Story
Power Rangers begins 65 million years in the past. After the deaths of his fellow Power Rangers, Red Ranger Zordan (Bryan Cranston) sacrifices himself to defeat the evil Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks). Before Zordan dies he releases five power-infused coins, giving these coins instructions to find those who are worthy.
In the present, a chance occurrence brings together five teenagers at an abandoned gold mine. The teenagers are Jason Scott (Dacre Montgomery), Billy (R.J. Cyler), Kimberly (Naomi Scott), Zack (Ludi Lin) and Trini (Becky G.). At the gold mine the five teenagers find Zordan’s coins and take one each. The authorities arrive and try to apprehend the teenagers for trespassing and a car chase follows, ending with the teenagers’ car colliding with a train. But instead of being killed instantly, they all wake up safe and sound the next day in their own beds, unable to explain how they got there. And they soon learn that they have super-human strength and are apparently invincible.
Realising that they’re now somehow connected and wanting to know why, the five teenagers return to where they found the coins and enter an alien spacecraft hidden in an underwater cave. They find that they’re to train to become the new Power Rangers, and they must save the world from Rita Repulsa, who has risen from the dead.
Themes
Aliens; superpowers; world destruction
Violence
Power Rangers has extended sequences of action violence with many deaths, mass destruction and bullying. For example:
Sexual references
Power Rangers has one scene, played for comedy, with sexual innuendo. This involves a boy claiming to have milked a cow, which is actually a bull.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Power Rangers shows some use of substances. For example:
- Several teenagers drink from a bottle of beer while sitting around a camp fire.
- After a mother has an argument with her teenage daughter, the mother demands that her daughter urinate into a container to be tested for drugs.
- A boy gives his sick mother some tablets.
Nudity and sexual activity
Power Rangers has some partial nudity. For example:
- Girls wear low-cut tops, which expose cleavage.
- A girl goes swimming in her bra and pants, and a boy watches her take off her clothes.
Product placement
The following products are displayed or used in Power Rangers: Sports drinks (Gatorade), Krispy Kreme Donuts, and American brand-name cars.
Coarse language
Power Rangers has some coarse language, insults and toilet humour.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Power Rangers is a science fiction action movie based on the popular children’s TV series. But it is not a movie for young children, who might be attracted by the title and the fact that they have Power Ranger toys.
This movie has some very scary scenes and characters, and some intense violence. Therefore, it isn’t recommended for children under 12 years, and we strongly recommend parental guidance for children aged 12-15 years.
These are the main messages from this movie:
- When we work together we can achieve much more than when we work individually.
- Good triumphs over evil.
You might also want to talk about the cyberbullying shown in the movie and whether the consequences are appropriate, as well as how the movie deals with issue of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as shown through the character of Billy.