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Mighty Young Cast Powers Up Power Rangers Reboot

For the second week in a row, audiences are being asked to tap into their affection for the 90s, first with "Beauty and the Beast," and now Dean Israelite's "Power Rangers." Should you be a superfan from back when, this is a movie that will work for you; it certainly did for the wildly applauding individuals in my screening.

I was not a "Power Rangers" kid at any point in my childhood (I spent most of my time after school watching "Arthur"), but I was aware of the multi-colored troupe. So, while I'm not too privy on the lore behind the characters and their conquests, "Power Rangers" wasn't completely lost on me. Largely problematic in its structuring and pacing, this cinematic outing for the "Power Rangers" isn't without glimmers of enjoyable moments.

Our main protagonist is Jason Scott (Dacre Montgomery), a promising high school athlete. Scott'S future is jeopardized by a prank gone awry which lands him in Saturday detention for the remainder of the school year. He befriends several other of his ne'er-do-well classmates, who are in detention for various reasons.

First, Jason befriends Billy Cranston (RJ Cyler of "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl," who is excellent here), then Kimberly (Naomi Scott), Trini (Becky G) and Zack (Ludi Lin). The five begin to spend a lot of time together, bonding over struggles of being a teenager. They encounter different colored stones, which happen to bring them a great deal of strength and power and a new identity.

Their new identities bring them on a slew of adventures, which are shepherded by Zordon (Bryan Cranston), who passes his past experiences to the new Power Rangers. He guides them through exploiting and controlling their newfound abilities and look: Jason is now the Red Ranger, Billy is the Blue Ranger, Kimberly is the Pink Ranger, Trini is the Yellow Ranger and Zack is the Black Ranger. They must team together to save their town from Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks, having a blast in a high-camp performance), who is desperate to get her hands on a powerful crystal.

At its core, "Power Rangers" is your run-of-the-mill origin story and it spends a lot of time introducing us to everyone. The film clocks in at a little over two hours and more than half that time feels like a meet-and-greet with the newest Rangers. Followed by the typical save the world action set pieces, which are crisp and exciting, "Power Rangers" is familiar - but fun - territory from start to finish.

What makes all the narrative hiccups and languid first two acts mildly enjoyable is the young cast, who have great charisma individually and excellent cameraderie as a group. They are all from a different social standing in the high school pecking order but they make us believe they are friends and truly care about one another. We grow to like these kids and they are the main reason "Power Rangers" works.

Then there's Elizabeth Banks, one of the great underrated actresses and comedic performers of our time. She constantly oozes charm and likability and revels in the opportunity to play the villain. Under layers of eye makeup and silly costuming, we can see her enjoying every second of playing Rita, which only make her scenes more fun to watch.

Silly and familiar, "Power Rangers" sometimes fails to connect the dots into cogent film narrative but the moments of energy and enthusiasm exuded by the cast make up for it. If you see it with the Power Rangers nostalgia crowd - or are part of that crowd, expect a lot of clapping.