DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5 stars) STARRING Brandon Jay McClaren as JACK Chris Violette as SKY Matt Austin as BRIDGE Monica May as Z Alycia Purrot as SYDNEY Rene Naufahu as EMPEROR GRUUM John Tui as DOGGIE CRUGER Michelle Langstone as KAT Kelson Henderson as BOOM Rated Y7 Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment Directed by: Greg Aronowitz and Andrew Merrifield Back to DVD Review Home |
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This is just the first volume in what is most likely to be five discs of “Power Rangers S.P.D.” This contains the episodes that sets up this new series and the new incarnation of the Power Rangers.
This new group of power rangers has five members. Three are S.P.D. academy students, while the other two are Robin Hood-style thieves in the inner city. After several altercations with the S.P.D. cadets, they are invited to be Power Rangers to use their skills for good.
With five rangers instead of three, there’s more chances for them to play off each other. Both Jack (Brandon Jay McClaren) and Sky (Chris Violette) are at odds because they both want to be the leader. Each has his strengths, but there will always be tensions over the fact that Jack is the Red Ranger while Sky was just chosen for the blue tights. Sydney (Alycia Purrot) is the pretty girl, which is fortunate since she was chosen as the Pink Ranger. Z (Monica May) is Jack’s former partner in crime who serves as a voice of reason while Bridge (Matt Austin) is the idiot savant of the group who provides most of the comic relief.
There is also a new nemesis for the Power Rangers, this time in form of Emperor Gruum (Rene Naufahu), who plans on taking over Earth, which has now become a crossroads for aliens of the galaxy. The new leader is Doggie Cruger (John Tui), which is a man in a ridiculous rubber dog mask that makes him look like a big blue Marmaduke.
Because this is a futuristic version of the Power Rangers, there is a stronger, more overt science fiction feel to it. Instead of the modern-day paleontologists backdrop of Dino Thunder or the basic high school backdrop of the original series, S.P.D. puts the characters in the future. To a certain degree, this is nostalgic for me. It takes me back to the cheesy Saturday morning live-action shows from the 1970s (like “Land of the Lost”) that threw us into a different time.
There’s a lot more gadgetry that can be used in this futuristic setting. It also allows the show to take the kids out of high school and just put them into a police academy setting. And that’s not a bad thing, considering the whole high school backdrop has gotten really old over the years.
The DVD has a short featurette that serves as a Power Ranger recruiting video. The other bonus feature can be more fun and a bit of a challenge. This is a “Delta Squad Runner Virtual Simulator.” With your DVD remote, you travel through a maze to test your skills as a Power Ranger.
I hadn’t watched much Power Rangers since they first came on the scene. I was in college at the time, and they were fun to watch. We almost enjoyed them as much as the little kids did. The big difference, of course, was that as an adult male, my favorite was Amy Jo Johnson as the Pink Ranger. The little kids at the time like the boy rangers better.
Now, my two sons are huge fans of the Power Rangers. My four-year-old has been a fan since the dinosaurs came on the scene. Kids just love them dinos. Now, my two-year-old has gotten into the show. Sometimes its more fun to watch the kids jump around kicking and screaming “Hi-ya!” If your kids can keep fantasy and reality separate, it’s a great show.
I tended to like the characters and the breadth of plot available in this Power Rangers group more than I did the last one. Sure, there’s still the basic freak-out martial arts and big rubber monsters in this series, but there seems to be more possibilities with this one. Hopefully it doesn’t just deteriorate into a “let’s beat up the White Ranger” plots that crippled the last season.
Specifications: Dolby Digital Surround Sound. Fullscreen (1.33:1). English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.
