Why the Power Ranger Movie Deserves a Chance

When a 2017 Power Rangers film was announced, reaction split sharply: many self-described “’90s kids” who grew up on the original television series were immediately enthusiastic, while broader film criticism largely dismissed the project as a cash grab. A video essay from Escapist Movies argued the dismissal was inconsistent, given how the same critical establishment treats other franchise revivals.

Film criticism, the essay argued, is disproportionately shaped by Generation X critics, a generation that grew up on many of the franchises now being revived or rebooted. Of the highest-grossing films of the century at the time according to IMDB, at least 12 of the top 25 fell squarely within that generation’s formative pop-culture wheelhouse, including Star Wars: The Force Awakens and various Marvel, DC, Transformers, and James Bond entries. Critics who grew up on these properties, the essay suggested, can supply them with context that boosts their reception, independent of the films’ individual merits.

Power Rangers is sometimes set apart from those franchises as more overtly commercial, since its 1990s incarnation featured characters resembling action figures in motion and was widely seen as a vehicle for merchandise. The essay countered that none of the comparably revered franchises are meaningfully less commercialized: Halloween costumes, LEGO sets, and branded games routinely draw on Marvel, DC, and Transformers characters in much the same way.

The essay also noted a precedent for the skepticism: when Generation X audiences got excited about Marvel and DC film adaptations, older generations often responded with the same dismissiveness now aimed at Power Rangers, viewing big-budget comic-book films as an absurd expense. On that basis, it argued it would be inconsistent to wave off younger audiences’ enthusiasm for a Power Rangers film simply because of its openly commercial roots.