Film

Power Rangers

Other titles called Power Rangers: the 1993 series (Netflix).

A 2017 reboot that grounds Power Rangers in genuine teenage dysfunction. Five misfits discover they're chosen to pilot giant robots and fight alien threats—but the film spends as much time on their real problems as their superpowers. It's earnest, genuinely funny, and occasionally dark in ways the original never was. For people who want their action films to have actual stakes and character work.

TMDb rating3.1

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The Breakfast Club1985

Five disparate teenagers forced together discover they're more alike than different. Like Power Rangers, it's about outcasts finding strength in unity, but it's a masterclass in character writing and emotional honesty that earns every beat.

But It's from 1985 and moves slowly by modern standards. The dated production design and soundtrack might feel quaint rather than affecting.

The Breakfast Club poster

Chronicle2012

Teenage superpower fantasy where the focus is psychology, not spectacle. Like Power Rangers, it's about ordinary kids with extraordinary abilities learning they need each other—but darker and more genuinely unsettling about what power actually does to friendships.

But It's found-footage style, which some people find headache-inducing. It's also genuinely bleak in ways that might feel heavy after you just want fun.

Chronicle poster

Sky High2005

A teen superhero film that treats its young characters as real people with real problems. The action is colorful and fun, but it never forgets that high school social dynamics matter as much as saving the world.

But It leans heavily into Disney Channel sensibilities and clean-cut earnestness. If you want grit, this isn't it.

Sky High poster

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The Adam Project2022

Both explore whether saving the world matters if it means losing yourself in the process. Power Rangers discovers that being chosen means accepting who you actually are; The Adam Project asks whether accepting who you are means you can't be who you need to be.

A film about a man meeting his younger self, learning to forgive what he was and who he became. Like Power Rangers, it's about five people learning to work together despite difference—but it asks whether the strongest team is worth the cost to your humanity. Unexpected emotional depth from a Ryan Reynolds action film.

But It's a Netflix film, which means it looks like a Netflix film. The plot relies on time-travel logic that buckles under scrutiny.

The Adam Project poster
More like this (7)

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie1995

The original film that proved Power Rangers could work on a theatrical budget. It's campy and weird but committed, with genuine action sequences and the exact same DNA as the 2017 version but without the brooding.

But It's dated in ways that are sometimes fun and sometimes cringeworthy. The tone is all over the place.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie poster

Spider-Man: Homecoming2017

Teenage superhero film that understands modern adolescence—peer pressure, parental anxiety, social media, actual school. The action stops for character moments that matter, and Tom Holland sells genuine vulnerability between set pieces.

But It's Marvel, so you're locked into a universe. The plot is relatively thin under the charm.

Spider-Man: Homecoming poster

Teen Titans Go! To the Movies2018

A team of teenagers learning to work together despite their wildly different personalities. It's funny, self-aware, and genuinely touches on belonging and self-worth beneath the joke.

But The humor is intensely meta and absurdist. If you want straightforward action-adventure, this deconstructs the genre constantly.

Teen Titans Go! To the Movies poster

The New Mutants2020

Young people with powers they don't understand, forced into a facility, learning to trust each other against external threats. It's moody, character-focused, and unafraid to let long silences breathe.

But It's slow and atmospheric in ways that might feel like nothing's happening. Horror elements might not mesh with what you want from a superhero film.

The New Mutants poster

Aquaman2018

Another 2017-era superhero reboot that commits to spectacle and heart equally. Jason Momoa brings charisma, the action sequences are genuinely inventive, and it doesn't pretend emotional stakes are secondary.

But It's absurdly long and the plot is basically stock fantasy-adventure. Some find the earnestness overwrought.

Aquaman poster

Turbo Kid2015

A weird, wildly enthusiastic post-apocalyptic action film about an outsider teenager who finds a community. It's violent, colorful, and genuinely touching about belonging and friendship in unexpected places.

But It's aggressively indie in tone and visual style. The violence is cartoonish but persistent, and it's very much a cult film—not for everyone.

Turbo Kid poster

We Need to Talk About Kevin2011

Power Rangers is about five strangers forced to trust and save each other. We Need to Talk About Kevin asks what happens when understanding and trust break completely between people who should be closest. One film is about the miraculous possibility of connection; the other documents its failure. Together, they bookend why belonging matters.

Lynne Ramsay's devastating film about a mother and son failing to connect, told in fractured time. It's the inverse of Power Rangers: five people who learn to truly know each other. Watching this reminds you what genuine emotional stakes look like, and why the struggle to connect is the real action.

But It's bleak, slow, and about a teenager who commits atrocity. There are no robots, no easy wins, and it will sit with you uncomfortably for weeks.

We Need to Talk About Kevin poster

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