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Posted March 24, 2017 by Scott Davis in Features
 
 

The Preview Reel: Power Rangers, Life, and CHiPs


Welcome to this week’s “Preview Reel” column, where we look at the week’s upcoming wide release movies. After a record breaking debut from Beauty and the Beast last weekend, three new releases look to make a splash at the box office. There’s two reboots hitting the theaters this week, Power Rangers and CHiPs, and the horror-sci-fi flick, Life. None are likely to dethrone Beauty and the Beast, but lets see if any of these movies are worth your time.

Power Rangers

Power Rangers Poster

What we are excited about: Although this writer did not grow up watching the Power Rangers TV show, I know there is a lot of nostalgia attached to this property. People who love it are supremely passionate about it, and in an era filled with reboots and remakes, why can’t something like Power Rangers work today? It looks like it has a solid cast (anything Bryan Cranston is in is enough for us) and if it could hit the right vibe like the first Transformers did, maybe it can be a hit.

What we are worried about: The trailers have been kind of bland to say the least. The story looks like a mix of Chronicle (which was written by this movie’s screenwriter, Max Landis) and every other superhero origin movie, so originality does not seem to be on its side. Plus, it’s from the director of Project Almanac, which is a movie you probably haven’t seen or wish you’ve never seen. Maybe he learned some things from his first feature length film and will improve with this sophomore outing.

The Buzz: The buzz has always been mild at best for this movie as it always seemed to get delayed time and time again with no real hope of being made. It has been made, however, and looks like it might actually be a hit at the box office. Reviews have been middling, but that should not effect the nostalgia audiences are feeling right now. Beauty and the Beast will still hold on to the top spot, but look for Power Rangers to pull in about $35 million for the weekend.

Final Thoughts: We might not be all “Go! Go!” for this reboot, but audiences seem to be excited and reviews have not been terrible, so it might be a good time to be a Power Rangers fan.

Life

Life PosterWhat we are excited about: Talk about a cast. Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds, and Rebecca Ferguson headline an all-star cast. The last time we saw this many A-list actors floating around in space was in Gravity, and that movie did not turn out to be that bad. Also, this is from director Daniel Espinosa, who also did the Ryan Reynolds/Denzel Washington thriller, Safe House, which was also not that bad. We’re hoping that with this cast and a director who has proven himself in the past can give us an entertaining space thriller.

What we are worried about: Have you seen Alien? Have you seen Gravity? Well this “original” sci-fi thriller looks like a mash-up of those two classic space movies. Add in internet rumors that this might be a Venom prequel for an upcoming Spider-Man flick and that’s too many franchises for us to handle.

The Buzz: The trailers have been attached to seemingly every movie playing at the theater and there has been some solid buzz building for this movie. Add in some pretty stellar reviews so far and this could be a little hit for Sony. Life will probably come in third at the box office behind Beauty and the Beast and Power Rangers with some in the mid to high $20 million range.

Final thoughts: Although it doesn’t score any originality points, the combination of a stellar cast, a competent director, and some stellar reviews has us mildly excited for Life. 

CHiPs

CHiPs PosterWhat we are excited about: The trailers and marketing for the movie have been surprisingly effective and looks like it could be another 21 Jump Street-style hit. Add in an under the radar hilarious actor like Michael Pena, and the more funny than not Dax Shepard, and you’ve got yourself a pretty solid duo.

What we are worried about: 21 Jump Street is a special example but more often than not changing a property from a drama to a comedy does not work. Properties do not always have to stick to one specific genre, but drama to comedy is a tricky one. Plus there is always a risk of a movie trying to prove it’s funny showing too much of its comedic gold and saving none of it for the movie. Hopefully it goes the 21 Jump Street rout by saving the best jokes for the movie and not just the trailers.

The Buzz: Some of the buzz has been negative as some of the original cast is upset that they are making a comedy out of a drama series. That being said, most of the modern movie-going audience does not know this based off a TV show. It probably won’t be the hit that 21 Jump Street was and with a lot of competition at the box office this weekend look for an opening around $15 million.

Final thoughts: This has the potential to be really funny given its strong trailers and talented cast, but there seem to be better options out there right now and this might be reserved for a rental down the line.

Scott Davis

Scott Davis

Scott Davis is a recent graduate of Oakland University where he earned a degree in journalism. He worked for the student newspaper on campus, The Oakland Post, where he became the paper's managing editor. He also earned a minor in Cinema Studies at OU. Scott enjoys all things film and TV related, especially the blockbuster kind. He might be the biggest Christopher Nolan fan you know.