Relive your childhood and travel back to the beginning of the long-running Power Rangers franchise with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always. Bringing back most - or rather some - of the original cast, this 30th anniversary special is a pure jab of nostalgia that embraces the cheesy low-budget vibe of the Power Rangers of old.
In this reunion, the Rangers, now well into adulthood, must once again be the heroes the world needs when Rita Repulsa returns with a new scheme for a global takeover. It's a short, sweet and simple story that weaves in plenty of tongue-in-cheek links to the original series, playing out like an elongated and isolated episode. The absence of Jason, Tommy, Trini and Kimberly is certainly felt, but the story does a solid job of explaining why they wouldn't appear, or at least why they don't play a large role. Hingeing the story around the character of Trini, considering Thuy Trang has passed away, is a great move that honours the actor and adds a poignant touch. In embracing the vibe of the original series, it's constantly keeping things moving - hitting all the beats you expect from a Power Rangers reunion and holding no real surprises. Typically a narrative as basic as this one would be disappointing, but this is Power Rangers - a franchise that thrives on being cheesy, and it's awesome. This is made strictly for the fans, and the story does nothing more than bring together all the nostalgic elements people want to see.
The action is one area where this new special potentially does it better than the original series. Granted, it's been a long while since I watched any of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, but the action seemed to use less cuts, opting instead for takes that were slightly longer and gave the action room to breathe. It's all still very silly and campy, but the use of longer stretches of action made it all the more entertaining. Even something simple like the CGI effects while the Rangers are morphing or teleporting look crisper, and that's pretty neat to see. The only area where the CGI is to the film's detriment is with the Megazord fight - it's less cheesy-bad and more bad bad. Despite the average CGI effects, it's still a decent combat sequence, but it would've been more nostalgic had they gone the man-in-suit route.
Speaking of silly, the use of cheesy dialogue is still a highlight of Power Rangers that never gets old. Specifically, Rita Repula (now Robo Rita) is given plenty of great lines that are so bad they're good. The insults she throws the Rangers' way are ridiculously ruthless, perfectly embodying the essence of the character as she used to be. Her minions have some comedic one-liners, and even the Putties get a little dialogue-less moment of their own in there. It's cool to see the return of David Yost (Billy), Walter Jones (Zack), Steve Cardenas (Rocky) and Catherine Sunderland (Kat) but it's the irreplaceable voices of Barbara Goodson (Rita) and Richard Steven Horvitz (Alpha 9) that bring back that OG feel. For any fans of the original series, seeing this group back together is a gift in and of itself.
In the end, there's not too much to say about MMPR: Once & Always - it's not a perfect reunion special, but it's a very fun trip down memory lane that hits nearly every nostalgia beat you could want. There's nothing like the classic theme music to really get the blood pumping - any time the iconic MMPR theme kicked in, it bought out the kid in me and elevated the respective scene. It's great to see all the returning faces and voices, all packed into a simple story that does well to honour the legacy of the seasons that kicked off the franchise. It should be noted that this is a nostalgia bomb made strictly for fans familiar with the original Rangers - there's not much substance for new fans to enjoy.
7/10
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