[Den-O]

It's Morphin Time!

TokuNation is about to take a morphenominal trip down memory lane with you. To start it off today we're taking a look at the first in a series of new figure releases based on the classic 1995 film Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie! The first figure in this series of galleries is the 5" Legacy Movie Red Ranger!

Packaging
If you haven't picked up a Power Rangers Legacy figure by now, the Movie Red Ranger follows the same basic formula. Packaged in a triangular box Bandai has done the best job they could at evoking the look of the vintage toys from the original Mighty Morphin toyline. Just as with the Legacy Mighty Morphin TV themed figures this box perfectly replicates the look of the movie toys, right down to the more bare bones black & white colors. It may look a little more drab but it's still a great package. Included on the front of the box is a call out to the 1995 film and to further that connection on the back is a brief description of the films plot. Even going so far as to mention Ivan Ooze & Dulcea.

A brief bio about the Red Ranger (Rocky) is also given. Oddly the bio only makes mention of his Ape Ninjazord, when technically speaking these figures are based on the rangers pre-ninja based suits from early into the film. The rangers received the ninja zords after losing their powers. Though the T-Rex and other dino zords were never seen in the film, Rocky calls out "Tyrannosaurus!" to morph in the initial fight, and the Tyrannosaurus coin is still present both on his belt and chest on this figure. An oddity but not necessarily a detriment depending on how picky you are.

Figure
As far as 5" figures go the Movie Red Ranger offers a bit more than the standard fare. To start you should know that this line of 5" Movie figures is literally the first time ever that the actual movie designs have been put into figure form. The original toys were mere metallic repaints of the TV show toys in movie packaging. But this figure is the real true deal. From a sculpt and detail perspective alone this figure is leagues beyond the generally simple toys of the normal Power Rangers retail lines. Where those 5" figures feel flat and artificially roided out, the Movie Red Ranger is covered in armored technological detailing that really goes a long way to replicating the look of the actual costume. Since these suits were more armor than spandex they had a lot of detail to them, so I'm pleased that the toy has managed to capture that. Though the finer details are pretty bad. The morpher/belt area and chest emblem are incredibly soft. And by that I mean inaccurately sculpted. They just look like they're made of butter or something. The head is also a little bit off to me, a little fuzzy and undefined.

On the articulation front the figure has much of what we've come to expect. Hips that swing forward/back & side to side. Knees & shin swivels with surprisingly decent rocker ankles. Though the ankles on mine are quite loose. No waist joint sadly. The arms however are as bad as I've come to expect generally. Simple shoulders that move forward & back and can't properly stretch out to allow the arm a full ranger of up/down movement. This is mostly due to the sculpted in shoulder pads, but it keeps the arms from getting into dynamic poses. Elbow articulation is limited to a 90 degree angle only, and the wrists while on ball joints don't have much clearance to make use of them. The arms are kind of frustrating to me though as a whole. A simple bicep swivel could have made them so much more dynamic.

The head is on a fairly decent ball joint that allows for a good bit of tilting in all the primary directions too. I honestly didn't expect it to be as decent as it is. If only it had a little more clearance in the back. Also a peg hole is built into the left side of the belt area to accommodate the included accessories, or a similar one from another 5" Ranger figure. While I don't own the 5" MMPR Red Ranger to compare this figure too, I did have the Figuarts Tyranno Ranger on hand for a general comparison.

Accessories

1 - holster. Used for the included weapon accessory

1 - Power Blaster/Blade Blaster. This is an odd one. While this item most certainly is in the film, in fact the 5 core rangers each have one holstered in the movie, none of them are ever used or seen outside the holster. Though the name Power Blaster has been given to the unused weapon, it's apparent that it's very much meant to be the film version of the TV shows Blade Blaster. The sculpt is a bit soft and paint so so, but it gets the point across and matches the holster well.

1 - Power Scope Helmet. This extra head can be used by simply popping off the normal Red Ranger head. This one is meant to replicate the one off "special power" used by the Red Ranger in the film. Using this Scope allows the Red Ranger to track enemy movements, even for concealed or camouflaged foes. The toy version is sadly kind of weak. Neither the sculpt nor paint job are really all there. The red slit painted into the middle of the visor is meant to evoke the red sensor beam on the actual helmet, but instead makes the singular visor look like two separate pieces. On most of the Red Rangers I've seen the paint applications to the Scope helmet vary from acceptable to laughably bad.

Honestly I'm a bit disappointed that something else kind of specific wasn't included. I really expected at least the Power Sword. While it may never have been seen in the film, the Blade/Power Blasters were never used either despite their appearance. And the weapon could easily have just been a repack form the Legacy 5" TV figure. It's not something that necessarily needed to be there, but I think it could have helped complete the package.

Final Thoughts
As someone who loves the campiness of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Movie and the wonderful suit designs I had to buy this 5" Movie Red Ranger figure, but sadly it's not really the quality I want just the quality I'm willing to accept. As far as high end figures of the original MMPR movie go, this is probably the top tier. For $16.99 I don't feel I'm getting much, but a pipe dream like S.H. Figuarts of such designs will likely never be fulfilled. As is if you're like me and have a soft spot for the movie, and see these figures in your area, I'd suggest giving them a look. While not perfect they're likely the best thing you'll be getting for some time in regards to this movie.