Review: Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue

When an ancient tomb is disturbed, ancient demons spring forth to wreak havoc on the city of Mariner Bay. To combat this threat, five strangers are assembled under a special program known as Lightspeed. Trained in combat and outfitted with the latest battle technology, it is their mission to prevent the nefarious demonic overlord Queen Bansheera from being resurrected by her recently freed minions.

After the lukewarm Lost Galaxy, Lightspeed Rescue proved to be a much-needed break from the science fiction-tinged space adventures that preceded it. It's darker and more dramatic, weaving in elements of the supernatural with overarching plot lines. In fact, it has quite a bit in common with the beloved Super Sentai series Chōjin Sentai Jetman. Lightspeed features a cast of five strangers from various walks of life who are assembled together under a special project, spearheaded by a military-trained authority figure. The overall tone matches that of Jetman, though its protagonists aren't quite as outlandish and melodramatic.

Many of the characters within Lightspeed are notable for their multi-faceted personalities and their varied motivations, often to an extent never done before within the series. Team leader Carter, for instance, is inspired to become a firefighter after being heroically rescued from a burning building as a child. This informs his character and establishes why he's as driven as he is to do good. Another layer is added when it's revealed that the firefighter who saved him is a character we're all very familiar with. Furthermore, the overarching familial drama of Pink Ranger Dana helps to offer an emotional anchor for the series and gives her further depth as a character.

Unfortunately, Lightspeed falls into many of the same traps as the series that preceded it. Namely, it fails to strike a balance between all five of its protagonists. While Green Ranger Joel and Yellow Ranger Kelsey receive ample screentime, the others are largely relegated to supporting roles. The Blue Ranger is all but forgotten and not much is done to flesh out his character. Dana and Carter fare better, particularly the latter. In fact, Dana's personality and close ties to Lightspeed should have guaranteed her role as the leader of the team. Sadly, that thread wasn't picked up. Truth be told, the lack of development for our protagonists does seem to be due to the heavy focus placed on the older characters (Captain Mitchell and Angela Fairweather). The season-long courtship between Joel and Fairweather takes up far more time than it needs to, as it often completely pulled focus away from the other Rangers. 

Overall, Lightspeed was a return to form for the Power Rangers franchise. It wasn't quite as tedious as Lost Galaxy and its cast proved to be very likeable. The writing is stronger and there's more of a focus on building a series-long arc that leads to some rather frenzied battles towards the end. The lack of development for many of the characters is lamentable and the acting is painful at times (Vypra, I'm looking at you!), but even at its worst it's still not quite as bad as Turbo and it does a better job of reaching its potential than Zeo.