New 'Power Rangers' Suits Revealed, They've Got A Power And Force You've Never Seen Before, Etc.

I'm approaching director Dean Israelite's upcoming big screen Power Rangers movie from the perspective of someone who is the right age to have watched the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers series in its earliest incarnation but bears no actual, lasting love for the series. I recognize the iconography and know more about it than I wish I did (kids are such sponges, huh?), but I can't say I'm particularly excited about a new version. I have no emotional stake in this one.

So when I shrug and say "The new Power Rangers suits have been revealed and they look totally fine and perfectly adequate and more than get the job done," you can judge me based on my particular perspective.

The new suits were revealed over at Entertainment Weekly and they look accurate enough to the original television versions to please fans but also different enough from the original television versions to get fans all riled up and angry. They are certainly more complicated than the spandex outfits of yesteryear, but they are also recognizably Power Rangers. That's more than you can say for the big screen Transformers.

We've already seen this crew out of uniform, so feel free to match up that photo with this new one as we run down the cast. Going from left to right, that's Becky G as Trini the Yellow Ranger, Ludi Lin as Zack the Black Ranger, Dacre Montgomery as Jason the Red Ranger, Naomi Scott as Kimberly the Pink Ranger, and RJ Cyler as Billy the Blue Ranger. At the very least, we can all agree that they look better than Elizabeth Banks' cosplaying-as-1997-Poison-Ivy Rita Repulsa, right?

EW also revealed that the new suits are "translucent extraterrestrial armor that crystallizes around their bodies" and have this quote from production designer Andrew Menzies, who admits that trying to please everyone is a thankless task:

It's tricky finding a new language for a superhero costume. Ours is an alien costume that grows on them, that's not man-made. You can't win everyone over, but we are trying to appeal to a more mature audience and gain new fans.

Here's the official synopsis, which (for better or worse) could be overlaid on top of original show's premise with no trouble whatsoever:

Saban's Power Rangers follows five ordinary high school kids who must become something extraordinary when they learn that their small town of Angel Grove – and the world – is on the verge of being obliterated by an alien threat. Chosen by destiny, our heroes quickly discover that they are the only ones who can save the planet. But to do so they will have to overcome their real-life issues and band together as the Power Rangers before it is too late.

Power Rangers will morph into theaters on March 24, 2017.