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Lady Purple is the 2023 superhero science fiction mystery thriller film directed by Kimberly Peirce. It is the spin-off of the Power Rangers film series and the fourth installment. The film was produced by Kevin Misher, with a screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. The film stars Angourie Rice as the titular character Lorcan Darcy/Lady Purple, alongside Courteney Cox as the main antagonist, Helga Barne. Set in an alternate universe from the main Power Rangers universe, the film's story follows Lorcan Darcy who gain supernatural powers, and must work with a legendary Power Ranger to take on the most challenging event behind her past and true purpose that connects Helga's evil plan in the wake of Tommy Oliver's death. The film is dedicated to Jason David Frank who died by suicide on November 19, 2022.
After Darcy stepped down from the film, Peirce was hired to oversee the remainder of post-production, including writing and directing additional scenes, as well as reshooting a large portion of the film, which changed many aspects of it; Snyder ultimately retained sole credit as director. With an estimated production budget of $300 million, Lady Purple is one of the most expensive films ever made.
Lady Purple premiered in Los Angeles on August 24, 2023, and was released in the United States on August 28th, 2023. It coincided with the 30th anniversary of the Power Rangers franchise. The film grossed over $657 million worldwide against a break-even point of $750 million, becoming a box office bomb and losing Paramount Pictures an estimated $60 million. The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised the darker tone, action sequences, production, costume design, cast performances, plot. runtime, emotional wight, musical score and its tributes to Frank.
Plot[]
In an alternate universe, the Christmas Season, 1996, the Power Rangers were fighting in the losing war against the Machine Empire's forces. The Angel Grove Police Department took all the citizens of Angel Grove out of the city for their safety. However, King Mondo, the ruler of the empire, has created the most powerful monster that the Rangers have ever faced. Just then, they succeeded in defeating the Rangers in battle, and the Megazord getting destroyed by one of the Machine Empire's titans in combat. After the battle, the Machine Empire enters into a truce with the governments of the Earth and the Power Rangers are disbanded.
Twenty-six later, in 2022, a young high-school girl Lorcan Darcy is saved during an unknown chaos by one of the Power Rangers, but Tommy Oliver is killed in the chaos. Following Tommy's funeral, Lorcan discovered that Tommy was a Power Ranger.
A year later, in 2023, Lorcan works a young waitress living in New York City with her girlfriend and roommate, Lucy Baine. Lorcan is still reeling from the deaths of her parents and twin brother eight years prior, and maintains a positive relationship with her foster mother, Jessica Barne. She finds a small purple cube at the charity store and decided to buy it. Meanwhile, Helga Barne, the leader of the organization, discovers the small cubes known as the XCLs, a cube that possessed powers that connect with the Morphing Grid. She has seven and must find the other three.
One morning, Lorcan encountered a homeless man wearing a green hooded trench coat sitting in a subway train. Lorcan encountered Marylin who bullied and harassed her for being special but is stopped by the local man who happens to be Adam Parks, the second Mighty Morphin Black Ranger. Helga gained superpowers and decided to use them for her ultimate plan.
After Lorcan confronts him, Adam confirms that he was a Power Ranger before what happened, but Marylin - still looking for revenge - is about to hit him with her car, but Lorcan used her powers to save Adam. Impressed by her newfound abilities, Adam offers Lorcan to train her in to becoming a Power Ranger herself. He wants her to come with him to meet an ally of his named Gia Moran, the Yellow Megaforce Power Ranger, while at the same time Helga located the eighth and ninth XCLs and discovers that Lorcan holds onto the tenth one. However, she decided that nine is enough.
Lorcan, guided by Adam and Gia, reveals to been dealing with hallucinations of her birth parents and her twin brother, who died when she was ten. As Gia explains to Adam that Lorcan's powers are growing. Adam discovers they've been followed by Helga's allies. Gia and Adam morphs before letting Lorcan escape. Helga encounters both Adam and Gia and captured them.
Lorcan arrived home where she looks at the photos of her birth family - her birth parents died in a car accident and her twin brother, Cillian was killed during their escape from the orphanage. That wasn't long before she was taken to her first foster home. Her foster parents then brutally abused her in a hidden chamber beneath the basement of their house, turning it into a torture chamber as they ruthlessly beat her with belts and shackles. At one point, Lorcan tried to climb up the walls to escape but was unsuccessful. After she somehow got out, her social worker find her all bleeding up and take her to a different foster home where she meets the Barnes, who helps her moves on from the abuse.
Snapping out of her flashback, Lorcan sees the purple XCL glowing. Using its power, Lorcan's fully considerated on mastering her power. Lorcan morph into her armor as a purple Power Ranger, which she called herself, Lady Purple, and is accepted by her group and peers as a Power Ranger. Lorcan vows to avenge her family.
Lorcan realizes that the only way to save the multiverse from Helga's plot was to use her powers to rewrite the past where the Power Rangers were defeated by the Machine Empire and altered the past to where the Rangers instead won. In the effects of time travel, the soldiers of the Machine Empire have been erased. Lorcan uses her powers to send the legendary Rangers back to their home universe. Four weeks later on December 24th, The Highly Criminal Organization has been shut down, the White Bear Justice Park and the New Evoultion has been dealt numerous lawsuits, and Helga has been arrested for her crimes follow of the battle. Lady Purple is praised as the city's hero. Lorcan meets Wes Collins, the Red Time Force Ranger, who thanks her for saving the world. Lorcan returned to her normal life while keeping her new powers and vow to uses them to protect the innocents from evil. Lorcan visits her old home in Chicago on New Year's Eve on her own, allowing herself to move on from her past and finally grieve.
In a mid-credits scene, Lorcan learns that a house across the street was bought by Kimberly Hart, the original Mighty Morphin' Pink Power Ranger.
Cast[]
- Angourie Rice as Lorcan Darcy:
a young waitress who becomes Lady Purple after gaining superpowers from a purple cube called the XCL. Lorcan is a lesbian and a social outcast in her school for being special. Blaming herself for her family's death, she seeks revenge on Helga.- Lexi Rabe as young Lorcan.
- Rowan Blanchard as Lucy Baine/White Metaforce Ranger, Lorcan's girlfriend who knows about her powers. She boned with the white XCL and become the white ranger.
- Jake Austin Walker as Henry King/Green Metaforce Ranger
- Dante Paolo as Darrel Jones/Black Metaforce Ranger
- Stella Smith as Artemis Cross/Pink Metaforce Ranger
- Gianni Paolo as Chaz Dalton/Blue Metaforce Ranger
- Emma Mayers as Maggie Smith/Yellow Metaforce Ranger
- Corey Fogelmanis as Andy Parker/Red Metaforce Ranger
- Ciara Hanna as Gia Moran:
The Yellow Megaforce Power Ranger who became an ally of Lorcan due to her growing powers. - Johnny Yong Bosch as Adam Park:
The second Black Mighty Morphin Power Ranger who became Lorcan's mentor due to her growing powers. - Jason Faunt as Wes Collins:
The Red Time Force Power Ranger. - Courteney Cox as Helga:
The leader of the Highly Criminal Organization, the CEO of the White Bear Justice Park and the founder of a cult called The New Evolution who becomes Lorcan's arch-nemesis. She obsessively shows her hatred to the Power Rangers. Since she lost her family during the war, between the Power Rangers and the Machine Empire, Helga's mind severally deteriorated to the point that she blamed the Rangers for her family's death and developed an intense hatred for them. - Tori Spelling as Jessica Barne, Lorcan's foster mother who's on good terms with her.
- Hayley Orrantia as Melody Barne, Lorcan's foster sister.
- Troy Gentile as Alex Barne, Lorcan's foster brother.
- Sean Giambrone as Randy Barne, Lorcan's foster brother.
- Lochlyn Munro as Peter Darcy, Lorcan's biological father who died with his wife Molly in a car accident caused by Helga.
- Shannen Doherty as Molly Darcy, Lorcan's biological mother who died with her husband Peter in a car accident caused by Helga.
- Grayson Eddey as Cillian Darcy, Lorcan's older twin brother who died after being shot by Helga to protect Lorcan.
Amy Jo Johnson makes an uncredited appearance as Kimberly Hart from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Archive footage from previous Power Rangers canon of Frank as Tommy Oliver is used in the film's ending.