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Power Rangers - Jungle Fury: Way of the Master
Score: 60%
Rating: TV-Y7 FV
Publisher: Walt Disney Home
                  Entertainment

Region: 1
Media: DVD/1
Running Time: 135 Mins.
Genre: TV Series/Martial Arts/Family
Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: English for the Hearing Impaired

Features:
  • Sneak Peeks (8)
  • Trading Cards (3)

Power Rangers - Jungle Fury: Way of the Master is the second DVD release featuring episodes from the 2008 television series. This DVD contains episodes seven through twelve (of thirty-two). The overall season plot revolves around the new team of Power Rangers as they battle a recently freed evil entity known as the Dai Shi. Each member of the team must learn to harness their individual strengths and to fight as a group. Through the course of the season, they meet their new master, RJ, and are joined by various allies who further their training and assist them in their fight against the Dai Shi.

Anyone familiar with earlier versions of Power Rangers shows will quickly recognize this season as following pretty much the same formula as before. Why reinvent the wheel after all? As before, viewers will be subjected to stylized martial arts performed by actors in brilliantly colored attire battling creatures from a drunkard's nightmare. The acting is fairly low-grade and the script is generally uninteresting. There are some attempts at dealing with moral and ethical issues, but these attempts are fairly circumspect. Still, be honest, the children watching this are not worried about plot, script or acting. They want flamboyant characters, and of that, Power Rangers Jungle Fury offers an abundance.

Each successive season of Power Rangers has offered a new twist, and this one is no different. The new team of heroes have harnessed jungle spirits to help them fight. Each member of the team can unleash spirit attack moves based upon jungle animals specific to that member, and, in moments of need, the team can combine with one another for even more devastating collaborative attacks. The overall effect is somewhat interesting and should feed the imagination those budding Power Rangers watching the show. The computer graphics on the show, while not Hollywood movie quality, are passable and do not detract from the experience.

Episodes seven through twelve revolve around the Rangers finding their new masters. Each Ranger has an individual master, in addition to RJ, who teaches them styles based on jungle spirits other than their primary animal. They learn to use new weapons and improve their combat skills by incorporating new techniques. Meanwhile, Dai Shi has also begun training in a new style, which he means to use in his quest to destroy the Rangers once and for all.

As with the previous DVD in the series, Power Rangers - Jungle Fury: Welcome to the Jungle, the storyline of the episodes is contiguous. Still, only containing six of the thirty-two episodes from the season is a bit perplexing. It makes me wonder if, at some point in the future, a set with the entire season will be released. Without any bonus features to speak of, I would recommend to anyone thinking of purchasing this DVD that they wait a while and watch for a release that includes the season in its entirety.



-The Mung Bard, GameVortex Communications
AKA Buddy Ethridge
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