DRAGON BALL SUPER:
BROLY:
BROLY’S RETURN IS A
SUPER SAIYAN BLAST OF ADRENALINE…AND DAMMIT I LOVE IT!
By Nico
Beland
Movie
Review: *** ½ out of 4
FUNIMATION
FILMS, TOEI ANIMATION, AND 20TH CENTURY FOX
(From
left to right) Broly, Goku, and Vegeta preparing for one hell of a Super Saiyan
battle in Dragon Ball Super: Broly
I recall back in my review of Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F from 2015
saying if they made a third theatrical Dragon Ball
Z movie, it would completely make up for the infamous 2009 disaster known
as Dragonball: Evolution. Give it four
years and we get Dragon Ball Super: Broly,
the third Dragon Ball movie to get an
American theatrical release following 2014’s Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods and 2015’s Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F, the fourth film to feature the
character, Broly after 1993’s Broly: The
Legendary Super Saiyan, 1994’s Broly:
Second Coming, and Bio-Broly
(also released in 1994), the first film based on the Dragon Ball Super story-arc, and unlike the previous two movies
which were only given limited theatrical runs through Fathom Events, this is the first Dragon Ball movie to get a wide U.S. release as well as the first to
receive an IMAX run outside of Japan.
After seeing this movie, I’ll admit
if it only got a limited Fathom Events
release for a couple of days like the other ones I would be pissed because Dragon Ball Super: Broly is AMAZING! Don’t get me wrong, Battle of Gods and Resurrection F were a lot of fun to see on the big-screen but much
like its overly-powerful antagonist, Broly’s
entertainment levels are over 9,000 and delivers everything fans of the Dragon Ball anime and manga expect, gorgeous
animation, flashy, over-the-top action sequences, goofy humor, and a whole lot
of fan-service culminating into quite possibly some of the most epic imagery
you will ever see in a Dragon Ball
movie or episode.
Coming out of the movie I described it as the Mad Max of Dragon Ball movies because the majority of it is one long action
sequence, but still manages to have strong character development and surprisingly
effective drama. Though I will admit the story is very reminiscent of Superman at times, fortunately it doesn’t
ruin the fun of the movie in any way.
The film follows extraordinarily
powerful Super Saiyan, Broly (voiced by Vic Mignogna-Naruto Shippuden, Bleach,
Digimon Adventure tri.) who once
lived on Planet Vegeta with his father, Paragus (voiced by Dameon Clarke-Yu Yu Hakusho, Fullmetal Alchemist, Borderlands)
when he was only a baby. When Planet Vegeta fell under command of the notorious
Frieza (voiced by Christopher Ayres-Kino’s
Journey, Black Butler, Sengoku Basara), Paragus attempts to
save his son but is stopped by King Vegeta who exiles them both to the desolate,
Planet Vampa, due to Broly’s abnormal power level as he fears him to be a
threat to his son, Prince Vegeta (voiced by Christopher Sabat-One Piece, Fullmetal Alchemist, My Hero
Academia).
After a harsh childhood on Vampa and
the destruction of Planet Vegeta, Broly has grown up into a powerful force of
nature who can only be controlled by a shock collar due to his uncontrollable
abilities. Broly and Paragus partner up with Frieza, who apparently came back
to life after being trapped in the lovey-dovey Hellhole from Resurrection F and set a course to Earth
to use Broly as a weapon to destroy the Super Saiyans and the entire planet.
Meanwhile, Goku (voiced by Sean
Schemmel-Pokémon, One Piece, Yu-Gi-Oh) and Vegeta are informed by Vegeta’s wife, Bulma (voiced
by Monica Rial-Full Metal Panic!, Neon Genesis: Evangelion, My Hero Academia) that six out of the
seven Dragonballs have been stolen by Frieza’s army and rush to the Arctic to
stop them from collecting the seventh Dragon Ball. But they are soon intercepted
by Broly and his father who controls Broly’s powers with a simple remote
control in hopes to get revenge on Vegeta for exiling him and his son.
Goku and Vegeta must use all their
skills and wits to stop this overly powerful foe and save the planet. However, there
may be some good in Broly trapped within his anger and Paragus’ control.
The film also features the voices of
Sonny Strait (Fairy Tail, Fullmetal Alchemist, Psycho-Pass) as Bardock, Sabat as Piccolo,
King Vegeta, and the dragon, Shenron, Emily Neves (Angel Beats, Grave of the
Fireflies, Starship Troopers:
Invasion) as Gine, Kara Edwards (.hack//Quantum,
One Piece, Yu Yu Hakusho) as Goten, Alexis Tipton (Blood-C, Soul Eater Not!,
Fairy Tail) as Trunks, Jason Douglas
(My Hero Academia, RWBY, Attack on Titan) as Lord Beerus, Anthony Bowling (Fairy Tail, Samurai 7, Strike Witches)
as Whis, Erica Lindbeck (Sword Art Online,
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans,
Fate/Apocrypha) as Cheelai, Veronica
Taylor (Pokémon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 series), Sailor Moon) as Berryblue, and Phil Parsons (Attack on Titan, Fullmetal
Alchemist, Tokyo Ghoul) as Nappa.
Overall, Dragon Ball Super: Broly is an adrenaline rush from beginning to end
and could easily be one of the best Dragon Ball
movies ever made. I mean, where else can you see a Super Saiyan battle where
Goku, Vegeta, and Broly fight in the CENTER OF THE EARTH!?! It is as epic as it
sounds and definitely the highlight of the entire film.
Even in the story department, Broly knocks it out of the park as we
get to explore Broly’s childhood and see the origins of his powers and what
made him go bad. Despite being the villain, you actually feel pretty sorry for
Broly and all throughout the movie you hope there is still some good in this
anger-filled monster.
A nitpick I have with the movie is
there’s not much screen-time with the Dragon Ball
supporting characters. Aside from a few scenes with Beerus, Whis, Piccolo, Goten,
and Trunks, the rest of the gang don’t even appear in the film, no Master
Roshi, no Chi-Chi, no Android 18, no Krillin or Gohan, not even Hercule AKA Mr.
Satan, I found that to be a little disappointing, but I still had a great time
with the movie.
I don’t know what else to say, Dragon Ball Super: Broly delivers exactly
what die-hard fans want to see and cranks it to over 9,000 with one of the best
climaxes I’ve ever seen in animation. If you’re a fan of the Dragon Ball franchise, this is one you
don’t want to miss on the big-screen and will hopefully lead to more theatrical
Dragon Ball movies in the future.
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