Dragonball Z - Movie 10: Brolys Rückkehr

Felt like it was phoned in. The worst of all the DBZ movies I've seen. Broly wasn't even anything like the Broly from the first movie, he was basically neutered. He was brutal in the first movie, death incarnate. But in this one he just kind of floated around waiting for everyone to do whatever they wanted. They could have thrown a party in the middle of the fight and he just would have floated in the background staring menacingly until they decided it was time to fight him again. Gohan and Trunks didn't even seem to recognize him; no look of fear or even mentioning that they believed he died. It seemed like they made this just because they could, not because they had a good or thought out idea for a movie. Terrible and disappointing.

I loved the first Broly film. It had everything I love from Dragon Ball - a funny premise, ki-blasts aplenty and a great villain. I love the way the creators of this show have so much fun. I mean, the idea that a Super Saiyan of astronomic proportions is so angry is because Goku kept crying as a baby? Proper tongue in cheek there!

The second movie picks up 7 years where the first left off. Despite his apparent destruction, Broly is indeed alive although he is 'inactive'. It is only when Goten's loud cry (bearing resemblance to Goku's crying as a baby) rings through the ice do we see Broly wake up. Boy oh boy was he angry! Without the controlling headband, Broly is unleashed from the start and unlike many Dragon Ball movies, the action starts very early on into the movie. I felt this was somewhat rushed. Perhaps we could have had a bigger build-up. A further glimpse into the back story of Broly would have been great too. I just felt something was missing here that the creators failed to capitalise on.

The action sequences that ensued Broly's reactivation were very different from the first movie. Unlike the serious nature of battle captured in the first movie, the involvement of Goten and kid Trunks adds an element of humour here that I felt was great fun. Others may feel that Broly is one the villains in the Dragon Ball series who had so much potential, but was given a storyline that failed to meet it. To me, I loved the fact that the creators matched one of the strongest fighters in the universe with such a comedic storyline. It was a tale of polar opposites! The only thing I wanted to see was more of a fight from the younglings before teen Gohan came into the picture.

When the story came to an end it felt a bit anticlimactic. The story was just so basic that I thought there would have been more to come after the battle scenes. Perhaps the creators could have involved a further sub-plot of Saiyans who tracked Broly's reactivation and they could have also come to fight. Anything would have been welcomed here, but I suppose when you only have 50 minutes to play with there is only so much you can do.

If you liked the first Broly movie, you will enjoy this. It is very different from the first, but it is still enjoyable. However, don't expect a deep story because this is as basic as fisticuffs in Fight Club.

Yes, worse than Bio-Broly. Let me explain.

This movie focuses on Goten, Trunks and Videl. Certainly, an odd combo to pick for the movie but sure, let's go with it. Broly somehow survived the encounter in the last movie and crashes to Earth. I guess if he was able to survive Planet Vegeta blowing up as a baby, getting exploded by a Goku punch and being on the planet as it gets destroyed is just a minor inconvenience. Broly is then frozen in a lake until hearing Goten cry like a baby wakes him up. From there he goes on a bezerker rage only yelling "Kakarot".

This movie also takes quite a bit of time just to get started. Trunks and Goten agree to help out this town that is being tormented by a monster. Is the monster Broly? No, we haven't gotten to him yet. They agree to help out the town becuase Ttunks really likes the necklace that the priest is wearing. At first I thought it was because the necklace looked just like a Dragon Ball, but apparently that never crossed anyone's mind. Goten, Trunks and Videl are gathering all the Dragon Balls to make a wish. What were they planning on wishing for? I don't know, maybe Goten finally wanted to meet his dead-beat ghost dad.

Along with, how did Broly survive? And, why do they need the Dragon Balls? This movie raises other questions. Most of them wander into spoiler territory so I won't go over them here. But suffice it to say, the lore of the Dragon, how wishes are made, who is dead, and why Krillin is dressed like Piccolo are all put into question.

This movie has problems, it is poorly paced, poor action scenes, power scaling and lore that makes no sense. But I am one of the few that actually does like Goten and Trunks as characters, and some of the back and forth they have during the fight is good. Also, more than any other Dragon Ball movie, the team feels completely out of their depth and out classed. This does lead to a good sense of fear for the audience. The conclusion makes little sense, but it does give some simple satisfaction.

Minor Warning: This review DOES contain spoilers! If you haven't seen the film yet, watch it before reading this!

Plot: Shortly after Broly's defeat on New Planet Vegeta at the hands of his maternity ward neighbor Goku, Broly has managed to survive and escape to Earth via an Attack Pod. The elements enclose around him for seven years, and it's not until Goten starts crying over an apple that Broly gets back into action. Seeking revenge on Goku, his friends, and his offspring, it's up to Goten, Trunks, Gohan, and Videl to stop the Legendary Super Saiyan. But when the boys and Videl are down for the count, can Gohan stop the menace that was defeated by his father seven years ago?

This is the second of four Broly films I'm binge watching, with "Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan" being the first one I watched. Needless to say, it has just as much action as the first Broly film, but some comic relief as well, specifically in the form of Goten and Trunks.

After collecting six of the Dragon Balls with Videl, Goten and Trunks head off to stop a T-Rex that's been terrorizing a village. However, when Videl smacks an apple off of Goten's hand during their stealth mission, Goten loses his marbles and starts crying. Unbeknownst to him, as well as Trunks and Videl, this awakens Broly from his seven year long slumber.

Videl being beaten down with ease and Trunks and Goten dueling with Broly catches Gohan's attention and he heads after them. Gohan catches up with the kids and duels with Broly, causing Broly to enter his Legendary Super Saiyan form and Gohan to enter Super Saiyan 2. This is one of my favorite fights in the Dragon Ball Z movies.

This movie does lose some points for me, however, because of Broly's death in at the end. He could've at least apologized for what he did to Goku and the rest of the gang. But Broly dying in the sun was cool as well.

It was interesting to see Videl and actually play a fairly big role in one of these movies. Unfortunately, this movie made the mistake of being too short, which is what made the original so good. I also missed Piccolo, Future Trunks, and Vegeta. The end credits actually show stock footage from the first movie. Couldn't they even show stock footage from their own movie? Of course, this was by no means terrible. It helps that we have all the great action that the series is known for. It's just great to see Broly back.

There were so many Dragonball Z movies, I'm glad they had a recurring character as part of it. We really do get some nice bits with Goten and Trunks here too. Congratulations on them for their first movie appearances. Maybe that's why they were featured so much. Goku does in fact appear, but only for a few minutes at the end! I missed him for a lot of the movie, but it was pretty interesting to see some other characters take the spotlight for once and to see Goku and his two sons fight together. **1/2