These are not the Power Rangers of my childhood, but I really hope they’re the ones of my future.
Even the best Saturday morning shows from the ’90s don’t hold up because we’re used to a certain level of quality now, and we’re not 8 years old anymore. But they can be adapted for the modern era.
Remember when X-Men used to wear bright yellow and blue spandex while fighting giant two-tone purple robots? Look at them now.
X Men Days of Future Past
Following a Mighty Morphin Power Rangers movie reboot announcement by Lions Gate Entertainment last May, producer Adi Shankar and director Joseph Kahn released their own amazing 14-minute short, Power/Rangers, based in a dystopian Power Ranger future on Tuesday.
Shankar has made it clear this short film has nothing to do with the official reboot and is purely another passion project for him. He has also made shorts involving characters like the Punisher and Judge Dredd.
Shankar’s and Kahn’s film, starring James Van Der Beek (Dawson’s Creek) and sci-fi favorite Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica), feels like what the latest X-Men movie would’ve been if Wolverine didn’t go back in time. Van Der Beek works for a machine empire aiming to wipe out all of the Power Rangers, much like the sentinels going after X-Men in Days of Future Past.
The rangers are now disbanded, and most ended up exactly how you thought they would when you were younger. The Pink Ranger married the Red Ranger and had a fling with the Green Ranger, the Blue Ranger seemed to have built up his own tech company and they’re all trying to find ways to cope with post-teenage alien fighting the best they can.
Shankar uses violence in his films like the Rangers use their Megazord: skillfully and often. Kahn is the guy you call when you want your music video to really stand out. Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” is his most recent hit. Combine that creative direction with a few seasoned actors, a captivating plot and fight scenes better than anything this side of the Avengers movies (shout out to you, Black Ranger) and you get one kick-ass short film.
Lions Gate has the budget and the resources, but Shankar and Kahn proved money doesn’t buy quality. If I’m a Lions Gate executive I’m calling both of them up right now and offering whatever position they’d like on my Power Rangers project.
The bar has officially been set, and another Ivan Ooze just isn’t gonna cut it.
