Last week, Power Rangers finally opened in theaters, a story that re-imagined the original colorfully costumed teenagers with attitude for a new era. While the reboot wasn't without its issues (as is the case with most movies), it was a solid start to taking the pop culture heroes from the 1990s and making the characters more compelling, not to mention how great it was do have a blockbuster budget attached to fully realize the insane action elements. The kids can still enjoy the latest Power Ranger teams on TV, but the older fans can enjoy this new take on the big screen.
Despite Power Rangers getting this cinematic franchise off the ground decently, there are a few changes that should be implemented so that the sequel can be even better. Here are the main suggestions we have on how Power Rangers 2 can improve from its predecessor.
Warning: SPOILERS for Power Rangers are ahead!
Balance The Tone
It was to be expected that the Power Rangers movie wouldn't be nearly as goofy and ridiculous as the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers TV series since it was aiming for that PG-13, young adult, Hunger Games type of feel. Still, the tone of the movie felt remarkably unbalanced. One moment the story delving all the way into gritty territory, while other times its silliness almost resembled its TV predecessor. And then there were moments like when Jason's friend realized he'd accidentally masturbated a cow. First off, let's avoid material like that altogether. Second, while a movie isn't obligated to remain entirely on one side of the spectrum or the other, Power Rangers 2 needs to resolve its identity crisis and not be so tonally erratic. Find the middle ground so the sequel can be more enjoyable.
Spend More Time In The Suits
Unlike the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, their cinematic counterparts weren't able to properly morph until the movie's climactic battle. Which fit the origin story approach nicely, as it felt like the main characters had actually earned their special powers. Power Rangers 2, on the other hand, can't let the teenagers with attitude go so long again without getting into their colorful suits. Now that Jason, Kimberly, Billy, Trini and Zack can easily morph, they can immediately jump into the fray when more alien villains come calling on Earth. More Ranger suit time almost certainly means the budget will need to be raised, but it will be worth it. As unique as it was, Power Rangers was lacking when it came to action, so the sequel can rectify that by giving moviegoers more mophenomenal material.
Keep The Villain More Grounded
Elizabeth Banks' Rita Repulsa was entertaining to watch, but the actress' over-the-top performance probably would have fit in better in the old TV series. This overlaps a little bit with the tone category, but the next main antagonist can't be nearly as outrageous or cartoon-y so that they will be a better fit for the series' grounded nature (well, as grounded as you can be with teenage superheroes battling alien threats). As of right now, Power Rangers 2 hasn't officially revealed who the Rangers will go up against, but the two most popular candidates appear to be Tommy Oliver as the evil Green Ranger and Lord Zedd. The latter would an especially good pick for taking this grounded approach, since before he teamed up with Rita on the TV series, Zedd was downright creepy! Also keep in mind that "grounded" doesn't mean that the villain can't be captivating.
More On-The-Ground Fights
When the Power Rangers departed to stop Rita, they briefly had to tangle with her Putties. After that, though, they spent the rest of the battle inside their Zords. That was fine since Goldar had just been formed and the Rangers needed to prevent him from securing the Zeo Crystal. However, one of the joys of Power Rangers is seeing them fight a monster/alien on the ground using their martial arts, abilities and weapons (more on that on the next page). Once said monster/alien is defeated with great effort, only then is it enlarged, forcing the Rangers to jump in their Zords and take the fight to the next level. Power Rangers spent quite a bit of time showing the five heroes training to fight within Zordon's ship, but they also spent a few minutes putting those new skills to work. Another go-around in the Zords is guaranteed in Power Rangers 2, but the Rangers also need to spend a substantial amount of time trying to vanquish their adversaries when normal-sized.
Let The Other Rangers Use Their Weapons
This may be more of a nitpick than full-blown complaint, but if you pay attention during Power Rangers, you'll notice that Jason is the only to conjure a special weapon, which for him was the Power Sword. The rest of them disposed of the Putties with their fists and kicks, which was cool, but we didn't get to see Zack's Power Axe, Trini's Power Daggers, Kimberly's Power Bow and Billy's Power Lance. For Power Rangers 2, let the other four Rangers break out their weapons when punching and kicking doesn't get the job done. The icing on the cake would be if the five weapons would join together as a laser cannon just like in the ol' days to delver the finishing blow to the enemy.
Make The Product Placement Discreet
Look, I get it. Making a movie is expensive, and often times these blockbusters partner up with major business to get some monetary assistance in exchange for promoting something. But seriously, putting the Zeo Crystal underneath a Krispy Kreme? It was amusing for a few seconds, but talk about beating you over the head with product placement! It's one thing for Power Rangers and Krispy Kreme to partner on movie promotion at the fast food chain, it's another to actually an object of incredible power be located underneath a place that sells frickin' donuts! It's likely that Power Rangers 2 will find other products, restaurants, etc to promote, but please don't be so obvious about it again. Keep it subtle and unimportant to the overall plot. I don't need Lord Zedd's hideout to be located underneath an Applebee's.
