Power Rangers: Operation Overdrive - Toru Diamond
Directed by Jonathan Brough, Mike Smith
Studio: Disney
Year: 2007
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Running Time: 138 minutes
Rating: TV-Y7
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo English
Subtitles: SDH
MSRP: $19.99
Release Date: September 18, 2007
Review Date: September 19, 2007
Directed by Jonathan Brough, Mike Smith
Studio: Disney
Year: 2007
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Running Time: 138 minutes
Rating: TV-Y7
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo English
Subtitles: SDH
MSRP: $19.99
Release Date: September 18, 2007
Review Date: September 19, 2007
The Series
3/5
The second volume of Power Rangers picks up the story where it left off in volume 1 with the Rangers and their philanthropist hot on the trail of the remaining jewels for the Corona Aurora. Having found the pearl at the end of the first set of adventures, the team now turns its attention to retrieving the Toru Diamond. Their adventures take them from Turkey to England to the pit of a deadly volcano, but only the most naïve will not anticipate their eventual triumph.
The team is still made up of the same five rangers: Red Ranger Mark (James Maclurcan), Yellow Ranger Ronny (Caitlin Murphy), Black Ranger Will (Samuell Beuta), Pink Ranger Rose (Rhoda Montemayor), and Blue Ranger Dax (Gareth Yuen). Together with billionaire philanthropist Andrew Hartford (Rod Lousich) who funds their adventures and his butler Spencer Spencer (David Weatherley), the team continues to battle the evil twin demons and with more skullduggery in this set by witch Miratrix (Ria Vandervis). The second volume also sees the powers of evil battling occasionally with one another as well as against the Rangers, and in doing so, they’ve upped their firepower considerably. That means an increase in weaponry for the Rangers, too, as the special effects get more elaborate this time out.
No, the special effects aren’t going to give George Lucas or Steven Spielberg any nightmares, but some of it is pretty impressive for the limited budget this series is obviously being produced with. Yes, the miniatures and animation are sill painfully obvious, but a lot of the stunt work and explosions are pretty splendid.
Again, the storylines aren’t sophisticated, but the writers have included more life lessons in the episodes this time: about confidence, loyalty, and tolerance. In the latter instance, a lizard-like alien named Tyzonn (Dwayne Cameron) turns out to be quite different than he first appears giving the series a welcome break from all the fighting and mayhem. It’s a nice subplot and features a good performance from the actor who would be most welcome in future installments.
Here’s the rundown of episodes on volume two:
1 - At All Costs
2 - Both Sides Now
3 - Follow the Ranger
4 - Lights, Camera, Dax
5 - Face to Face Part 1
6 - Face to Face Part 2
Video Quality
3.5/5
The show appears to have been filmed for 4:3 televisions though occasional scenes are squeezed so that all five rangers can fit into the frame. Compared to the episodes on volume one, these episodes are not quite as sharp, and there is some occasional line twitter. The show is quite colorful, and the ultra-saturated colors remain solid in this second set of episodes. The images are clean and bright, perfect to hold the interest of the target audience. Each episode has been divided into 6 chapters.
Audio Quality
4/5
The Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo sound is decoded by Prologic into all of the available channels for a decent sound experience. Every kick, grunt, and expletive is clear and precise though loud explosions and the general destruction that are a part of every episode could have more spirit. The sound could really use a legitimate surround track, but if one is listening merely through TV speakers, he likely wouldn’t notice the difference.
Special Features
3/5
Ranger Arsenal is a 5-minute summation of the firepower used by each of the Power Rangers. For those new to the characters, it’s a valuable short cut in establishing which character carries which weapon.
Ranger Reserve Training Course Level 2 consists of three games for younger viewers. The first is a trivia quiz on events that happen in the disc’s six episodes. Once past that round, there is a type of jigsaw puzzle rebuilding the five weapons of the Rangers. The third round is a target practice game using the remote control as your blaster. All are enjoyable respites from the series episodes.
The DVD features a selection of trailers from other Disney-related DVDs including Ratatouille, Return to Neverland, The Jungle Book, and High School Musical 2.
In Conclusion
3/5 (not an average)
If you have small fry, male variety, looking for something to occupy their TV time, this second volume of Power Rangers will likely serve their needs more than adequately and are incrementally a better set of adventures than those on the first volume.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
