Up until 2017, there had only been two Power Rangers movies, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, so when a new film was announced, with Haim Saban as a producer, fans were eager and curious to see the direction of the rebooted movie franchise.
Though the 2017 Power Rangers film received mixed reviews, the big talk of the movie was the newly designed alien costumes. The 2017 suits featured some classic homages to both the 1993 series and the 1995 Mighty Morphin film while implementing enhanced features that some fans might not have noticed the first time around.
10 The new suits glued themselves to the Rangers' bodies
In the first, and only, Morphing sequence in the 2017 film, the five Rangers stood on glowing platforms while their new suits glued themselves to their bodies. Keeping to the alien theme of the movie, since Zordon and Alpha are both aliens, these suits were not costumes; instead, they functioned like a Venom symbiote on the Rangers, looking more like an alien gel armor.
As a result, the suits lost most of their brightness and color, but were better equipped to protect the Rangers for their upcoming fight with Rita and her Putty Patrollers.
9 The suits had blue veins
Especially in the fight scenes, fans and audiences might have noticed the tiny veins that ran throughout the suits. The look is reminiscent of a Tron suit, lighting up joints and crevices with a glowing blue neon light, possibly signifying a sort of power or lifeline coming from Zordon. Every Ranger, regardless of their color, had these distinct lights.
The veins were a significant difference from the original series' suits but were subtle enough that most fans did not notice them the first time around. The veins were a nice aesthetic flair but didn't really add anything else functionally.
8 The suits had spines
A rather unique addition that fans might not have noticed was that the 2017 costumes had spines, big blue diamonds attached to their backs. The original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers had powers derived from various dinosaurs so this seems to be a visual homage to that, making the suits look more like dinosaurs.
Since the Rangers never had a Morphing sequence like they did in the show, adding the spine to their costumes was a way to help remind viewers and fans that this new movie was still loosely based on the original show, without necessarily having to resort to the cutaway Morph sequence.
7 Their weapons were extensions of their costumes
Something that did not make sense in the 1993 series was their weapons. When the Rangers needed their weapons, they would line up, say a cheesy quip, and then their weapons would magically arrive like a genie out of a bottle. There was a flash of light and then their weapons would appear.
This film tries to resolve the weapon fiasco by introducing the idea that their weapons are actually extensions of their organic and extraterrestrial suits. For instance, Jason's Power Sword materialized from his suit, rather than magically appearing, during his fight with the Putty Patrollers.
6 Suits attached directly to their Zords
In all of the various incarnations of the Power Rangers, their Megazords were always giant mechs that the Rangers would pilot. The Rangers would jump into the Zords and control them from the cockpit, like Voltron. Although some of the Zords were sentient, having special connections to the pilot Ranger, none physically attached itself to the Rangers.
In this movie, the suits seem to be telepathically connected to the Zords. The connector would strap the Rangers into their seats and function almost like a seatbelt for them.
5 Their helmets could open up
Their helmets could open up, revealing their face without them having to take the entire thing off. Though a nice feature, more dedicated fans might have noticed that this was not a feature of the original Mighty Morphin helmets.
It was only until later seasons, Lightspeed Rescue and beyond, that the Rangers would be able to sport the open visor look. The change was practical and fit thematically with the tone and background of the movie, but was a bit of an inaccuracy.
4 Their Morpher Belts look like the original belts from the 1993 show
The 2017 costumes featured the same type of Morpher Belts found in the original costumes, despite the Rangers not having any real Morphers in this film. The buckle itself is the same shape as the original Mighty Morphin Morphers and it seems as though they do have a type of Power Coin in the center of the belt.
Out of the suits' many features, the Morpher Belts rank near the top and is one of the few elements that translated well from the original show.
3 Helmets were in the shape of dinosaurs, like the original:
Although not as exquisitely executed as in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers show, the 2017 helmets were in the shape of the Ranger's specific dinosaurs. Jason's helmet was in the shape of a T-Rex, Billy's Triceratops helmet had a rounder visor with small horns near the top, and Kimberly's visor had small wings that were reminiscent of Pterodactyl wings.
The helmets were a nice aesthetic call back to the 1993 costumes and were one of the first things that fans might have noticed about the new 2017 look.
2 The Green Ranger Costume in the 2017 film didn't have the iconic Dragon Shield
Tommy Oliver doesn't make an on-screen appearance in the 2017 film, but his Green Ranger costume does. In the opening sequences of the movie, it is revealed that Rita was the original Green Ranger, sporting the full Green Ranger attire with her signature staff, but the costume was missing a vital piece to it, the Dragon Shield. The chest piece has elements of the Dragon Shield but no Dragon Shield can be seen in the opening shots.
Her costume is almost a carbon copy of the other Rangers' costumes, and is therefore a huge disappointment to many fans since the Green Ranger costume is possibly the most recognizable look in the entire Power Rangers franchise.
1 The glowing chest is an homage to the suits in the 1995 film:
Something that fans enjoyed about the 1995 movie costumes was the chest piece logo. It was a new addition to the 1995 movie, something that only the white Ranger had in the 1993 series.
The 2017 costumes tried to play off of this, but instead of another golden logo, similar to the Power Coins, the chest was simply a glowing armor piece. It was a nice addition but it ended up not being as defining of a feature as it was in the 1995 film.
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