[Sh Ranger]

Okay, I watched this yesterday, so it's time to give my thoughts!

Quote:

Originally Posted by TokuKnight89

Robo Rita's dialogue is exactly what we've heard in the trailers and is a departure from the use of "destroy" to censor "die" or "kill".

Which is ironic now that I think about it, as I would've expected a human-like character to use "kill" and a robotic character to use the more dehumanizing "destroy". Other than being another perk of the platform, Rita's decision to use punchier language is a way to express how severely her vendetta against the Rangers has grown since her defeat. This is a version of the character who's been waiting for her revenge for decades and that's what makes her so dangerous, as we saw from her first act. She not only destroyed the Yellow Ranger, she killed Trini. Rita is truly at her most despicable in this movie.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TokuKnight89

One of the central motivations for Minh, as we've seen from the trailers, is how Robo Rita killed Trini and Minh wants payback. She also has an axe to grind with Billy cause she blames him for Trini's death, and Billy kind of understands the sentiment.

I think it's intriguing how Billy has become a lot like Zordon with how he functions as the voice of reason for Zack in their "what do we tell her?" scene and for Minh (although Zack's wisdom shines here as well). In the absence of co-leaders Tommy and Jason and considering that Zack likely doesn't know Rocky and Kat that well and vice versa, it's an affirmative move for Billy to take charge of the team as the member with the longest tenure and I guess, the Tony Stark of PR now. Billy feeling guilty for what happened to Trini and Alpha 8 reminds me of that time he was brainwashed to sabotage the Command Center. A Friend In Need, I recall?

Quote:

Originally Posted by TokuKnight89

There is a mild continuity error here in a city fight with Putties when Kat says they still sound like "angry turkeys" after all these years, but that makes little sense when you realize that Kat never fought Putties in Season 3! Tengas had already replaced Putties as the grunts of Rita and Zedd by the time Kat was introduced. You could argue that Putties were being used off-screen in the Moon Palace or that Kat fought Putties during "Grid Connection", but even then it's a stretch.

Huh, you're right. Out of all the Rangers in that scene who could've said that line, Kat doesn't make any sense.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TokuKnight89

Robo Rita also reveals that she has captured Minh, who doesn't stay a hostage for to long before a battle ensues and Minh saves Billy by taking a magic blast from Robo Rita much like her Mother did!

Everyone is saddened by this turn of events, but some classic Trini segments and battle footage plays out in Minh's eye and she wakes up with a responsive Power Morpher!

This was one of my favorite scenes! Minh's development from begrudging Billy for causing Trini to sacrifice herself, to doing exactly the same thing after understanding that being a Ranger means to protect others, was totally worth the wait. I like how she doesn't immediately learn that moral from Zack and Billy, but rather, she understands what they were trying to teach her by putting herself in Trini's place and realizing that's just the kind of strong person her mother was.

Minh being the new teenage Yellow Ranger on a team of middle-aged people is kind of like an exaggeration of the PR Turbo dynamic, or for Sentai, you could say it's an inversion of Zenkaiger which had Juran as a middle-aged person and voice of reason to the others. I think it works though, the new MMPR having Minh as a new impulsive teenager in contrast to the now older and wiser members.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nightmere10

Mighty Morphin? Power Rangers is one of the most iconic television shows of the 90s, and it has captured the hearts of millions of fans around the world. The series has continued on since 1993 with season themes ranging from dinosaurs to ninjas, to space travel, and more. Three feature films have been produced*over the years ? the first*a standalone movie released in 1995, the second that*falls in line with series canon released in 1997, the third a*reboot released in 2017 - but nothing has captured the essence of the original show quite like the latest entry into the franchise, ?Mighty Morphin? Power Rangers: Once & Always.? *

Yeah, I appreciate how this movie celebrates not only a point of 30 years since MMPR, but also the many years of non-MMPR content that exists after it. There's a common complaint, that PR nostalgia is too MMPR-focused, so it's a good start with the opening narration to emphasize the legacy of that show more than the show itself.

It's thanks to the existence of those shows that succeeded MMPR that make MMPR worthy of such celebration, as MMPR was the start of something awesome that still continues today. That's something I think is lacking in the Sentai anniversary specials, a reason for them to exist outside of mere fanservice. Once and Always was made with heart by the actors and staff, with a story that feels profound, with respect to Trini and Thuy in a way that understands the feelings the people who care about them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShiShiLeo

It is worth noting that David Yost said he essentially left MMPR due to continual harassment over his sexual identity as a gay man. So the inclusion of a gay couple in a show about the passage of time is actually a really good fit.

Yeah, I see this as David having his last laugh on Saban Brands. I think he deserves it, so yeah, good for him. I'm glad that the future of this franchise is in better hands with Hasbro, as they can actually understand the appeal of a team of heroes consisting of characters who are all different, which of course extends to differences in sexuality.

It's pointless to compare a ship like Izzy/Fern to this m/m ship, as the former are major characters while the latter are extras. They're not supposed to be deep and you know, if one of them were a girl, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation.

[TokuKnight89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Billy feeling guilty for what happened to Trini and Alpha 8 reminds me of that time he was brainwashed to sabotage the Command Center. A Friend In Need, I recall?

A Friend In Need was the crossover with Masked Rider on Edenoi.

Tommy did his infamous Command Center rampage in Season 1. When they brought Tommy back, Billy was brainwashed and entered the Command Center in order to steal the Dragon Dagger for Goldar. A Putty assumed Billy's visage thanks to Twin Man (Bryan Cranston again), but merely acted like a bully in the halls of Angel Grove High.

In Season 2, Zyu2 Monster Primator assumed Billy's form in order to try and enter the Command Center during Zordon's deionization phase, but his harassment of Alpha 5 in public led to the initialization of Alpha's self-destruct sequence and it was the actual Billy who knew which buttons to push to deactivate the sequence. Alpha was tampered with again by Finster during the Wedding, and ultimately saved by Billy when he pulled Finster's disc out of Alpha's back.

The closest thing that I can think of is "Blue Ranger Gone Bad" in which an art project is turned into an Evil Billy Clone who had less scientific knowledge than the actual Billy.

https://www.grnrngr.com/episode-guides/

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TokuKnight89

A Friend In Need was the crossover with Masked Rider on Edenoi.

Tommy did his infamous Command Center rampage in Season 1. When they brought Tommy back, Billy was brainwashed and entered the Command Center in order to steal the Dragon Dagger for Goldar. A Putty assumed Billy's visage thanks to Twin Man (Bryan Cranston again), but merely acted like a bully in the halls of Angel Grove High.

Looked it up and turns out the episode I was thinking of was Return of an Old Friend, where Billy stole the Dragon Dagger, like you said, but he also disabled Alpha 5, so that's probably where I was getting the similarity from. At least I got the "Friend" part of the title right, haha.

[Frontier]

Would it have been great to have had the original MM team all together one last time? Yeah, especially because it felt kind of off that the other OG's only got voice cameos or reused dialogue while Billy and Zach got to take their helmets off...I know with Thuy's death you could never have all of them back together, but it still felt like a bit of a missed opportunity (especially since it seems like money prevented some of the originals from coming back). That being said the ending song honoring Thuy and Jason David Frank was absolutely precious.

Barbara Goodson has not missed a beat as Rita. Richard Horvitz doesn't sound exactly the same as Alpha-9, but he still captures those Alpha-isms well.

The flying car! Ahhhhh!

Minh was a little too bratty teenager, especially when she was deliberately out to emotionally hurt Billy, but I guess that's a modern "teenager with attitude."

It was weird how much of a mish-mash this was with Zack, Billy, Rocky who came later, and Kat who came wayyy later. I get it's partially because they couldn't get Austin St. John or Amy Jo Johnson, and I was happy to see them...but still.

So if Jason and Kimberly are the standing MM Red and Pink, do Rocky and Kat still have their Zeo powers? I assume Tanya was the Zeo Yellow they got.

I was actually wondering if they'd acknowledge Tommy and Kat's marriage and their kid, so that was nice. Also shows how strong the relationship is and how far they've come that there didn't seem to be any drama with Tommy working with Kimberly again.

Nice to see Bulk and Skull acknowledged.

You know Billy is the main character when he gets the center seat in the Megazord.

I appreciated how they faithfully recreated the Zords and Megazord in CG even if it didn't feel as weighty and and real as it would have had they used suits. Also that finisher was...underwhelming.

I was honestly worried they didn't make new props for the signature weapons, but boy was I happy to be wrong when they brought them out for the final fight!

I'm disappointed they didn't finish Robo Rita with the Power Blaster.

I'm glad Aisha gave Minh her seal of approval because it means just as much as if Trini did since she was the second MM Yellow Ranger. I also like how we got Adam and Zack together and the successor Rangers standing next to each other since, well, they were each others team.

[TokuKnight89]

https://twitter.com/PwrRngr/status/1651617394479988737

[wentwood]

What's up with Power Rangers SPA showing up? Are they getting a series in live?

SPD is 2025.

[TokuKnight89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wentwood

What's up with Power Rangers SPA showing up? Are they getting a series in live?

SPD is 2025.

The question will simply have to remain a question, and unanswerable for the foreseeable future. There hasn't been much in the way of explanation as of yet (insofar as I am aware of).

Personally, I feel as though it could be a sign of things to come in Cosmic Fury. That is only a guess and not based on anything but presumption and the obvious space theme between the two.

[DreamSword]

SPA is just the start of SPD and meant to be a nod/easter egg. If you're to believe Simon Bennett on social media, don't expect much more to come out of it.

[CyberDragon]

I didn't think it was anything amazing, but I did enjoy it. The storytelling felt in-line with what I expect from PR, just scratching the surface of some more mature themes. I definitely appreciated the amount of effort put into shooting an original story with new sets, costumes, and CGI. It feels totally fine for a reunion show.

[Mesnick]

As someone whose favorite Rangers were Trini and Billy, I absolutely loved this movie. But at the same time, I understand why some of the fans could remain disappointed.