my opinion beyond the use of a Simpsons joke.
The setting is Coral Harbour in the future of... the future. Scientists have somehow been able to tap into the near limitless amount of energy emanating from the Morphin' Grid, and are currently planning to use it as a conduit for a stable and clean energy source to power their technology. Grid Battleforce, however, sees an opportunity for experimentation, combining the substance "Morph-X" from the Morphin' Grid with strands of animal DNA to create a new team of Rangers. How convenient, then, that a new threat seeking to control the Morphin' Grid has arisen; the sentient computer virus known only as Evox, who can manipulate Morphin' Grid energy to create his own avatar doppelgangers of real people. Enter our teenagers with attitude, Devon, Ravi and Zoey, as they pretty much get drafted into battle against Evox and his minions; the Blaze Ranger and Roxy, avatar doppelgangers based on the original candidates for the Red and Yellow Rangers respectively.
One thing I will definitely credit the show early on for; the editing in the action scenes are FAR better than the last several years, which relied too heavily on quick jumpcuts and slow-motion to hide the fact that the choreography was terrible. This is helped by the fact that I could actually follow what was happening instead of feeling lost during the action. I suppose it also helps that the directing this time around doesn't feel as shaky or isolated as to allow a wider look at the fights and thus I can better appreciate the choreography and energy.
This also can be said for the sound editing. No longer is the music far louder than the dialogue, so you finally have the chance to understand what the characters are saying. The music is still terrible and in no way fits the scene that they are used in (thanks, Noam Kaniel), but at least it isn't blasting with endless amounts of superfluous noise that ultimately accent nothing and does little more than annoy you. This also works in the shows favour with how there is little unnecessary dialogue during the fights and the ADR dubbing for the cast doesn't sound like it was recorded in the janitors closet.
The acting for most of the cast is about on par with Dino Charge and Ninja Steel, and you get to see some decent characterisation very early on. Zoey's determination to solve any problem no matter the difficulty; Ravi having issues with balancing his friendships with his responsibilities as a soldier; Devon's quick thinking even when he can be somewhat obstinate at points (such as sneaking into a government facility just to test out a training simulator against his fathers wishes, despite his father being the mayor). There are still some stupid things, however. Ravi and his broken romance with Roxy is given very little attention and kind of ends up feeling a little "fridge-ish" with how she is forced into a comatose state and this acts as Ravi's motivation to make amends for when she wakes up. Frankly, this just felt unnecessary as we know nothing about Roxy beyond the fact that she and Ravi used to date before they joined GB and can't date because "Rangers don't date other Rangers".
MMPR, Zeo, Dino Charge,Ninja Steel and, to an extent, RPM beg the differ there, Ravi.
I also felt that the callbacks to previous seasons, even ones that explicitly take place in alternate dimensions, were not needed to sell the setting, especially when those callbacks don't seem to really get some past shows. Namely, citing Rita Repulsa as an evil force who wanted to steal the Rangers powers to take over the universe. It's been a while since I've seen the original, but I don't recall that being her motivation for fighting the Rangers. She was a one-note villain, yes, but she didn't want the Rangers' powers. She simply wanted to kill Zordon and take over planets as revenge for being sealed away in a dumpster for 10,000 years. Heck, she could obviously recreate her own Power Coins, as evident with the "Green With Evil" saga that introduced Tommy Oliver into the show as the Green Ranger, so she wouldn't need to steal the Rangers' powers anyways.
Also, citing Sledge and Galvanax from Dino Charge and Ninja Steel respectively, when those shows take place in different universes from the mainstream canon Power Rangers has had until RPM?
Also, I was hoping that Hasbro wouldn't repeat the whole "daddy issues" thing from Dino Charge and Ninja Steel and transplant it onto Devon and his dad, Mayor Daniels. I swear, every time this happens it just feels like an excuse to write in a child-parent conflict for no adequately explained reason. It didn't work for Dino Charge, because James Navarro was simply an awful dad who abandoned his son at a young age and never bothered to explain himself. And yet his dickhead conduct is never addressed or his absence ever called into question, especially when he would just keep on leaving for narrative contrivance. And it's not like Dane Romero from Ninja Steel was much better at this, as he too would constantly just leave his sons on occasion despite reuniting with them after spending several years trapped inside of a rock. They might actually address the strained relationship between Devon and his dad this season, but I'm not counting on it due to how poorly it was done the last two times they did the whole "I gotta X my dad" thing.
As a whole, the premier episode is just okay to me. There is nothing in it that is outright awful, but nothing really sticks out as groundbreaking like so many fans are saying. I will still give the standard "First Five" judgement call before I may up and abandon it, but I really hope that the season at least gets better from here on out. And please, Hasbro, fire Noam Kaniel already. His awful music has caused enough damage to Des Shinta's (and my) ears as it is.
So until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!
P.S: I just realised I've gone through a blog without swearing. Huh.
No comments:
Post a Comment