Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie is a 1995 superhero action film directed by Bryan Spicer, starring Karan Ashley, Johnny Yong Bosch, Steve Cardenas, Jason David Frank, Amy Jo Johnson, David Yost, Jason Narvy, Paul Schrier, and Paul Freeman. Based on the team of the same name. A giant egg is unearthed at a construction site and soon opened, releasing the terrible Ivan Ooze, who wreaks vengeance on Zordon for imprisoning him millennia ago. With Zordon dying and their powers lost, the Rangers head to a distant planet to find the mystic warrior Dulcea.

Plot: The story isn’t original but the Power Rangers spin does make it fun and entertaining. The film follows two plots. One plot follows the Rangers and their efforts at defeating Ivan Ooze as well as saving a dying Zordon. The second follows a young kid named Fred Kelman who’s trying to find his missing father. Don’t go to see any character growth. Despite the characters going on this grand journey to find this new power, the story has no developing arcs for any of the main cast. It would’ve been nice for the characters to have moments where we learn more about them. Ivan has a grudge against Zordon for his imprisonment and it would’ve been nice to have actually seen some backstory of those events. There’s some action and the climax is fairly satisfying with everything ending on a good note. There’s a lot that the plot could’ve done better especially with it’s great characters, both good and bad. Still, it’s a typical Power Rangers story. (3 out of 5)

Characters: If you liked the characters in the show, you’ll love them here. The main cast includes Adam (Black Ranger), Kimberly (Pink Ranger), Tommy (White Ranger), Aisha (Yellow Ranger), Billy (Blue Ranger), and Rocky (Red Ranger). The characters are good and you like the team dynamic, seeing how they work together and interact. The film doesn’t really flesh them out individually. It would’ve been nice to actually seen something going on in their lives (family, career, problems, etc.).
In fact, there are some parts of the film where certain Rangers overshadow the other ones. Adam, Aisha, Billy, and Rocky barely have a moment in the film. There’s this small moment with Adam but it really doesn’t go anywhere. You get Bulk, Skull, Alpha 5 and Zordon, who the story is about but nothing’s ever really revealed about him. There’s this kid Fred, who’s a friend to the Rangers, and is important in the film. However, I feel he’s unnecessary. His story does take away from the Rangers’ and could’ve even been one of theirs. A new character is the mysterious Dulcea. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get much screentime herself, but she does fit the role of mysterious, ass kicking, hot chick well. The villains include Rita Repulsa, Lord Zedd, Goldar, Mordant, and new antagonist Ivan Ooze. Rita and Zedd don’t really do much unfortunately, Goldar and Mordant are used as comedy relief. Ivan Ooze is just awesome. He’s fun, over-the-top, has cool abilities, and has an awesome personality. He stills all his scenes, has the best lines, and is one of the best villains of the franchise. The characters are good but I wished we had a view into the Rangers’ lives and that some of the original characters (Alpha 5, Rita, Zedd) had more to do. (3 out of 5)

Cast: The performances are good by the cast, both the main and supporting. The main cast includes Amy Jo Johnson (Kimberly), Jason David Frank (Tommy), Johnny Yong Bosch (Adam), Karan Ashley (Aisha), David Yost (Billy), and Steve Cardenas (Rocky). Paul Freeman completely kills it as Ivan Ooze. The guy’s having fun with the role and it makes the character that more memorable. The supporting cast includes Paul Schrier (Bulk), Jason Narvy (Skull), Gabrielle Fitzpatrick (Dulcea), Nicholas Bell (Zordon), Kerry Casey (Goldar), Robert Axelrod (Zedd), Julia Cortez (Rita), and Jamie Croft (Fred). It’s a good cast. (3 out of 5)

Visuals: There’s a lot to appreciate about this film when it comes to its effects. First, I have to say the new armored look to the Rangers looks fucking awesome. The bodysuits from the series have never appealed to me but they look so much better in this film. If you like the crazy designs of the villains from the series they’re in here too. They actually look pretty good. My favorite’s Lord Zedd. The actual look of the film is great. The high production value makes it look serious. Hell, one of the best sets is the Command Center.

There are some downsides. Some of the minion designs look pretty piss poor with obvious prosthetics and clunky bodysuits. Many of the fights look lazy and poorly choreographed. Sometimes they are too choreographed (one scene Billy backflips to Aisha to help her to her feet, why?). Some of the wire works are obvious. Perhaps one of the biggest letdowns is the CGi zords. Those things were bad even for that time. The Zords look like shit and look nothing like their tv show counter parts (the designs aren’t a problem actually). Hell, Ooze summons minions twice and the CGI is horrible. (2 out of 5)

Score: I liked the musical composition behind the film. I think Graeme Revell does a fantastic job with the music, both the original from the series and for the film. (3 out of 5)

Writing: Overall, I think the writing is pretty damn bad. As a kid, many of the mistakes I witnessed in the pacing, dialogue, character depth, and plot were just sugar sprinkled on the top of an awesome movie. Sadly, they light up like a pack of flares in a dark cave. First, nearly all the characters are poorly written, from the good guys to the bad. The Rangers themselves have no personal conflicts in the film and the bad guys lack any understandable motivation. Hell, the Rangers aren’t even balanced properly onscreen. You remember when the Avengers first dropped and you got to see all the superheroes working together, each contributing to their success. This film lacks that. Things are pretty fast paced and because of it there is hardly anytime to see what the characters are dealing with in their lives. The dialogue is pretty cheesy with everyone dropping oneliners like the film was trying to compete with Batman & Robin. Bryan Spicer does a decent job with the direction giving the film flavor of variety, something we haven’t seen in the series. There’s a lot to the writing that could’ve been done better. (1 out of 5)

The Verdict: In the end, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie isn’t the best Power Rangers’ film but it’s fun and entertaining. There’s a lot this film could’ve done better but unfortunately it has a crap ton of missteps. The story is bland, characters one dimensional, fights poorly done, shitty CGI, bad writing, and bad dialogue. However, the characters are likable, action entertaining, good performances, music awesome, and cool power suits. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie gets 3 out of 5.