STACK April 2017 Issue 150

ased on the 1993 television series

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

, this

big screen update sees a group of

teenager outsiders taught to work together

in order to become the Power Rangers – a

colour-coded super group with incredible

powers, strength, and equipped with their

own armour and mechanical companions

called Zords.

Keeping with tradition, the film recruits

relatively unknown actors to play the

fantastic five: Dacre Montgomery as Jason

the Red Ranger, Naomi Scott as Kimberly

the Pink Ranger, RJ Cyler as Billy the Blue

Ranger, Ludi Lin as Zack the Blue Ranger,

and singer Becky G. as Trini the Yellow

Ranger.

Long ago, when dinosaurs walked the

earth, a team of Power Rangers – led by

Bryan Cranston’s Red Ranger Zordon –

protected a crystal that contained the life

force of the planet. The Green Ranger,

Rita Repulsa, was a member of Zordon’s

team until she betrayed them, coveting the

crystal for personal gain. Zordon hid his

team’s gems, which allowed them to

morph into the Power Rangers,

in the hope that they would one

day be rediscovered by a new

and worthy team.

It's the aforementioned

teens from Angel Grove that

rise to the challenge. Under

the guidance of Zordon and his trusty

robot assistant Alpha 5 (Bill Hader), these

fledgling Rangers must train to protect the

Earth from Elizabeth Banks’s terrifying Rita

Repulsa and her golden minion, Goldar,

who have returned to claim the crystal. It's

morphin' time!

Power Rangers

dutifully captures the

essence of the show many will fondly

remember from their childhood. But that's

not necessarily a good thing, given the

series was rather average and cheesy to

begin with (but still kind of loveable).

While the movie succeeds in upping the

quality of the visual effects and the Ranger

suit designs (and equally as important,

the robotic Zords), it doesn't do much to

enhance the story, which worked better in

the 20-minute episode format.

Reimagined as a coming-of-age tale in

superhero clothing,

Power Rangers

should

satisfy newcomers, however longtime

series fans will be left feeling a little

shortchanged.

Alesha Kolbe

RELEASED:

Now Showing

DIRECTOR:

Bill Condon

CAST:

Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans,

Josh Gad

RATING:

Belle (Emma Watson) has recently found herself in

a new French village with her father (Kevin Kline),

where every day is like the one before. Bored with

her mundane life, she pines for adventures like

the ones in her beloved books. While most the

townsfolk find her peculiar, Belle's beauty plants

her in the blinkers of town hunk Gaston (Luke

Evans), who is determined to marry her. Aided by

his trusty companion Le Fou (Josh Gad), Gaston

makes it his mission to woo Belle and win her

favour. When Belle’s father finds himself lost in the

woods, his only hope is to seek refuge in a nearby

castle, which just so happens to be home to a

cursed Beast (Dan Stevens). Belle goes to rescue

him, and, well, you know the rest…

Beauty and the

Beast

is the latest Disney animated classic to be

revisited as a live-action feature. Once you get past

the rather unsettling anthropomorphised furniture,

this is a thoroughly delightful reimagination

featuring all the songs from the 1991 original,

plus a few new ones thrown in. Emma Watson is

magical as Belle – helped largely by her similar

role as Hermione, we assume – and Luke Evans is

a suitably distasteful Gaston. Dan Stevens portrays

a sheltered Beast, whom we end up caring more

for than we did in the animated version. In many

regards director Bill Condon improves upon the

already fantastic original, giving us something there

that wasn’t there before.

Alesha Kolbe

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Since his first appearance in the 1933 classic

King

Kong

, the mighty ape has stamped his simian

footprint into popular culture and been reimagined

for subsequent generations with varying levels of

success – from the awful 1976 remake and risible

King Kong Lives

(1986), to the more recent Peter

Jackson film.

Kong: Skull Island

is a different beast

again – a standalone adventure set on Kong's

stomping ground. It's 1973 and scientist John

Goodman embarks on an expedition to explore Skull

Island along with British tracker Tom Hiddleston,

photojournalist Brie Larson, and strong military

support following the withdrawal from Vietnam.

The team don't even have a chance to touch

down before Kong makes a spectacular entrance,

swatting helicopters from the sky and swallowing

soldiers whole. Stranded and separated in a jungle

hell teeming with freakish fauna, their chances

of survival rest with a barmy John C. Reilly.

Kong:

Skull Island

captures the spirit and excitement of

Saturday matinee monster movies like

Valley of

Gwangi

and

Mysterious Island

, while adding a

liberal dose of Vietnam War gung-ho and

Jurassic

World

. It's inventively shot and raises the bar for

visual effects, but could have used a better script,

less John C. Reilly wisecracks and more Kong.

Overall, more enjoyable than Jackson's Kong but

not quite a return fit for a King.

Scott Hocking

KONG: SKULL ISLAND

RELEASED:

Now Showing

DIRECTOR:

Jordan

Vogt-Roberts

CAST:

Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson,

John C. Reilly

RATING:

Does the 90’s TV series morph into a successful blockbuster?

POWER RANGERS

RELEASED:

Now Showing

DIRECTOR:

Dean Israelite

CAST:

Dacre Montgomery,

Bryan Cranston, Becky G.

RATING:

jbhifi.com.au

APRIL

2017

RATING KEY:

Wow!

Good

Not bad

Meh Woof!

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