Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie

With sparkles flashing in their juvenile faces and wind blowing back their hair, the Power Rangers (Jason David Frank, Johnny Yong Bosch, Catherine Sutherland, Nakina Burrise, and 12-year-old newcomer Blake Foster) are once again morphed into ersatz role models in this noisy fantasy adventure directed by David Winning and Shuki Levy. After Divatox (Hilary Shepard Turner), a Cruella DeVil-like cleavage exhibitionist, kidnaps the friendly little wizard Lerigot (Jon Simanston) for a magical key that has the power to unleash a fiery beast, the multicolored quintet dart over CD-ROM-like terrain in their new turbo racers (designed by George Barris, who also customized the Batmobile) to save him and, yes, ultimately, the world. A potpourri of special effects combining '50s schlock, Toys "R" Us ads, and Indiana Jones outtakes, this puerile saga of kicking-and-screaming is wearingly predictable and a frustration to anyone who doesn't believe in Santa. At the Harbour Mall, Holiday, Showcase, Tri-Boro, Westerly and Woonsocket cinemas.

-- Margareta Mildsommar