Author: Megan Williams

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always – Trailer Talk

2023 might just be the year that 1990’s nostalgia begins in media: just this week, boy bands Busted and McFly have announced a reunion tour and new music, with S Club 7 even reuniting for a UK tour later this year. Plus, January saw ‘The Matrix’ and the ‘Scream’ franchises return to cinemas. But it looks like the nostalgia is continuing with ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’, as they’re returning for a 30^th anniversary reunion film on Netflix.

‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always’ sees the original cast return with their dinosaur zords to defeat the evil Rita Repulsa, with Barbara Goodson reprising the role and Richard Horvitz (Helluva Boss, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy) returning as the robot guard Alpha 5.

Next to Batman, this was a childhood favourite: I not only made sure to watch every episode, but I also owned the toys, went to see the movie and even owned a CD with the original theme tune on it. So, seeing this reunion happen is extremely nostalgic personally. Not only has most of the original lead cast returned but the tone, costumes and locations even match the 90’s show. While the cinematography has improved, thanks to modern technology, it looks like the film will be keeping the cheesy tone and the Kaiju-like monsters that the Rangers fight. 

My only question is will we also be seeing Goldar and Lord Zedd? I guess fans will have to wait till the end of April, when the film is released on Netflix. 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem – Trailer Talk

After Michael Bay’s plan for a third sequel fell through, it’s a surprising delight to see another adaptation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arriving to cinemas soon.

‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ sees the mutant turtle brothers (Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello and Raphael) train and learn to become the heroes we know them as while dealing with an army of mutants.

Despite only being a minute long, the teaser has won me over. While not a huge fan, I still consider myself a fan of TMNT and would love to see more film adaptations made. And this one looks like a lot of fun. The film does carry a few big names: Seth Rogen will voice Bebop with John Cena voicing Rocksteady and Jackie Chan will voice the turtle’s trainer/guardian Master Splinter. But the biggest aspect I love about the film already is that the four brothers are voiced by smaller name actors that are of similar age to the characters. In previous iterations, it never made any sense why the teenagers were voiced by older actors, so it’s refreshing to hear young voices coming out of the characters’ mouths. 

Another aspect that I love is the animation style. It looks to resemble a Claymation visual style and it looks incredible. Animated films recently have started to adopt different art styles and techniques, thus creating some truly unique films and this will be no exception. This, plus the voice cast, has made me very excited for when it comes out later this year.

Peter Pan & Wendy: Trailer Talk.

2023 continues Disney’s trend of remaking their classic animated movies and, while films like ‘The Lion King’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ can be seen as confusing choices, the first live action remake to be released this year greatly interests me.

‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ tells the story of Peter Pan and the adventures of the Darling children as they travel to Neverland and come face to face with Captain Hook. 

While it can be argued that the best adaptation of the beloved book is the live action film from 2003, this one has potential; it looks visually amazing and exciting. But this film demonstrates that remakes can be good and be used to right a wrong. In this case, the 1953 Disney animated film did hold some questionable character choices that would be offensive by today’s standards. Therefore, the remake can be used to portray characters and situations in a much more tasteful manner. 

The only issue I have so far is the film looks very dark in terms of its lighting. While Neverland, and the pirate ship battle, do look exciting, it also looks gloomy and lacks any colour. This is a shame to see since the original animated film and the 2003 adaptation utilized colour effectively.

This is an example of a remake that was needed from Disney; not only does it look exciting, but it can also be portrayed in a less offensive manner compared to its source material from the 1950’s. And, while it is a shame that it looks very dark and gloomy visually, the effects are impressive. Overall, this is a remake I will want to see when it comes to Disney+ in April. 

Tetris: Trailer Talk

After Sonic, The Witcher, World of Warcraft and Mario, the next video game to get an adaptation is…Tetris? While the former names have been adapted into fictional stories, the Apple TV+ original film chronicles the journey of the game’s GameBoy release.

Taron Egerton plays Henk Rogers, the Dutch engineer who risks his life to secure the distributing rights for the game. From seeing Egerton in previous films such as ‘The Kingsman: Secret Service’ and ‘Rocketman’, the actor has proven his acting range and this looks to be no exception. The film’s execution is also interesting: while the majority of the runtime looks to be live-action, it will also adopt pixelated art and 8-bit sounds in reflection to the game. This is sure to make the film stand out, as well as having the potential to create some fantastic sequences.

However, it will also be interesting to watch a film based around a story that’s never been told before. Because it was created in Russia by a Soviet engineer, the film implies it will showcase some of the difficulties Henk came across as he deals with Soviet Russia and its extreme restrictions. 

‘Tetris’ is a film that’s been in the making for a long time, but I’m glad to see its genre and execution has finally been decided. The story sounds extremely interesting, especially given its historical context, and it looks visually amazing. This is definitely another video game story that I will watch when it comes to the streaming service at the end of March.

Fast X: Trailer Talk

Another film trailer that was revealed during the Superbowl weekend was the next entry in the ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise. 

‘Fast X’ follows Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel – Fast & Furious, Guardians of the Galaxy) and his ever-growing family as they once again face a new threat, this time played by Jason Momoa (Aquman, Game of Thrones).

The Fast & Furious franchise is one of my guilty pleasures. What started out as a small film about illegal street racing back in 2001 has evolved into a cast of huge names saving the world over and over in more elaborate ways. And, while it is ridiculous and silly to watch with each entry, I can’t deny I have fun with my experience every time.

By now, the crazy car chases, explosions and stunts have all been established and ‘Fast X’ looks to continue this aspect. But it also continues to bring in the soap opera aspect of the narrative as well; throughout the franchise, characters have either died and come back or turned evil to then become part of the Family by the end. And the franchise is continuing that trend too, with Cipher (Charlize Theron – Fast 8, Atomic Blonde) returning and Han (Sung Kang – Raya and the Last Dragon, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift) being re-established into the Family. The latter will surely create some added drama considering one of the Family members is Han’s supposed murderer! 

The ‘Fast & Furious’ saga is a personal guilty pleasure so a trip to the cinema will definitely be on the cards. And, with ‘Fast X’ being portrayed as the beginning of the end of the franchise, questions are arising as to how it will end, or if it ever will.