Many old franchises that were primarily watched by children turned into big movies sooner or later. Examples would be the Ninja Turtles or the Transformers. A franchise based on a Japanese series was supposed to start a film series in 2017, but that never happened. It didn’t stick to the source material and flopped.
Which film is it about? In 2017, Power Rangers was released. It was a science fiction film based on the popular TV series. The TV series is inspired by the Super Sentai series from Japan. A team of mostly young people can transform into costumed superheroes in these series with the help of powerful items.
They have all sorts of gear, weapons, and very importantly: giant robots that can combine into an even larger robot.
Directed by the relatively unknown Dean Israelite, the feature film was released. But despite having Bryan Cranston, who was well-known from Breaking Bad, and a solid budget, the film was a flop. The big franchise never happened. The same happened to The Mummy with Tom Cruise.
You can watch a trailer for the film here:
A well-known name is not enough for success
How did Power Rangers fare? According to Box Office Mojo, the budget is estimated at 100 million US dollars, and with marketing costs, it could be even higher. The film grossed nearly 142 million US dollars worldwide. While it recouped the production costs, a studio expects significantly more from a 100-million-dollar film.
The critics were not thrilled with the sci-fi film either. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a critic score of 51% based on 179 reviews. Audiences rated it slightly better. With over 25,000 reviews, it sits at 65%.
What did the film do wrong? It’s impossible to say 100% for certain, but some factors sound plausible. The series source material is quite silly, colorful, and full of exaggerated martial arts fights and creature designs. The film aims to be something more serious. It is dark, spends a lot of time with the teens, and also tries to portray the costumes and abilities realistically
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The beloved elements of the series were simply too few and far between. This is well described by the user watermelonmangoberry in a reddit thread:
They removed all the recognizable elements of the franchise, such as martial arts, dinosaurs, and that they only spend 10 minutes of the entire film in costumes. It’s like making a Ninja Turtles movie where the turtles only appear in the final scene and use no karate.
This approach can work but can also make a film feel generic. In the same year, Transformers: The Last Knight was released, which took a similar approach. This one, however, was a huge success.
Another aspect might be that it simply isn’t as big a franchise as Transformers or the Ninja Turtles. While the Sentai series are enormous in Japan, in our view, the genre is rather seen as children’s entertainment.
Some fans still love the film: Many viewers did not think the film was bad and even love it. At least when looking at the user reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. There, some users hold a rather positive opinion of the film:
- Tom G:
I absolutely loved this movie. I thought it was a great adaptation of the original and stayed true to it while bringing it into modern cinema.
- Brayden B:
It was a great movie, and it really felt like a superhero movie if it had been like The Goonies or The Breakfast Club.
- Champ J:
Not the best movie of all time, but I enjoyed it. Such a great cast and a great origin story for something that could have become a big franchise.
Many films also develop a community years after their release and become cult classics. The same happened with another sci-fi film based on an anime. Speed Racer from the creators of Matrix flopped as well: An anime adaptation from the makers of Matrix cost 120 million dollars – The film flopped but became a cult classic
