Movie Review: Power Rangers

It’s Morphing Time!!

Power Rangers is the latest film adaptation of the 1990s popular TV Show
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, It’s directed by Dean Israelite and stars Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, Rj Cyler, Ludi Lin, Becky G and also features Elizabeth Banks as Rita, Bill Hader as Alpha 5 and Bryan Cranston as Zordon.

When five teenagers stumble an alien spaceship due to an explosion at a mining facility, they soon find out that this is fate as they are chosen to be the Power Rangers and together they have to stop an ancient evil from destroying the planet.

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The Good

One of the most pivotal aspects of the power ranger series is the five rangers themselves and in this movie we’re fortunate to have a likable bunch for our protagonists. They’re all given personalities and are also given good back stories, we see them grow from strangers to friends and though the dialogue between them is cheesy but it works.

Our veteran actors are also great Bryan Cranston as Zordon wasn’t as goofy as expected but rather a serious entity that contributes to the rangers’ growth. Elizabeth Banks as Rita is also decent giving the rangers a menacing villain to deal with.

The movie surprisingly has a lot of serious and dramatic moments especially in the first half and it makes you appreciate the direction that the movie takes, there’s also a decent amount of humour in it and as cheesy as they are, it’s for the movie’s benefit.

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The Bad

The movie has a large amount of flaws, one of which is the blatant commercial for a product. And though product placements are usually seen in movies, they managed to halt the movie and give a nice little commercial for a product and it becomes a recurring occurrence for the second half of the film.

Another issue is the CGI, as expected this would have a giant robot fighting a giant monster. Unfortunately the CGI on these effects aren’t great, and for the most part the designs looked lazy, especially on the giant monster.

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Rating

Overall this was a surprisingly fun film, if you’re a fan of the initial series. This is not for everyone, it’s a film made for specifically the fans. That said, this is a competent movie with decent direction. Our five protagonists are likable and none of them are annoying and Bryan Cranston as Zordon is great.

However the blatant product placement and the bad CGI dragged this movie down a notch. And though it’s irredeemable at the end of the day it’s a Power Ranger movie and you’re bound to have Power Rangery sequences no matter how cheesy and goofy they are. If you’re a fan of the series there are plenty here to love than to hate, if you’re not, you might want to give this one a pass.

Good	Bad	3.5/5
The Power Rangers Bryan Cranston as Zordon Good Mix of Humour and Drama	Product Placement Bad CGI

Movie Review: Kong Skull Island

This planet doesn’t belong to us. Ancient species owned this earth long before mankind. I spent 30 years trying to prove the truth: monsters exist.

Kong: Skull Island is directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts it stars an ensemble cast featuring Samuel Jackson, Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, John Goodman, John C Reily, Corey Hawkins and a whole lot more.

When a group of scientist managed to get the funding for a mapping expedition of an uncharted island, little do they know about the dangers that lurks in the area, one of which is considered the King of the island.

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The Good

Let me start by saying that this movie looks beautiful, being set at the end of the Vietnam war, there’s plenty of scenes that’s very reminiscent of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, the saturated colours gives a vibrant look to the forests and muddy rivers that Skull Island has to offer.

Not only the setting looks great but our star Kong, also looks great. The CGI on Kong looks incredible, every bit of Kong is detailed and seamless and that should be given to this movie’s credit.

The main attraction of this movie however is Kong and his fights with the other creatures in the island. Every fight he’s in is exciting and though cliched it’s a lot of fun to watch especially on the big screen.

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The Bad

Unfortunately a huge chunk of this movie is very flawed and most of it comes from it’s human characters. Majority of your characters here are flat, with most of them there to deliver expositions or are creature food. Apart from John C. Reily and Samuel Jackson, there’s not much personality to the other characters.

The biggest flaw of this movie however, is it’s dialogue granted a movie titled Kong: Skull Island doesn’t have to have an Oscar winning script to be a good movie, but with the dialogue, majority of it is delivered in expositions or simply bad jokes.

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Rating

Overall Kong: Skull Island is still highly entertaining, despite the cliched moments and flat characters, the main attraction of the film is Kong and it’s creature fights and on that front they deliver.

Good	Bad	3.5/5
Kong Monster Fights	Flat Characters Bad Dialogue

Movie Review: Logan

She’s like you… she’s very much like you.

Logan is directed by James Mangold (The Wolverine) and it stars Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and Dafne Keen.

In the year 2029 majority of the mutants are dead, and with an ailing Professor X, Logan has to make ends meet to keep them hidden and away from society. However when a lady and a young girl approaches him, he uncovers the young girl’s secrets and faces the dangerous people that’s pursuing her.

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The Good

This is very different from the past X-Men movies we have seen, that’s not necessarily a bad thing but in Logan it worked perfectly. The movie takes advantage of it’s R-rating giving us the long-time awaited violence The Wolverine has to offer but also gave us a much more humanistic element to this movie.

The movie is very grounded, there are no costumes no blockbuster set pieces but rather we have a very intimate story between Logan, Charles Xavier and Laura. One of the best things in the movie is the relationship between Charles and Logan. From watching all the X-Men movies we know what the characters have been through and you feel the gravity of their relationship.

This movie is very character driven and all characters were great, Dafne Keen (Laura) in particular doesn’t say a lot of dialogue however her body language and her facial expressions makes her character and she’s fascinating.

Majority of the time you get the feel of drama here and there with plenty of touching moments however the movie doesn’t shy away from it’s action set pieces. With this being Rated-R we get plenty of violent action sequences both coming from Logan and Laura and it’s glorious.

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The Bad

The only complaint, and it’s very minor, is how the third became cliched, and though the two-thirds of the movie barely reminds you that this is an X-Men film, the third act goes into X-Men territory and reminded you that this is still a part of the X-Men Universe.

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Rating

Overall Logan is The Best X-Men story told in the big screen, after 17 years of portraying Logan and Professor X, Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart gave it their all. Their portrayal in this movie is something we’ve never seen before compared to their previous X-Men movies. The R-Rating this got is utilized perfectly, the banter between Logan and Charles Xavier is humorous and at times touching. Dafne Keen is also great and definitely a star in the making.

With Logan you get a bit of everything, it’s hybrid mix of a road trip movie with some elements of a western and let’s not forget the superhero side of it. With Logan being the last portrayal of Hugh Jackman as Logan and Patrick Stewart as Professor X, it is a bittersweet ending to a legacy that will not be forgotten.

Good	Bad	4.5/5
Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart & Dafne Keen Grounded Story Brutal Action Sequences	Cliched 3rd Act