Simple but emphatic martial arts and a couple of classy cameos are all that give this blandly modern action film a fighting chanceDespite featuring a clutch of Power Rangers graduates, including Jason David Frank, who died in 2022, this crowdfunded effort is beholden to a more recent action tradition. It feels like it’s been cobbled together by ticking tropes off the modern superhero bingo card: Dark Knight-esque pariah hero, Gotham-style civic pantomime with the mayor, police and media, Iron Man helmet-cams, a sprig of eastern mysticism in the initiation sequence, western fighters appropriating said eastern mysticism … the list goes on.After a dustoff with his nemesis Ashtagor that levelled downtown Virtuo City, the superhero White Dragon (Frank) has been held responsible for the catastrophe and forced into exile. With the death count – 1,263 – tattooed in red above his right ear, and the crystal that was the source of his power shattered in two, he is now plain old Erik Reed. It’s not only the authorities who are bent on finding him: the pharma mogul Jai Katua (Aaron Schoenke), who lost his pregnant wife, wants payback. If Katua spending his time on solo katana sessions in his billionaire superlab wasn’t already a mental health red flag, accepting one of the crystal halves and a revenge mandate from Ashtagor should definitely merit an intervention. Continue reading...