Take me down to cameo city where Lord Pilaf is blue and Jaco The Galactic Patrolman is not so pretty.
Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection of “F” is the latest film in the long running Dragon Ball franchise, and it’s one of, if not the best film the series has offered up so far. Look, I was more than skeptical before jumping into Resurrection of “F” for a number of reasons, and for the most part everything that I feared was addressed, although the whole Lord Berus thing does sort of negate my ongoing reviews of the latest Dragon Ball Super series; Yes, yes, time-hoping and reinterpretation and all that jazz, but still.
Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection of “F” will no doubt divide many of the DBZ fans around the world. In the film we get to see the return of Lord Frieza, thanks in part to the earth Dragon Balls. A lot of this doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but most will forgive it since Frieza is such an iconic villain in the series, and the reason Goku was first pushed to reach the first level of Super Saiyan, of which he has long since surpassed. Still, I find it really strange that after all the issues those balls have caused the Z Fighters just sort leave them out in the world unattended. Come on guys, why don’t you ant least collect them and let each of earths strongest fighters keep for for safe keeping. At the very least we get to see the return of Lord Pilaf and company for a bit in a nice nob to the original Dragon Ball series, so I can forgive it.
Frieza is now sporting a new golden form with a heightened power level, one that apparently can even match Super Sayian God. The reason stated for this transformation is that Lord Frieza never had to train in his entire life, and now that he is reborn he spends about six months training to reach a new level. I know that Frieza was pretty powerful, but it makes little sense that it would have been so easy for him to reach a new level and not do it during the DBZ series just for the hell of it. Still, he does make mention just before training that his father, who thankfully wasn’t brought back as well, said that the only two people he should never challenge was Buu (who is on earth, yet never appears to help even though Krillin name drops him as an earth defender) and Lord Berus. Funny enough both Goku and Vegeta are training with Whis on Lord Berus’ planet, and while this is fine, it ruins the entire premise for the Dragon Ball Super that is currently airing.
Where Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection of “F” really shines is in the spectacular fight scenes. The film features enough action beats to put the entire Dragon Ball Z series to shame. The fight choreography is fantastic, with characters fighting like mad and the camera zooming and panning around them in a manner I haven’t ever seen before in the series. If you are just looking for some incredible fight scenes, then you will not be at all disappointed. Still, while the majority of the film is straight up action, this means that the story does suffer a bit, especially with regards to tertiary characters. Feeling the immense power level we see Gohan, Krillin, Master Roshi, Tien, Jaco, and Piccolo come to face Frieza and the 1000 remaining members of his army in battle.
They of course know that they are no match, so they choose to leave out the rest of the lesser Z Fighters for their own safety. The plan is to hold out long enough for Goku and Vegeta to return from their training to safe earth, but you’d think the Z Fighters on earth would have brought all the help they could get. I understand that Yamcha and Chiaotzu may not be up to snuff anymore, but not having Android 18 and Bu there, two fighters who clearly outclass Krillin and even probably Gohan at this point is just silly. No doubt this was done to save on the costs of animating more fights, but at the very least we could have gotten some explanation why Bu wasn’t there.
Thankfully the team on the ground show some amazing talent taking on Frieza’s army, and it’s always great seeing Tien kick some serious butt. The power and skill they display is quite impressive, especially thanks to the fantastic animation. I also have to make mention that Jaco the Galactic Patrolman joins the fight as he is the one that warns Bulma and the Z Fighters about the new threat from Frieza. Most will have no idea who this guy is, but serious fans will know him from his own manga series that spins-off from Dragonball Z. He’s a fun new addition and his character serves to keep things lite during all the serious bits.
The fight with Frieza comes pretty late into the film, but it does not disappoint in style or in scale. The appearance of Lord Berus does cause some issues with Frieza, although he never interferes with the fight. it’s a nice call-back to the intro and what was told to Frieza by his father, but it only serves annoy me not seeing Buu there to at least cause Frieza some discomfort. Still, the back and forth with Goku as Super Saiyan God and Golden Frieza is a fun ride, and the inclusion of Vegeta showing off his new strength is sure to please fans.
The fight is of course wrapped up in much the same way as any other major Dragon Ball Z encounter, but we do get a nice twist to the finish. I won’t spoil it here, and while it gets a little silly, we finally get to see Goku actually grow as a character. He finally addresses his one major weakness that not only has plagued him the entire DBZ series, but one that has let so many of his friends and family die. It’s a satisfying end, but one that really puts the brakes on Dragon Ball as a series when you think about it. What else is there? How much more powerful can one get when they are essentially a god? I know that Golden Frieza serves to show that there are others in the universe with immense power, but when you are training with Whis, the person that keeps Lord Berus in check, there doesn’t seem to be much of a threat from anyone.
Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection of “F” is a fantastic display of action on a scale never before seen in the Dragon Ball world. It also serves up the first real character growth for our hero, Goku, that we have seen since he beat Frieza the first time. If you are a fan you already know you are going to love this one, and after the slow start to Dragon Ball Super, it’s really nice to see some balls to the wall action from our heroes.
Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection of “F” will be in theaters August 4th – 12th. To find tickets near you head to fandango.com.
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