Growing up, Power Rangers was one of the few exciting fiction shows I had. I used to watch an episode before my mother would lead my to the kindergarten, and on the off-days, I would record the episode so that I could watch it later. I never had a favourite Ranger - the reasoning behind why I don't have a single favourite anything is beyond the scope of this post - but I've always liked the design of the White Ranger: white and gold looked good to me.

Looking back, I can see how cheesy and simple it was. Actions blatant, characters obvious, the bad guys plain. It was exactly the kind of a thing a child would enjoy: uncomplicated, full of cool action shots with exaggerated movements, and with dialogue that didn't require any thinking.

There's something strange in the latest film in the franchise. In a way, it captures the same uncomplicated style - and yet, touches upon something with a deeper meaning, something relatable and interesting. It attempts to tell a long story short and still capture the emotional rollercoaster that breaking the interpersonal barriers and coming together as a team would entail - and more than it doesn't, I think it succeeds.

I wasn't excited about the film until I saw it available online. The only piece of information I've had thus far was Rita Repulsa's redesign concept art - and the overlaying preconception that what the film does is sexualizing a villain in a way that has no in-story justification. I then prompty forgot about the whole thing. Seeing the film's poster made something click: I wanted to see it. It sprung back the awesome feeling all the way back from childhood: the diagonal jumps at the start of the battle, the battles themselves, the way a new Rangers team started when the other one retired... Part nostalgia, certainly - but also part curiosity: I was willing to see what they could've done with the story by bringing it into the Darker and Edgier corner.

Overall, I found the film exciting and entertaining, in a way that a modern Hollywood action tends to deliver without making the story stupid. I enjoyed it, and I can't wait for the sequel which would, hopefully, tell more about the Rangers themselves as well as the world that now is fully aware of their existence.

The reason I told you all of that is because what follows is a more particular review that doesn't shy away from spoilers one bit. If you are at all interested in seeing Power Rangers, I suggest you do so before reading further so as to not rid yourself of the pleasure of discovery that this film holds a surprising lot of.

You have been warned.

Here we go.

In a surprising yet exciting manner, the film doesn't shy away from the weird. The very beginning itself - with Zordon's Rangers speaking their own language - is a bold step, considering it provided no subtitles. Having said that, I went to check the film again - and it turned out that the subtitles for the release were off. Seems like I might have had a different experience from most of the viewers, which I would still recommend because it doesn't take away much and, for me, even gives it a certain charm. Like reading a guide for origami in Spanish because that was the only book available.

The same weird take on things also gave explanation to what was left ambiguous in the original Power Rangers series. The base, it turns out, is the command center/bridge of Zordon's spaceship. The Rangers didn't wake up with their combat skills; instead, they trained in the local simulation facility. The "weird" steers into "realistic" over the course of the action, with Zords' weight affecting their movement and surroundings in no subtle manner. The better adjective for such behavior, however, would be "brave".

Could it be that I'm geeking out over the film too much and giving it accolades it barely deserves? It could - but I do believe that it's a fair treatment for something that's aimed for popular consumption. It could be because I don't expect much of them, so whatever they do deliver upon is a pleasant addition to the roster. For integrity's sake, I should admit to having the same feeling for the latest half of the Fast & Furious franchise; there, for a particularly dumb series, story-wise, is a lot of things to enjoy and even consider.

One way Power Rangers "bravely" deals with expectations is by inverting them in all the odd places. Billy doesn't fall after the jump and climbs up with no assistance... but then he starts dancing out of joy, loses equilibrium and falls about a hundred feet to what would definitely be his demise, had it not been for a pool (that later turns out to be a layer) of water between the two cliffs. Before that, the team-to-be is chased by the security crew of the mine and is trying to perform the "outrun the train" maneuver seen a surprising lot lately... only to fail and be smashed unapologetically by said train. You know they would survive, but the fact that they did - as well as the mystery of how they did it - both add a point each in my book.

Overall, the story is intriguing and exciting, with several interesting twists as well as decent character portrayal (each of them has a distinct personality) and development (with Kim, the Pink Ranger, a particularly obvious one). However, a major disappointment of mine is that the story seems to be stitched together from a much deeper, longer and interesting one. It is as if the director has had this scenario more suitable for a mild adaptation of True Detective, took away most of the content to make it fit the two-hour limit and just ran with it - despite the fact that it completely eliminated most of the truly tense and agitating moments, and the ones left are scaled on such a timeline that would make it impossible in the real world (or, in fact, in most other Hollywood films).

The Rangers have clearly bonded with each other to the point of undying love and respect for each other, more akin to that of a family... in fewer than 11 days? Every bonding moment between them that has words seems to have most of the logical steps cut away to make time - and it plays entirely against the believability of the bond that plays such a big role in the plot. Overall, it feels like the dialogue was always more of a placeholder for the actual, meaningful word choice that, for some bizarre reason, the writers didn't have time or courage to fill with anything else. To have such great potential wasted - and I do believe the story had great potential for the development of the characters, the story and the world - is, to me, no less than a local tragedy of the geek variety.

Another aspect of the film I didn't appreciate was the mixture of visual styles that worked well isolated but created a lousy picture for the whole screentime. One minute it's an action sequence with more stationary views, another - a rotating, more personal look from the inside; then it's a slow-motion cool-walk sequence, a pilot cam, a crowd shot, the robo-boogie... It feels like an immature play with the available "Movie Creator" options more than anything stable and visually trustworthy.

In the end, however, both of those - admittedly, serious - shortcomings didn't matter much to me. Emotionally, the story played very well, and I was able to piece together enough of details and sideline explanations to make it an interesting experience (something that Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul taught me to do).

The delving of the film into the Darker and Edgier territory the creators have handled well. It's not grimmer for the sake of being grimmer. Instead, it's a different story from the original TV series, with the premise entirely reasonable within its setting. It explores some darker aspects of the humans and else involved, but is otherwise optimistic and wholesome. Jason's - the Red Ranger's - father, Sam, is a hard worker in a small coastal city; despite being burdened by the job as well as his son being disappointing in his recklessness, Sam still tells the police officer "The beer's in the fridge" as he hands the keys in a tone that indicates: to him, it's just a casual friendly attitude, nothing special - which, in itself, is endearing. Billy's not being treated like a weirdo by his team or even his detention teacher (who's more disappointed with the locker blowing up - again), and those who do treat him badly, get punished; his clapping as expression of nerd joy is very sweet and is later being sincerely taken up by his teammates.

One could find dozens of sins in the film without trying too hard (in fact, I heard Jeremy's ding go off in my head a few times in the first 20 minutes), but I'm not going to. To me, Power Rangers was an enjoyable experience, and I'm willing to share it as such. As a fan of dramas and character exploration, I found the film a relief from the delicate thought process usually required for serious stories, as well as a surprisingly-charming and -deep connection to the story and the characters. I wish they would explore more of the characters and the world - same complaint I have with the bigger, collaboration MCU films - but even without it, the film is something I would recommend as an exciting sci-fi action to watch on a weekend.