Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always is a continuation of a story that began 30 years ago this year. The original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series was the first and probably the most beloved of the entire franchise. I didn’t grow up watching the original series, but I did grow up watching Dino Thunder; so I still got to experience the late Jason David Frank as Tommy Oliver. I was able to go into this special with a basic understanding of this group of Power Rangers as they go on another camp-filled adventure.
The Plot
The plot is simple and will immediately engage the original series fans: Rita Repulsa is back and it’s up to the Power Rangers to defeat her once and for all. This time around, it’s Billy and Zack leading the team (a change from the standard Red Ranger in charge). Billy and Zack also have another challenge along with defeating Rita: protecting Trina Kwan’s daughter, Minh (played by Charlie Kersh).
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The Critique
The biggest critique I have is the writing and tone. I know the writing is supposed to be simple and campy, and the tone of the original series has some camp as well. It’s not unbearable, but it’s not my favorite style. It’s probably the reason I was never the biggest Power Rangers fan.
The one thing I will commend them for in this special was how they honored Thuy Trang and Jason David Frank during the special and by dedicating it to their memory. Even though I didn’t have a connection to the original series, not having that entire group able to be together was emotional for me. I can only imagine what the cast has gone through and how difficult it was filming this, especially with Jason David Frank’s death being so recent and sudden.
Power Rangers as a franchise has never been one for award-winning acting; not saying the acting is bad, it’s campy and fits the tone. That being said, the emotional moments from the cast were good, especially from Charlie Kersh as Minh. She is the heart of the special and does a great job with the action and her scenes with David Yost and Walter Emanuel Jones. It’s an unlikely trio in many ways, but it worked for me.
The highlight performance though for me was the vocal performances of Barbara Goodson and Richard Steven Horvitz as Rita Repulsa and Alpha. The voices of these characters are so iconic, even for someone who hasn’t seen the original series. Barbara Goodson in particular is having a blast playing Rita Repulsa again and it shows through her vocal performance.
In Conclusion
Overall, I would recommend checking out Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always when it arrives on Netflix tomorrow. The Netflix budget was very helpful for the visual effects, which certainly looked better than the original series. It’s classic Power Rangers, which may or may not be for everyone; fans of the franchise though will love seeing this cast back together again. It honors the franchise of the past 30 years and hopefully, it will help Power Rangers carry on for many more to follow.
Rating: 7/10
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