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)