Power/Rangers

This article is about the 2015 fan film. For the franchise, see Power Rangers. For the 2017 film, see Power Rangers (film).

Power/Rangers is a short fan film based on the Power Rangers franchise, first released to the Internet on February 24, 2015. Director Joseph Kahn stated his intention was to parody the tendency of fan films to do dark reimaginings of innocent franchises in a tongue-in-cheek manner, and make a "dark and gritty version" of "a really incredible, incredibly silly property" played completely straight.

Plot

The Machine Empire defeats the Power Rangers in battle, destroying the Megazord. It is revealed that Earth's governments then negotiate a truce with the Machine Empire and the Power Rangers are disbanded.

Years later, Rocky, the second former Red Ranger, has defected to the Machine Empire, critical of Zordon's use of Power Rangers as child soldiers. He interrogates a restrained Kimberly, the former Pink Ranger, about the location of Tommy Oliver, the former Green Ranger. He details the tragic lives of several of the rangers: Jason, Rocky's predecessor as Red Ranger, was gunned down eight hours after marrying Kimberly, when Bulk and Skull betrayed their location to a police force; Zack, the former Black Ranger, was an insatiable action junkie who became a Machine Empire enforcer and was assassinated while training after a threesome with Divatox and Scorpina; Billy Cranston, the former Blue Ranger, became an openly gay trillionaire weapons manufacturer who seemingly committed suicide.

Kimberly rejects Rocky's claim that Tommy is the one hunting down former Rangers. She tells Rocky that she hasn't seen him since the funeral of Trini, the former Yellow Ranger, who died at the beginning of the treaty negotiations. Rocky acknowledges that he already knew that; she is really being held as bait. Tommy arrives and kills the guards, entering a single combat against Rocky in a swords duel. When Rocky gains the upper hand, Kimberly suddenly shoots him dead. Tommy demands to know who she is, as the real Kimberly died in his arms during the final battle years earlier. It is revealed that she was the one who killed the former Rangers (as well as Bulk and Skull), revealing that she is really a disguised Rita Repulsa, who wants to rule the world with her creation Tommy. He attacks her and the result is unrevealed.

Cast

Power Rangers

• James Van Der Beek as Rocky, the former Red Ranger
• Katee Sackhoff as Kimberly, the former Pink Ranger
• Russ Bain as Tommy, the former Green Ranger
• Gichi Gamba as Zack, the former Black Ranger
• Yves Bright as Billy, the former Blue Ranger
• Stevin Knight as Jason, the first and former Red Ranger
• Camilla Lim as Trini, the former Yellow Ranger

Additional

• Will Yun Lee as General Klank
• Tony Gomez as Bulk
• Matt Obja as Skull
• Bree Olson as Divatox
• Amia Miley as Scorpina
• Carla Perez as Rita
• Steffane Melanga as Cestria

Perez is the only returning cast member from the Power Rangers franchise.

Release

The film was released on February 24, 2015. Two versions of the film were released; the version hosted on Vimeo included brief nudity not present in the YouTube version.

Critical reception

The film was critically acclaimed by viewers and critics alike. Members of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers also praised it, such as Austin St. John, Amy Jo Johnson and Steve Cardenas. However, Jason David Frank, the original Green Ranger, did not like the short film, thinking it was too violent and the fact the Power Rangers franchise is still being produced for children. However, he appreciated it on an "inner geek level".

The film did receive heavy criticism for its tone, misinterpretation of established characters, and how it violates the spirit of the franchise.

Removal by Saban and restoration

On February 24, 2015, Vimeo chose Power/Rangers as a "Staff Pick". However, a few hours later Vimeo removed the film from its site entirely. On February 25, Vimeo released a statement that the film was removed due to a copyright claim from Saban, the original copyright holders of the Power Rangers franchise. On February 26, Saban had the film removed from YouTube, once again citing copyright claim. On February 27, Power/Rangers was restored to both Vimeo (NSFW version) and YouTube (SFW version).

External links

• Power/Rangers on Facebook
• Power/Rangers at IMDb
• Power/Rangers on YouTube
• Power/Rangers on Vimeo