‘Power Rangers’ Trailer Released: It’s More Awesome Than You’d Think
The new Power Rangers trailer dropped today and for a teaser trailer, it’s pretty awesome. It’s been two years since the original announcement and fans have been following the development closely. For a teaser, this trailer covers a lot of ground.
In the opening sequence, we get to see Jason, played by Dacre Montgomery. After a brief shot of him being dropped off by a police car, you see a flash of an ankle monitor. That’s certainly not the squeaky clean Jason from the original series.
There’s also a wrecked truck that we’re pretty sure comes into play a little later. After all, nothing says that the trailer has to be shown in the order the scenes appear in the movie. Next we see an overview of Angel Grove’s Main Street. This isn’t the pastel colored bright and happy town from the original series either. Things look a little grayer and there’s some chipped paint on the sign.
After Jason gets dropped off by his dad at the school, we find out it’s a Saturday, and he has to attend this detention in order to graduate. (What is this, The Breakfast Club?) But seriously, are all of the Rangers troubled kids? Because we soon get shots of Ludi Lin as Zack Taylor, the Black Ranger, chilling on a rooftop eating a sandwich.
Then we get to see Billy, the Blue Ranger, played by RJ Cyler. He is carefully lining up pencils on his desk before being he gets picked on by a bully (which is definitely not Bulk. Maybe it’s Skull?). The bully is quickly shoved away by Jason, much to the shock of Billy. Maybe this is what causes them to be friends?
The Power Rangers trailer then flashes a shot of a pensive looking Trini, played by Becky G. Her upset look is quickly explained with a shot of her locker that says, “die ugly loser!!! No One will care!” That’s definitely not the shiny happy Power Rangers of yesteryear.
Next we see Naomi Scott as Kimberly, squaring off against a pair of rivals in a locker room. Remember that Kimberly in the original series was not only an accomplished gymnast, but also a former cheerleader. It seems like she’s had a falling out with her former squadmates as they make fun of her for being at the school on a Saturday instead of at practice.
Kimberly gets angry and pulls out the scissors, giving her long locks a quick trim. (Word of advice, kids. This never goes well and never looks as good as the movies make it look. If you feel the need for a style change, hit up your local salon. You’ll be much happier with the results. Trust us.)
Flash to all five of them standing on a mountainside in front of a crystalline wall. They shine their phone flashlights into the crystal and we get a glimpse of the pink and yellow power coins/morphers. Billy activates an explosive that releases all five coins which are quickly scooped up by the Rangers. Suddenly, there are sirens and the sound of a helicopter overhead. After a chase, we see Jason in a truck that flips over and wrecks (this is probably how the truck in the first scene of the trailer got trashed) as it’s being pursued by the police.
Soon, all of the Rangers realize that something has changed. Billy’s bully knocks himself out trying to headbutt the Blue Ranger, and Jason wrecks a sink in a scene reminiscent of Hugh Jackman discovering his adamantium laced claws in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. After some weird shenanigans in the cafeteria (the powers that the five have in civilian form is a nice nod to Power Rangers Dino Thunder), the quintet head back to the mountains where they discover they can jump really far. Billy isn’t so sure, but he does his best Neo and takes a flying leap.
The teaser trailer then shows Repulsive Rita (played by a terrifying Elizabeth Banks) hovering over Trini. Is this a dream sequence? Rita threatens her, saying that she’s killed other Rangers before. That’s not ominous at all, is it?
The trailer shows the Rangers diving into water and discovering the command center. There’s no sign of Zordon or Alpha 5 yet, but there is a mysterious explosion as the five stand on glowing pedestals. Some sort of energy hits them all and then the money shot happens.
That’s what fans have been waiting to see. How the Rangers are going to get their iconic suits. The morphing process looks very organic, almost a throwback to the old Guyver transformations crossed with Iron Man’s Extremis tech. The trailer ends before the morph completes, however, leaving us all wanting more.
The teaser trailer did an excellent job fueling the hype machine for anyone who has been following this movie. By focusing on the teens first, Lionsgate and Saban Films are letting us get attached to the characters, rather than the Rangers, which is never a bad thing. The next trailer should be coming soon. Per IMDB, the Power Rangers movie is scheduled for release on March 24, 2017.
[Featured Image by Saban Films/Lionsgate]
