Power Rangers way out of their league in new superhero universe

REVIEW: The morphing Power Rangers were 90s superheroes. But when lined up against their current competition, these guys don’t stand a chance.

POWER RANGERS

One star

Director: Dean Israelite

Starring: Elizabeth Banks, Bryan Cranston, Dacre Montgomery

Rating: M

Running time 124 minutes

Verdict: These 90s superheroes have become obsolete

EVEN in their heyday, the Power Rangers were B-list superheroes.

More than two decades after the morphing teenage misfits made their movie debut, a plastic Lego action figure is capable of running rings around them.

Star Trek, Mad Max Fury Road, Kong: Skull Island ... multiplex audiences are becoming increasingly accustomed to the idea that a reboot can match and sometimes even surpass the original product.

In this case, the bar was already pretty low. And still Power Rangers fails to clear it (to bastardise a line from The Lego Batman Movie, these guys wouldn’t cut it at a cosplay convention.)

Elizabeth Banks as Rita Repulsa in a scene from Power Rangers. Picture: AP

The third film in the Power Rangers franchise has absolutely nothing to add to a genre in which Hollywood filmmakers continue to break new ground.

Not even Bryan Cranston, as the wise, all-knowing Zordon, or Elizabeth Banks’s fabulously monikered villain Rita Repulsa can transcend the paucity of the material.

The morphing teenage misfits don’t stand a chance against the cliche-ridden script and clunky direction.

The one area in which the remake can’t be faulted is its diversity.

In this version, West Australian-born actor Dacre Montgomery plays Jason, a fallen jock and lead Red Ranger.

The Blue Power Ranger (Me, Earl and The Dying Girl’s RJ Cyler) is a genius on the autism spectrum, and Mexican-American actress Becky G’s Yellow Ranger is a lesbian.

(From left) Becky G, RJ Cyler and Dacre Montgomery must work together to save the planet. Picture: AP

Rounding out the team are British actress Naomi Scott and Chinese actor Ludi Lin.

Raw and convincingly rebellious, these adolescent thrillseekers — who stumble across the ancient, glowing medallions after an explosion in a mining site — struggle with the team work required to morph into their superhero alter-egos.

They succeed just in time to save the planet from Rita and her monstrous henchman, Goldar.

The movie, on the other hand, never stood a chance.

Watching the Power Rangers do battle with Rita’s monolithic avenger in their Transformers-like combined Megazord assault machine, it’s clear that in the new superhero universe, they are way out their league.

Power Rangers is now showing (opens March 23)

Originally published as Power Rangers way out of their league in new superhero universe