Welcome to my Review of Nick’s “Clash of the Red Rangers”
Now, many of us know that this hour-long special was based on two Shinkenger Movies and had a lot of flaws. In this review I am going to point out some of the major flaws as well as some of the better parts. For those who have followed Shinkenger closely will see what I am talking about, for those who have not seen Shinkenger I will cover all the new gear and enemies featured in this special!
The Subway
It seemed at first to me strange that they used a subway as an interdimensional vehicle. But, in the end after viewing the entire movie it sort of made it an original idea. Although strange at first, the idea grew on me and when we finally see Ranger Red leave at the end it came as a fantastic end to the special. The footage as directed showing only the feet of the person stepping from the train was fabulous and all in all I really enjoyed the directing of this special.
The Enemies
In this special we not only had one main villain, Professor Cog, but we also had three Nighlok monsters to deal with. The first was Sharkjaw that didn’t get enough air time as he should have. He was pretty badass giving the Samurai Rangers a run for their money. He even melted Mike’s sword! Sadly, he was only seen in the opening and after drying out he wasn’t seen again. Perhaps, he could be brought back?
Next up was Sargent Tread who could run runs around the Rangers and also gave the Rangers quite the challenge. I loved this monster’s style from being able to burn rubber and chase the Rangers in their Red Mustang. Now, that was a Shinkenger staple so I won’t blame Power Rangers for that, I mean there are way more faster cars out there. I loved Sargent Tread’s foreshadowing on the theme of the special. The RPM Ranger came from another dimension and the monster was able to burn rings around them like a car.
Next is General Gut, who also proved to be a worthy adversary. At first he looked like a fat Nighlok that had no power but his large masses of Moogers. But, when he grows and takes on the Megazord he proves he is much more than what meets the eye. I loved his giant serpent that came from his belly after his shell opened. The fact that he had a second form made him all that more epic.
Finally, we get to Professor Cog. I absolutely loved him. The voice actor brought something extra to this character along with a little RPM flair. I’m sure that, from seeing further sentai, that we might see more of this enemy. I wish he had been fleshed out more given he had some sort of all out war with Ranger Red that was never really stated. But, I do hope that one day he comes back to get his revenge, after all Venjix was never really defeated and machines can always come back!
Serrator (Akumaro) the Nighlok King On Board?
One of my larger problems with Clash was that although PR is a thirty minute toy commercial they jam packed this special with material we had never been introduced to before. Take for instance, the Nighlok King. The last time we saw him he was only a shadow in Dayu’s dream and now suddenly he is a full blown rider on the boat. He seems to be good friends with Xandred even protecting his honor at one point. Now, this is fine if you are a Shinkenger fan and you understand whats going on. Sad to say for my PR only fans who have no idea who he is yet and what is going on! Now, I give you that the voice actor is great and the new name Serrator is pretty damn good, but come on do they think we are stupid? Apparently yes, as we continue…..
Tobias Reiss as Scott, Ranger Red
I am a huge fan of RPM and growing fan of Go-Onger, and I must say that this voice seemed to fool even me. At first I thought to myself, wait is that him? No, its a voice actor? wait….Yeah I had a lot of those moments for sure. His voice is so flawlessly Scott it’s hard to tell and I’m sure this is what the producers were going for.
Now, there is a rumor floating arounf that Tobias Reiss is a stage name used specifically for this special and the voice really WAS Eka Darville the Actor who played Scott in RPM. It’s just a rumor as of now, but it would make sense since even I thought I was fooled by the voice-over. If it is just a rumor and the voice actor Tobias Reiss actually exists, props to him for dubbing it over perfectly.
Where was Steven Skyler?
No official word yet on where Steven Skyler was during the filming and dubbing of this special. Apparently, he had another contractual agreement he had to honor. Sadly, he was replaced with faceless actors and a voice over that was well, just bad. Sounded like me when I make fun of Antonio’s golden moments. I love Antonio, its all in good fun. But, I was really put off by this. He remained unmorphed except for this one scene above and when he was morphed the voicing was so bad I wanted to fast forward. I wish Steven Skyler was there….sigh.
Lantern Zord
Shinkenger fans will know him as Daigoyou the little lantern buddy. But we don’t know what the hell this is, and If I wasn’t such an avid Sentai watcher I would have said, “Why the hell does Antonio have a lantern in his hand?” I understand that the Lantern and a new Zord is being introduced for him soon, but good lord! They must think we are so dumb! Like we wouldn’t notice it! GAH!
The Race of the Red Rangers
Now, I am a gushing fan boy at sometimes and this was totally epic! I loved every second of the race! My favorite part was when Jayden tells Scott, “Anyone ever tell you you’re annoying?” LOL. The fact that a horse raced a hog was totally cool to me and prob is one of my favorite parts of the entire special. Jayden, although at a disadvantage came on top and showed that he had the heart to win the race while Scott was just roaring to beat Jayden. The chemistry between Scott and Jayden was on high and it made the special savable IMO.
Super Samurai Mode
Well it looks like all those problems with the Black Box, that took what three episodes to scrap, are solved. This special marked the debut of the Super Samurai mode and was even given over to another Ranger Team before we saw any of the others in the garb. I absolutely love the Samurai Robe that goes over the Ranger suit. It looks chic and battlized! It looks pretty good on Scott as well! As we can only see now, I don’t quite know what Super Samurai Mode brings except for the white coat. All of the other action seemed to be the same, perhaps on purpose?
Shark Sword
I remember liking this a lot in Shinkenger, but when it finally appeared in Power Rangers I absolutely loved it! Love! It looks so epic and then it stretches around and kicks ass! A perfect addition to the Samurai arsenal. But, how did he get it? I understand they are trying to set it up for the future episodes (whenever that is) but it just spoils it IMO. I’d rather see then achieve a new weapon and then see it in action in a special. But, Nick is making us used to seeing things we have no idea what they are and then making us wait months to find out how it occurred. GRRR.
Shark Zord
Again, new Zord, no idea where it came from. I’ve seen the toy for this Zord already, but thats common. However, I can say that I don’t really like it as a galloping Zord. Its kind of awkward and isn’t really complete until its in this form….
Samurai Shark Megazord
Again, EPIC. I wish I had another word to say but that’s all that can be said about the Shark artillery. The Megazord gets a cool multicolored helmet and the full power of the sword as the red ranger controls it from the cockpit. Which brings us to….
Shark Mode Super Samurai Mega Mode???
All I can say is that this is totally fantastic! I mean he got upgraded armor! WOW!
A lot might disagree, but this fan is totally happy with the Megazord cockpit! The Red Ranger also controls the Mega Shark Sword from inside the cockpit and is able to use its full powers! Sweet!
Mike & Emily kissin’ in a tree!
Many of us had shipped them a while ago and said that there would be a Mike and Emily romance. I had noticed subtle references to this in Mike’s actions towards her, but never really thought they would go full blown like this. This scene capped off the movie and made it all the more better to me. Scott’s words, “I have eyes in this helmet.” The way they look at each other, swoon! It made me happy inside to see that these two would have a romance. Mike is my favorite character and to see his huge goofy smile at the very idea was totally awesome!
All Together Now!
What are my final thoughts?
The Good: The new Zord, Mega Mode Armor, Shark Sword, Super Samurai, The Red Rangers’ Click, The Red’s Race & Mike and Emily’s Romance.
The Bad: Intro of new stuff we haven’t seen yet, No Steven Skyler, No Entire RPM Team
The movie/special was really not that bad at all! I went into it thinking it was gonna suck bigtime and it didn’t. It wasn’t the best it could have been either but its Power Rangers, what are we looking for here?
If you haven’t seen it yet, see it and go into it thinking its going to be Power Rangers and pretty good, dont expect a lot because you won’t get it. Expect it for what is and thats just a good time where two teams cross over, and its an hour long commercial this time 😀
Thanks for reading 🙂
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