Tag Michael Hurst

Power Rangers Dino Fury, “Void Trap” Review

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

Power Rangers Dino Fury, Void Trap, Dr. AkanaSERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury
TITLE: S28:E21 – “Void Trap”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez, Jordan Fite
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Maiya Thompson
DIRECTOR: Michael Hurst
ORIGINAL U.S. AIR DATE: October 15, 2021 (Netflix)
SYNOPSIS: The Rangers use Ollie’s mother to set a trap for Void Knight.

New around here? Check out the Power Rangers review archive.

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Now seems like a good time to talk about Shavaughn Ruakere, who plays Dr. Akana. Like a lot of Power Rangers actors, she’s appeared on the New Zealand soap opera Shorthand Street. She also made it to the finals of New Zealand’s incarnation of Dancing with the Stars. She’s a fine addition to the cast, and takes center stage in this episode.

When the plan goes awry and Dr. Akana is lost in another dimension, Ollie almost immediately blames Zayto. I liked that. A very natural and human reaction. It seems extremely obvious (and it is), but that kind of thing might have been absent in past seasons. And it was Zayto’s idea, after all.

Actually, considering this is essentially the season finale (Does the Christmas episode count?), it’s interesting how Ollie-centric “Void Trap” is. Historically, finales are typically the Red Ranger’s time to shine. That’s a little shake up I’m glad to see.

Zayto destroys Reaghoul using the T-Rex Cosmic Megazord. I’d be down about that, if Reghoul’s whole thing wasn’t resurrecting the dead. Plus, this was an episode where Boomtower got yet another go-around. And this is the season that brought friggin’ Lord Zedd back. If they want to bring Reaghoul back, they can bring him back. Even if it’s down the road in another series.

After Void Knight’s machine is destroyed, the Rangers lose their connection to the Morphin Grid and demorph. Thus, Dr. Akana sees that Ollie is the Blue Ranger. I really wish she’d have said something like, “I knew it was you!” It’s not like there was a shortage of clues. There was no subtlety in Ollie’s Ranger game…

The fight that the unmorphed Rangers have with Void Knight and his forces is short but sweet. When they get the actors mixed in with the fantastical Sentai elements, it’s generally a plus. And doing much of their own choreography too.

Seeing Amelia briefly cross swords with Void Knight (shown below) was cool. She might be the best developed character on the show. So it’s nice to see her get a moment like that.

“Void Trap” goes to the trouble of severing the Rangers’ connection to the Morphin Grid, only to give it back to them moments later. Not to mention the dinosaur statues being magically rebuilt after Ollie destroyed them. That all feels a little clumsy. But it justified the unmorphed fight sequence. So I’ll give it to them.

The Green Morphin Master is the one who restores the Rangers’ powers. Again I must ask, why the green one, specifically?

One of our closing shots is of Santaura, Void Knight’s…wife? Girlfriend? It would have been really awesome if her eyes had popped open at the end there. Then again, that implies she’ll be the villain next season. I doubt that’s the case.

“Void Trap” is atypical as far as season finales, or perhaps mid-season finales go. That’s not a bad thing, however. The fight between our heroes and our villain is smaller in scale, yet more personal.

Still no sign of Lord Zedd. But there’s still plenty of time…

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Power Rangers Dino Fury, “Waking Nightmares” Review

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

SERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury
TITLE: S28:E20 – “Waking Nightmares”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez, Jordan Fite
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Guy Langford
DIRECTOR: Michael Hurst
ORIGINAL U.S. AIR DATE: October 15, 2021 (Netflix)
SYNOPSIS: Zayto and Aiyon must face their nightmares to retrieve new zords.

New around here? Check out the Power Rangers review archive.

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

We open on Aiyon having a nightmare about the final battle thousands of years ago. We then see him take a brief walk through Dinohenge, where he runs into Zayto.

Random: Does Dinohenge have a kitchen? How about a laundry room? It Zayto and Aiyon obviously live there, so it must. Is it weird that I want to see them?

That same night, Mucus has a dream where Area 62 becomes a disco dance club. Pure, unfiltered Power Rangers silliness. Or perhaps, in more adult terms, a Power Rangers themed acid trip.

Aiyon says that combining their two new Dino Keys can form the Cosmic Dino Key and open “portals to anywhere in the universe.” I was going to file that little factoid away for future reference. After all, you can’t just say something like that and not travel through the universe. But it turns out, I didn’t have to wait long at all…

Power Rangers Dino Fury, Waking Nightmares, Zayto, Aiyon, Amelia

The Rangers discover that the zords linked with their new keys are located on the planet Nibyro. Using the Cosmic Dino Key, they open a portal to take them there. Zayto is quick to rush through said portal, saying they need those zords. On any other show, that would make him an idiot. After all, he doesn’t know anything about the planet’s atmosphere, gravity, etc. But this is Power Rangers, where every planet in the universe is just like Earth. Heck, way back in Forever Red they walked around on the moon like it was nothing. So I guess Zayto gets a pass.

In his attempt to use the Morphin Grid to power his machine, Void Knight uses Reaghoul, the monster who brought Lord Zedd back to life, to resurrect Boomtower. Our returning general seems to remember everything from before the Rangers destroyed him. So that begs the question: What does Zedd remember? Perhaps it all depends on what period of your life Reaghoul opts to reincarnate you from.

Incidentally, Rheagoul (whose name I originally spelled “Regal”) is low key scary. Dude’s got skeletons hanging off his body. Just sayin’.

I really wish the two raptor zords seemed more distinct. But all these zords are just…oatmeal. They all blend together.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Power Rangers Dino Fury, “The Makeover” Review

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

Power Rangers Dino Fury, the Makeover, Pop-Pop, AmeliaSERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury
TITLE: S28:E19 – “The Makeover”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez, Jordan Fite
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Maiya Thompson, Guy Langford
DIRECTOR: Michael Hurst
ORIGINAL U.S. AIR DATE: October 15, 2021 (Netflix)
SYNOPSIS: As Amelia gets Pop-Pop ready for a date, the Power Rangers face a body-swapping monster.

New around here? Check out the Power Rangers review archive.

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

In the Power Rangers universe, there’s a legendary pirate named “Purple Beard.” That sounds about right.

J-Borg is a host at Buzz Blast? I thought she was just an assistant for Jane. And yet, I love how the woman she’s interviewing doesn’t bat an eye at being interviewed by a cyborg.

Our monster for the episode is Boneswitch, a monster that can swap people’s bodies. He demonstrates his powers on Slyther and Mucus, and then later swaps Zayto and Amelia, as well as Ollie and Javi.

I think they missed a cool acting opportunity in this episode. They could have had Campbell Cooley and Torum Heng, the voices of Slyther and Mucus respectively, impersonate one another’s characters, and then had the Ranger actors impersonate one another. It would have made for a lot of fun. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers did an episode like that in its first season.

Power Rangers Dino Fury, The Matchmaker, Group Shot

Instead, they had Slyther speak with Mucus’ voice, Zayto speak with Amelia’s voice, etc. Lame. Even lamer? Pop-Pop apparently doesn’t realize that Amelia has a different voice. A male voice.

 

 

I did chuckle a bit when Aiyon got body-swapped with a pigeon. Corny, but amusing.

When the Rangers are body swapped, they can’t link to the Morphin Grid. At least not with their own powers. So they have to swap powers along with their bodies. I scratched my head at that one a little bit. But I suppose it’s fair enough.

Seeing the Mosa Razor Zord leap out of the water and grab Boneswitch was one of the cooler zord moments I’ve seen in the show’s recent history. Certainly the coolest one in Dino Fury thus far. 

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Power Rangers Dino Fury, “Unexpected Guest” Review

Rob Siebert 3 Comments

Mick Kanic, Power Rangers Dino Fury, Unexpected GuestSERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury
TITLE: S28:E8. “Unexpected Guest”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez
GUEST-STARRING: Kelson Henderson
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Maiya Thompson
DIRECTOR: Michael Hurst
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: April 17, 2021
SYNOPSIS: The Rangers get some unexpected aid from Mick.

New around here? Check out the Power Rangers review archive!

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Nice high-energy start to the episode as we see the end of a Megazord battle. We see the Megazord fail after taking Wolfgang’s energy blasts. Not sure if I’ve ever seen a Megazord crumble like that before. It crumpled like it was made of Legos.

Moments after the battle we get the return of Mick from Power Rangers Ninja Steel. Not sure why they opted to have Kelson Henderson return as the character, but I certainly won’t complain. It’s always good to see him.

Zayto was kind of a jerk to Mick. The Rangers had no time to help him? At all? I mean, granted their Megazord had just fallen apart. But he is a visitor from another world. Couldn’t they have given him an I.O.U.?

Ah yes, a cake gag. Straight out of the Bulk and Skull playbook.

Mick Kanic, image 2, Power Rangers Dino Fury, Unexpected Guest

So Mick has a handheld database (shown above) with info on all the other Ranger teams. That’s how he fills the Dino Fury team in on the Nexus Prism. Seems like it’d be kinda catastrophic if that thing were to fall into the wrong hands.

Not that I’m pitching a fanfic or anything…

Good use of footage from past seasons during the Morphin Masters sequence. That’s the kind of thing that seems really small and obvious. That’s the kind of thing that seems so small and obvious. But it does a lot in terms of reminding us these seasons don’t take place in a vacuum.

The Morphin Masters are always watching, huh? That seems like the kind of thing we’d want to stash in our memory for later this season.

Unlike last week, Boomtower did bite the dust this time. How much you wanna bet Void Knight’s new “general” shows up in the very next episode? Hardly a guarantee. But possible.

We see Void Knight has a woman he calls “my love” in stasis in a secret chamber. Looks like our villain has a Mr. Freeze complex…

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Power Rangers Dino Fury, “Stego Search” Review

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

SERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury
TITLE: S28:E7. “Stego Search”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Guy Langford
DIRECTOR: Michael Hurst
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: April 10, 2021
SYNOPSIS: As the Rangers search for the Stego Spike Zord, Javi struggles with a lack of acceptance from his father.

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

The very first line in the episode is, “What’s the haps, Solon?” Is that really a thing kids say? I thought it was just Sam Roberts.

Random: Chance Perez’s hair has impressive volume. Maybe I just appreciate it because I’m a bald guy.

Izzy: “I feel like I’ve been massaged by a truck.” How very specific. Izzy continues to get the best lines.

Solon finds a “viral video” of Javi’s dad taking his new keytar away from him. What’s the title of that video, I wonder? “Keytar Kid’s Dad Acts Like a Dick,” maybe?

So when Javi plays music it amplifies his “Ranger energy,” prompting a response from the dormant zord they’re looking for. Fair enough. By Power Rangers logic, at least. If the Dragonzord could be summoned by playing a flute, why not a Stegosaurus?

Hunter Deno’s facial expressions were strong in this episode. Good kids show acting.

I thought Boomtower was a goner. But the big guy lives to fight another day.

I was happy they didn’t quickly resolve the issue between Javi and his dad. There’s enough meat on the bone there to make that season-long story arc between the two of them.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Power Rangers Dino Fury, “Superstition Strikes” Review

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

SERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury
TITLE: S28:E6 – “Superstition Strikes”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Maiya Thompson
DIRECTOR: Michael Hurst
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: April 3, 2021
SYNOPSIS: After walking under a ladder, Amelia believes herself cursed with bad luck.

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Amelia walks under a ladder and thinking she’s got bad luck is pretty hokey. But I’ll say this much: It’s consistent with what’s been established about her character. Remember, she believed in fortune tellers too.

Mucus: “You just fell for a classic bit of Mucus misdirection!” If “mucus misdirection” isn’t the name of a medical condition, it absolutely should be. Get on it, doctors!

I loved the squish sound effect when the monster smacked Mucus on the head. Small details like that make all the difference sometimes.

Solon, the team’s resident cyborg dinosaur, is actually voiced by Josephine Davison, who played Morgana back in S.P.D. She also voiced Itassis in Mystic Force. Her performance here has a motherly quality to it that fits the character really well. Even if you don’t expect it to come from a dinosaur.

On the subject of S.P.D., that’s the last season I remember the music being this catchy. And that was more than 15 years ago. Hat tip to Bert Selen.

So Amelia gets her friggin’ morpher stolen?!? Thus, Boomtower gets into Dinohenge? Really bad rookie mistake, kid…

It’s extremely difficult to say “Boomtower” and not “Boomhauer.” And I’m not even that big a King of the Hill fan.

Nice, hard-hitting zord fight. Plus, there’s something oddly satisfying about watching the Megazord smash a monster with a giant hammer. “Mega Hammer Slam” indeed.

Izzy seriously says, “Okay boomer.” They continue to give her the best lines in the show.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.