So after taking a day or two to calm down, I've decided to do a written review of the new Power Rangers Samurai series, rather then a video like I originally intended.
Where do I begin with Power Rangers Samurai? I guess I'll start with a simple opinion. That opinion being...it was okay. And seriously, that is the best your going to get out of me at this point in time. -_-
I'll admit, this episode pissed me off a lot when I first watched it. I mean REALLY pissed me off. But that was probably my own fault for having such unrealistically high expectations. With all the hype surrounding the new season and news that Saban had bought back the Power Ranger franchise from Disney to re-tune it so that is appealed to old and new fans, I was looking forward to an epic premiere to get me good and excited about Power Rangers again.
Instead...what I got was an episode 3 opener. Instead of showing how the Power Rangers became who they are, we get an episode about how the Green Ranger is all emo about not being able to hang out with his friends. Really Saban? You hype up this new and improved show for 2 months and then start with a random 3rd episode? WTF!!
To clarify, this episode was by no means a pilot episode. None of the main characters are introduced properly except by narration and even then you get no real feel for their personalities or characters, the bad guys just appear randomly without any intro or motive, the plot of why the two groups are fighting isn't explained, and the source of the Rangers powers as well as how they got them and became a team is never shown.
The plot of the episode is that Mike the Green Ranger is frustrated that he isn't as alert or as good a samurai as Jayden the Red Ranger is. On top of that, he feels isolated by the fact that he apparently can't see his friends or family due to his status as a ranger. He encounters a monster which is trying to collect fear from the people to fill some magic river and two fight, only to have Mike be defeated. Although he goes through an emo phase for a bit, Mike takes on the monster again with the help of the other rangers and defeats it through teamwork.
To me, this is not how a show should be opened. It's like coming in halfway through a conversation, only to hear someone tell the punchline to a joke that you didn't get to hear. To be fair though, it wasn't entirely a bad episode as it does demonstrate the importance of teamwork, patience and self-discipline, and shows the rangers in full fighting mode. But this really should've been saved for a later airing. Having watched RPM and the epic start it had, I was expecting something big, some huge event or crisis that would have lead to the rangers, despite being from different backgrounds, into uniting together to defend the greater good. Instead what we got was a character episode.
The sad thing is, I felt like I barely got to know the Rangers at all. Jayden seems like the stereotypical leader. Perfect, precise and disciplined in every way. Kevin was stiff and humorless. Both the girls were just straight up goofy cheerleaders. And Mentor-Ji seemed like your typical sensei. It didn't help that the actors didn't particularly do a good job acting either. Totally not what I had hoped for. And although it was interesting to see Mike's inner turmoil about being separated from his loved ones, I think the episode would have had more impact if we got to know Mike's background first and saw the events that lead to him becoming a Samurai Ranger, thus giving us an understanding of why he's having a harder time adjusting then the others.
The only thing blander then the Rangers was the villains. All of them look like rejects from previous PR battles and had no real distinct personalities other then 'I'm a monster and I'm evil! Rawr!' I also didn't understand why they were on a submarine in some swamp. Seemed almost like a cut scene from Turbo with Devitox. I'm also stunned by how bad the dubbing and animatronics were. Whenever one of the villains talked, their mouths either didn't move or didn't match what they were saying. It was like watching a bad Japanese dub. I also didn't understand why the monsters would automatically become big after being defeated in battle. True that has always happened in PR, but at least you saw the lead villains using magic or technology to make them grow. In this, they just grow because.
The best thing by far was Bulk, for obvious reasons. He acts like he never left the show and is still the same bumbling goofy tough guy we all know and love which is great. His nephew Spike on the other hand, I foresee becoming very annoying. And not in a lovably annoying Skull-esq kind of way, though one can't help but wonder if they might actually be father and son. Resemblance is kinda uncanny don't ya think? While seeing Bulk was great and all, I didn't like how they only used him in one scene that had nothing to do with the plot. Seemed more like fan service then anything and was a waste of Bulks character.
Now for the action part, which was actually pretty decent. I thought the fighting was well done, though not as quick as previous fight choreography from past seasons, the weapons were awesome looking and appropriate for the theme, and the transformation scenes were pretty cool to watch. Three things I didn't like however. The fact that they use cell phones to transform rather then something samurai related like daggers, talismans or paint brushes really made it seem out of place. The banter between the rangers and monster while fighting was corny and annoying and seemed to interfere with the fights at times. And finally, the zords were too bulky and toy like. In fact, they reminded me a lot of the toys I used to get in my McDonald's happy meal, that's how blatantly toy like they looked. Defiantly not the best megazord I've seen but nonetheless effective plus it had a bad ass sword.
So with all this in mind, will I be tuning in next week for the next episode?...begrudgingly, yes. One because I'm a geek, and two because I'm curious to see where they plan on going with this season. Despite my obvious resentment to the presentation of the season premiere, I do think it has some potential which I hope the writers and creators elaborate on and build up so that Samurai can full fill fans expectations. With that in mind, I look forward to next weeks episode with cautious optimism. Should that be shattered, I assure you all that you will hear from me about it. :) Till then, may the power protect you all.
~Efram
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