By Jamie Miller
Greetings Nightlighters it is I, “the wannabe bronze ranger” here with another edition of Nightlight. Now as you all surely know by now I am a huge fan of super heroes. From Daredevil, to Spider-Man. From Batman, Nightwing and Green Lantern all the way to the Flash and so on. I just can’t get enough to the point writing for comic books is actually my goal in life.
The first superheroes I ever became obsessed with weren’t the Justice League or the Avengers. No, the superheroes I couldn’t get enough of as a kid were the Power Rangers. Much like my elder cousin before me, I grew up idolizing the rangers and watching with bated breath as they waged battle against the forces of evil. To the point I dressed up as a Power Ranger two Halloweens in a row. Tommy Oliver, the original green ranger, was actually my idol when I was a little kid. So imagine my absolute delight when I learned not only was Netflix making a “Power Rangers” special but that it would bring back much of the earlier cast. I was beyond overjoyed and excited.
“Power Rangers: Once and Always” brings back Billy Cranston the original blue ranger and Zack Taylor the original black ranger. These two are still fighting the good fight and have recovered their powers becoming the blue and black ranger once again. However, with old power comes old enemies and Rita Repulsa the villain who started the series lives once again. Far more powerful and vicious than she ever was before Rita is determined to end the rangers once and for all. In order to combat this brutal and barbaric blast from their past, the rangers will have to call on friends and allies both old and new to end Rita’s reign of terror once and for all.
The special stars David Yost returning as Cranston the triceratops powered blue ranger, now a successful businessman, Walter Jones returns as the Mastodon powered black ranger, now serving as the legal guardian to the orphaned daughter of Trini Kwan the original yellow ranger, also returning is Catherine Sutherland as Katherine Hillard ,the second ever pink ranger having found a new life as a suburban soccer mom who must reclaim the Pterodactyl powers. Steve Cardenas returns as Rocky DeSantos, the second red ranger who currently works as a firefighter and who has reclaimed the Tyrannosaurus powers. Joining the rangers for this fight is Minh Kwan played by Charlie Kersh, the orphaned daughter of the original yellow ranger Trini Kwan who must tread her mother’s footsteps and claim her mothers legacy as the new yellow ranger and harness the power of the sabretooth tiger.
Richard Steven Horvitz the original voice of the rangers faithful robotic assistance Alpha 5 returns this time voicing his successor Alpha 9 Standing against them once again is a more robotic Rita Repulsa voiced once again by Barbara Goodson who voiced her throughout all her appearances. Karan Ashley reprises her role as the second yellow ranger Aisha Cambell and Johnny Yong Bosch known for voice roles in multiple anime such as the current voice of Broly in the “Dragon Ball” franchise reprises his role as Adam Park. At this point both Cambell and Park are members of the S.P.A. who are apparently the precursors to Space Patrol Delta or S.P.D. who the “Power Rangers” series of the same name follows. Jason David Frank, Amy Jo Johnson and Austin St. John appear in archival footage and audio as does Thuy Trang.
This movie was… enjoyable. I mean it wasn’t Oscar worthy or anything like that, but then again “Power Rangers” never was. It was always a bit goofy and cheesy. I mean considering characters ran around saying things such as morphenomenal and that it was morphin time that shouldn’t be a surprise. It was enjoyable, the action scenes were well choreographed, the acting was acceptable and the effects were varying with the CGI being a bit rough. And while normally this would make me hate it, with “Power Rangers” it has the complete opposite effect. Part of the charm of the series is watching it and being entertained by it, a love letter to the goofy heroes of old with all the quips and spandex you could ask for. Watching it though I wasn’t Jamie Miller 24-year-old Collegiate writer, for one brief and glorious hour I was a little kid again, all if the concerns of the adult world were nothing but an echo in the background with my only concern being watching the rangers with baited breath punching and kicking along with the rangers. This was also a great tribute to Frank and Trang. A solid 5 torches out of 10. If you grew up on “Power Rangers,” I highly recommend this. It is a great love letter to the series.
