Movie review
March 23, 2017 · 124 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The 2017 Power Rangers movie follows five ordinary teens from Angel Grove who discover an alien spaceship, gain superpowers, and band together as color-coded Rangers to stop Rita Repulsa and her monster Goldar from destroying Earth. The story mixes standard superhero origin action with teen drama about personal struggles and learning to work as a team. It includes visible diversity in the main cast, a neurodiverse character, and one scene where the Yellow Ranger discusses questioning her sexuality with the group.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Power Rangers.
Woke representation / casting
Deliberate multicultural leads, neurodiverse hero, Asian actor in traditionally Black Ranger role, and prominent promotion of the Yellow Ranger’s sexuality questioning as groundbreaking inclusion.
Woke political dialogue
Almost none; the single personal sexuality discussion stays individual and non-ideological with no lectures on systemic issues or politics.
Identity-driven story themes
Character arcs touch on self-acceptance, autism, and sexuality questioning as part of team bonding, but these remain secondary to the alien-threat action plot.
Western institutional / cultural critique
None present; story follows classic good-versus-evil heroism and friendship without critiques of patriarchy, traditional norms, capitalism, or Western institutions.
Woke character or canon changes
Updates include new ethnic casting for some Rangers, added autism for Billy, and new sexuality arc for Trini, presented by press and creators as modernization for inclusivity.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Scattered online and media notes (including Vice) called out forced diversity and LGBTQ+ elements as marketing; complaints stayed moderate with no large-scale campaigns.
Creator track record context
Core team shows commercial mainstream histories with low activism; one writer’s recent union leadership adds mild left-leaning political context but no strong identity-driven pattern across the group.
Production
