Dragonball Z: Resurrection F review

DRAGONBALL Z: RESURRECTION F:

A DOUBLE DOSE OF SUPER SAIYAN ACTION AND THRILLS ON THE BIG SCREEN FOR DBZ FANS!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** 1/2 out of 4

FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT, TOEI ANIMATION, AND 20^TH CENTURY FOX

(From left to right) Goku, Frieza, and Vegeta ready to battle for the fate of the planet in Dragonball Z: Resurrection F

            Looks like I got my wish back when I reviewed Dragonball Z: Battle of Gods last year, another theatrical Dragonball Z film was right around the corner, Dragonball Z: Resurrection F, the fifteenth film based on the incredibly popular Dragonball Z anime. Like Battle of Gods, Resurrection F did not get a wide theatrical release, but instead a limited release through Fathom Events, and it still angers me that the 2009 live-action film, Dragonball: Evolution got a wide release and I’m still suffering from it.

            But fortunately, Dragonball Z: Battle of Gods and Dragonball Z: Resurrection F are here to save the day. Packing the same animation and English voice cast we know and love from the series, over the top action, and a decent sense of humor, everything the original series was known for.

            Some time after the events of Dragonball Z: Battle of Gods, we find the villainous Frieza being resurrected by the remnants of his army who used the seven Dragonballs to summon the dragon, Shenlong to bring the pieces of his obliterated corpse from his defeat by Vegeta and Bulma’s teenage son, Trunks and use their newly acquired resurrection machine to bring the evil overlord back to life to exact revenge on the Super Saiyans that have destroyed him and sent him to the most vile and despicable hell imaginable for any villain, with a new army and a brand new form.

            And that’s where our favorite doofus with a big heart and aggressive Super Saiyans, Goku and Vegeta come in, training with Lord Beerus’ right hand man with a severe Earth food addiction, Whis to enhance their fighting capabilities and powers. While that’s going on, Goku’s first son, Gohan is now a family man with his wife, Videl and their newborn baby daughter, Pan, Krillin is now a policeman, sporting some hair, and married to Android 18 (Did I miss something?), and Master Roshi is exactly the same as he ever was, but they are soon called upon by Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, Vegeta’s wife, Bulma, and Piccolo who warn them that Frieza has been resurrected and is coming to Earth to destroy them.

            When Goku and Vegeta hear about Frieza’s return, they must master their Super Saiyan God forms, make it back to Earth, and stop Frieza once more, before the entire planet is destroyed, with the seven Dragonballs along with it.

            Overall, Dragonball Z: Resurrection F delivers the same amount of excitement and humor that Battle of Gods delivered last year, this time however there was definitely more effort put into the humor of Resurrection F than Battle of Gods, there were so many moments in the film where the audience burst into laughter, cheering and applauding to go along. One extremely positive thing I can say about this film is that they finally turned Frieza into one badass villain, I swear every time I watched him on the series, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter because of how silly he looks, but once his Gold Frieza form appeared in the film, it became much easier to take him seriously.

            And like Battle of Gods, it makes me hate Dragonball: Evolution even more, because of how much it didn’t live up to the source material and made die-hard Dragonball fans vomit with disgust, me included. Both Battle of Gods and Resurrection F are perfect examples of what everything Dragonball: Evolution isn’t, that movie can suck my Dragonballs. (PS if you weren’t expecting a Dragonball: Evolution rant in here, I owe you all a Coke!)

            If you’re a long time fan of Dragonball Z or a newcomer and loves the anime and Battle of Gods movie, you’ll have a ball with Dragonball Z: Resurrection F, and I’m hoping to see another Dragonball Z theatrical movie next year, with two great full length Dragonball Z movies released back to back, one more should pretty much eradicate my memory of Dragonball: Evolution with a Kamehameha Spirit Bomb on Steroids.