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Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always, the reunion of the fabled Power Rangers, is currently streaming on Netflix since its release on April 19, 2023. The reunion sounds exciting to the 90s kids, who grew up watching the various spinoffs and iterations of the show on their television screens. However, it is quite a bland attempt with very less substance and not enough pull to survive with nostalgia alone.
Of course, when the title is Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always, it is bound to survive on the Power Rangers nostalgia. However, while attempting something like this, a special has to go either completely silly or remain completely logical, something that this one missed out on. The mid-ground is not only unappealing but is also very underwhelming in parts.
Of course, there are places where Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always thrives and reaches its potential. However, these moments are rather too limited. It lacks the cutting edge of actual adult shows and messes up the silliness of shows targeted at teens and children, leaving almost no viewers suitable for this Netflix attempt.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always review - The sour middle ground
One thing that the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always will take away is its daring attempt. It's not easy to get back to something this impactful without the risk of making it stale. Sadly, though, this is what happened with the special, it ran out of juice before it could express enough and be impactful at the same time.
The premise follows Billy Cranston/Blue Ranger (David Yost) and Zack Taylor/Black Ranger (Walter Jones). They reunite with other popular rangers from the original series to fight off the new evil, who managed to kill the Yellow Ranger. By inducing themes like these, which are more adult-oriented, the new special tries to make its way to older audiences.
However, it is not impactful enough to be serious. Neither does it completely explain all the rangers and their backstories in the present day, making the series quite hollow.
That being said, not everything is bad about this new entry. Its fun parts, which should have been a lot more in number, are some of the most nostalgic moments in the special. These parts should have proved that the less seriously Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always took itself, the more fun it became in every aspect.
There are some improved battle sequences as well, going around with everything that made the original show so popular. This was another great addition that worked in the favor of the Rangers.
However, as the special nears its end, its hollowness increases drastically, with the ending feeling like it hasn't achieved much during the duration. The aftertaste of the series is not very pleasant either, leaving fans in an odd middle ground with not much to take away.
Besides that, the special was well-shot and edited, often having an air of tension that was missing from the original series. All in all, this is a great watch for anyone trying to indulge in some nostalgia from the past. Other than that, this is not worth a proper watch.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always is currently streaming on Netflix.
