Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (1997)

[warrensm]

I grew up watching the Power Rangers. I remember watching the original Mighty Morphin' episodes on TV, I collected some of the video tapes, I collected some of the action figures, and I even had a Power Rangers themed birthday party back in the day. It was one of the most fun TV shows I watched as a kid. I don’t usually have time to watch the new episodes, considering I’m 27, but I do keep up with the franchise and the fanbase every now and then. Plus, I do occasionally binge-watch the older episodes with a more active approach in critical analysis.

With the new Power Rangers reboot film out now, I definitely have plans to see it. Even though not all the reviews are positive, most of them do say that it’s going to be great for Power Rangers fans. Before I go catch the new movie, though, I want to talk about the franchise’s last attempt at making the jump to the big screen, which happened 20 years ago on this day. My long history of watching the show is bringing me here today as I do the toughest thing I can do as a movie fan and an aspiring filmmaker: a review in defense of Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie. Only the second feature film in the Power Rangers franchise, it was set up to launch the show’s fifth season, Power Rangers Turbo. If you’re a Power Rangers fan, I suggest that you watch this movie before you start watching the Turbo season. Even with that, you should definitely watch this movie if you are a Power Rangers fan, because it has all the elements you usually see on the Power Rangers with all the input from everyone behind the Power Rangers. Sure, at the time, not everyone was on board with Power Rangers Turbo, especially this movie. Even if it’s not the best Power Rangers movie you’ll see, it is the most Power Rangers-esque Power Rangers movie you’ll see.

First, we're going to talk about the subject they've always struggled with: the production and effects. Some of the costuming and make-up hasn’t aged well over the past 18 years. Some of the costuming and make-up hasn’t aged well over the past 18 years. The design of the Liarian species, especially Lerigot’s child, isn’t the most pleasant sight you’ll ever see. It’s kind of like copying E.T., and all you had to work with was your 10-year old child’s Furby costume from Halloween. Much of the criticism for costumes falls on the villains. Divatox may have been a little too decorated in armor, her alien nephew Elgar looks too much like a cartoon monster, even though it goes with his goofy personality, her second-in-command Rygog has a huge armor design that can be problematic, the Piranhatrons are laughable at best, and the Putra Pods are slimy alien nightmares. Sure, they’re the bad guys, so they are supposed to look hideous. The only thing is that they look a little too silly.

There is one thing the costume team got right: the Turbo Rangers and the theme of driving. The suits come in vibrant colors, and they capture the theme of driving theme very well. And the helmets look very polished and futuristic. The costume team probably had Y2K on their minds, because these helmets could definitely get a pass in 2017. The Zords are very cool car models, each representing a different model. Also, the Turbo Megazord doesn’t look half-bad either. The design team really did justice to the new Turbo team to fit them to the theme. Even with the villains, they did their best to make them look like villains.

As for the editing and special effects, it’s always been the biggest problem the Power Rangers have had. As popular as the show is, they never had a large budget that allows them to afford top-notch effects. They tend to rely on stock footage from the Japanese show Super Sentai for Ranger sequences, they have a lot of ADR recordings by cast and voice actors, and the special effects are created on cheap editing software. Now, this is an actual movie they’re doing here, and the budget’s a bigger size. So how does the editing and special effects turn out in Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie? Well, they have their strengths and weaknesses. The special effects look a lot better than on the show. The editing, on the other hand, is the movie’s biggest weakness. Now, it does have good fast-paced cuts, but there are a lot of continuity errors that were left in, and there are a few gaps in the story that left out some needed plot moments. We have no idea where the Turbo powers came from or how they were created, and we never see the Zeo powers get destroyed. Why don’t we see both those moments happen?

In the case of Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, there is an explanation. The original script had the Zeo powers destroyed in a fight against the Piranhatrons, and David Yost was going to appear in the movie as Billy, the original Blue Mighty Morphin’ Ranger, and help create the new Turbo powers. David Yost, however, left midway through both the movie and preceding season, Power Rangers Zeo, after a disagreement with the producers, and the plotline was omitted. My only assumption is that Yost’s departure didn’t leave them with any time to come up with a new plotline.

Yet, the main advantage that the Power Rangers always had was the storytelling. Their storylines and character arcs are strong enough to make you forget about the laughable effects and editing, and even the dialogue. The Power Rangers episodes have always been about the journey from point A to point B, and this movie didn’t disappoint my expectations. Lerigot, a wizard from the planet Liaria, escapes a gang of space pirates led by the main villain Divatox (Hilary Shepard Turner). Lerigot is the holder of the key to the Island of Muranthias. Because of this, Divatox wants to get a hold of him and the key so she can marry a fiery creature named Maligore. Lerigot, however, leaves Liaria for Earth, seeking safety with allies Zordon and Alpha V. Zordon enlists the Zeo Rangers, which consists of Tommy (Jason David Frank), Rocky (Steve Cardenas), Kat (Catherine Sutherland), Adam (Johnny Yong Bosch), and Tanya (Nakia Burrise), to protect Lerigot, but after Rocky, the Blue Zeo Ranger, injures himself and it is realized that the Zeo powers aren’t great enough to defend themselves, he is bribed into Divatox’s possession. The remaining Rangers take action and upgrade to Turbo powers. They then embark on a pirate ship across the ocean to Muranthias and stop Maligore.

What I love about the story is that it’s a pretty good start to the fifth season. It has exciting action sequences and an engaging narrative that kept me glued to my seat. Admittedly, the dialogue is hit-and-miss. While there are clever choices of words at times, you also have a lot of lines that are corny and try too hard to be comedic. Though, if you watch the Power Rangers often, then you’re used to hearing that all the time. And some of the dialogue can register as “so bad, it’s good”. The point of the story was to launch the new Turbo team, and there’s a lot of cheesy, over-the-top entertainment to go around.

Believe it or not, there is an overall theme within the story: family. The movie has an underlying message on the importance of family support. Divatox abducts Lerigot’s family from Liaria, and the news devastates him tremendously. The Rangers talk about how they themselves serve as family to each other. Also, one of the subplots involves the Rangers competing in a martial arts tournament for charity, and they want to use the prize money for a children’s shelter in danger of shutting down. One of the kids from the shelter even shares his backstory to the Rangers about his mom’s passing and his father moving away on his own to get his life back on track (yes, there’s a kid joining the Power Rangers in this movie). The fact that I was able to pick up on this 20 years later shows that they haven’t lost their storytelling magic, and that they’re even capable of subtlety.

Now, we’re coming to the part where we talk about the acting performances. At the time of the movie’s premiere, the Power Rangers were heading into their fifth season, so the actors know what they’re doing. Even when they’re working with the corniest dialogue and plotlines, they can turn that into a good performance. Hilary Shepard Turner probably has the most fun with her character, Divatox. She really commits to her role as the villain and makes everything about Divatox convincing. Derek Stephen Prince, the voice actor for Elgar, does a great job as well. I also have to compliment Jason David Frank in his role as Tommy. Having been with the show since Mighty Morphin’ at the time of Turbo, he not only knows how to sell these corny lines, he has it down to an art. He does very well in his heroic leader position. Even though he’s near the end of his tenure as a Ranger and he’s ready to move on to new things, Jason never delivers a half-baked performance. He continues to remain dedicated to the Power Rangers franchise in this movie, showing no sign of fatigue.

I devoted a special paragraph to discuss the new Ranger introduced in this movie. Blake Foster was only 11 years old when he was cast to play the Blue Turbo Ranger, Justin. Producers originally came up with the idea to add a Ranger younger than 13 to appeal to its younger viewers. I was 7 myself when I first saw Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, and in my opinion, it worked. I actually saw a lot of myself in him back then. Both of us were young, naive, smart, and overexcited at times. He knew he was a small person and younger than his new teammates, who had been doing this for years, but he flew under their wings and studied from them. He never stands in the way and supports them in any necessary situation. The only thing that I can nitpick on is that the move to add a kid into the team came a little too early, as the Power Rangers were still in their heyday. Had it been done 10 or so years later when the fans were more open to that idea, it might have stood a chance. But Justin was very disciplined and cooperative, and as a one-off shoot, it was done well.

Of course, when you talk about acting in this movie, you can't avoid the appearances of veteran Rangers Kimberly (Amy Jo Johnson) and Jason (Austin St. John), who are captured by Divatox as sacrifices for Maligore. Not only are they great talents to get the fans excited, but they also add another layer of conflict. After they are briefly converted to evil, the Rangers have to fight them off. The anger that Kimberly and Jason feel under the forces of evil open up some long withstanding resentment that has built up for years, and on the Rangers' side, they try to avoid real physical contact except for in defense because they still feel as if some small shred of good lies inside of them. It's an interesting situation to witness and both the actors tap into their good and evil sides very well.

Every movie buff has that one movie that never really found much of an audience but really loves no matter what the consensus is. This is my movie that fits the position for me. I always tend to be kinder to this movie because it plays out like a longer Power Rangers episode, which I felt like they should be doing with a Power Rangers movie at that time. It continues the story arc of the Power Rangers we've already been watching on TV and has the authentic vision from the minds behind the franchise. Every time I watch Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, I always enjoy those moments that outweigh all the mistakes because it's not a standalone film, and it doesn't need to be. The Power Rangers franchise has continued to be a staple on TV 24 years later because as long as it has strong action and a stronger story, you don't have to care about the cheap, cheesy production value. I understand that this movie isn't going to be for everyone, but for hardcore fans of the franchise, it's solid, essential entertainment.