By Jason Nimer
The time has just flown by, hasn't it? It seems like just yesterday that I
was keeping a constant vigil on YouTube, waiting for the trailer for the
American live-action Dragonball film (now called Dragonball: Evolution) to pop
up. It's been more than a year since then, and the movie will finally see the
light of day in a little less than a fortnight. The hardcore Dragonball fan
community has been complaining about it for months now, and pretty soon we'll
all see if it is as bad as the people who have watched a 30-second trailer have
decided it will be. If you can't tell by my tone thus far, I'm one of the few
willing to give the film's re-imagining of my favorite property a chance. Will
it be a good movie? Probably not, but I'm holding my judgment until I have some
solid ground to stand on (i.e. actually seeing the film for myself). Gasp! But
but logic has no place on the Internet! I know just try not to be too
flabbergasted by my ability to use it in this case.
You're probably reading this and thinking, "Why would he bring up the American
movie in a review about Funimation's newest Dragonball Z DVD release?" Well, I'm
following one unpopular opinion with another here, but the star of the films
that are grouped for this new "triple feature (i.e. three features in one
package)" set the Legendary Super Saiyan Broly has a lot in common with the
upcoming film: he is aimed squarely at the younger, less discerning demographic,
he has absolutely nothing to do with the Dragonball source material and his very
existence is like a dark stain on the white tuxedo that is DBZ. Garlic Jr., Lord
Slug, Bojack, Janemba, Cooler all are villains found in the Dragonball Z
movies, but not the manga or television program, and all are equally lame (to be
fair, Garlic Jr. was shoehorned into few episodes of DBZ, but those episodes
were pretty bad). I have about as much use for movie-only villains as I do for
Dragonball GT; you can read my angry, purist, nerd reviews of DBGT Season One
(link) and DBGT Season Two (link) on this very site, if you need a framework for
my GT/movie bad guy comparison.
Anyway, the Broly Triple Feature DVD set (also available on Blu-Ray) is the
latest entry in FUNimation's re-re-re-release of the DBZ movies, a release
schedule that runs almost parallel to the company's re-re-re-release of the DBZ
television show in a season-by-season format. Sure, these films have been on
American store shelves for well over four years now, but the price and cool
steelbox package are fairly nice, as is the new transfer to DVD. Realistically,
though, if you already own these, there is little reason to buy them again. If
you're a new DBZ fan or first time buyer, this collection is the version to pick
up. This set is the only triple feature set (the rest of the 13 movies are being
packaged as double features), which can be a good thing or a bad thing,
depending on the level of importance you place on continuity. You see, the three
movies starring Broly are DBZ movies number 8, 10 and 11. Movie 9 was packaged
with movie 7 in the two-month-old Super Android 15 and Bojack Unbound double
feature. Yeah, the numbering is off a bit, but it really does make more sense as
Funimation has chosen to release it. To be perfectly honest, the numbering
bothered me a bit at first, but having all the films in a cohesive set far
outweighs the minor annoyance of having them sit slightly out of order on my
bookshelf.
Ok that's way more background and cursory information than you probably needed,
so I'll jump right into the films themselves at this point. A word of warning,
though; if you aren't familiar with the world of Dragonball, this review may
come off like it's in a foreign language. This set of films (like all the other
sets) requires the viewer to have at least some idea what is going on, so
natuarally, this review expects the same.
The first of the trio and the first appearance of Broly himself is
appropriately titled "Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan." The film's story is
built around Paragus, a Saiyan who, along with his son, Broly also a Saiyan
somehow survived Planet Vegeta's destruction and sought out Vegeta (The Prince
of all Saiyans, as he often reminds us) to reestablish a new Saiyan homeworld.
Vegeta, of course, goes for it and less-than-politely demands that Goku (the
only other pure blooded Saiyan left besides himself), Trunks and Gohan (both
half-Saiyan, half-human) stay out of his way. Paragus and Broly prove to be
less-than-honorable characters and soon, Goku and the rest of our heroes are
facing off against Broly, who through some rewritten history, is the Super
Saiyan of legend, a supposedly unstoppable warrior. I'll give you two guesses
who comes out on top in the end.
The second and third films stretch the limits of plausibility even further.
Admittedly, these are Japanese cartoons filled with flying warriors who shoot
fireballs from their hands, but "believable" in the context of the material is
far different than believable in the real world. The second and third films, "Broly:
Second Coming," and "Bio-Broly" require much more of the viewer in the terms of
what they'll accept.
The second film opens with Broly, who could not possibly have survived the
events of the first film, somehow alive and more pissed off than ever. This film
works within a different era of the actual Dragonball Z story; the first time
Broly showed up, he had to deal with Goku and friends as they were right around
the time the fought Cell. By the time Broly shows up again, Gohan is a teenager,
and Videl and Goten have entered the mix. Knowing what you should of the series
tells you that in this fight, the problem of stopping Broly falls more on Gohan,
Goten and Trunks than it does on Goku himself.
The third and final film, "Bio-Broly," ranks right up there with "The Dead Zone"
and "Lord Slug" as one of my least favorite of the DBZ films. Just like the last
two, this one takes place in a different window of the main storyline, which
means the only fighters with a real chance against the reborn (sort of) Broly at
this point are the two youngest, Goten and Trunks. As little sense as Broly
surviving the first movie made, this one stretches even further, with Broly
being resurrected not in his normal form, but as a Clayface (Batman villain)
look-alike, brought to life by a mad scientist. If I told you more than that
about the plot, you'd call me a liar. Check this one of if you're morbidly
curious.
As much as I detest Broly and what his appearance does for the overall
Dragonball mythos, these three films do have some cool stuff going on. The
fights in the first film are among the most brutal the property has seen; only
Videl vs. Spopovich and Vegeta vs. Kid Buu approach the level of knock-down,
drag-out brutality seen in the final moments of the battle with Broly. The
second and third film have less going for them, as the fights are ho-hum and
Bio-Broly, a.k.a. a pool of goo that can't even really talk, let alone serve as
a threatening villain, is the lamest of all 13 film's villains. And with Garlic
Jr. and Cooler in that same category, you know Goo-ly (I just made that up!
Clever, huh?) just has to be pretty bad. The most positive thing I can really
say about the set is that it serves as a part of a whole, and with it's release,
fans are one step closer to being able to have the full set of movies in some
kind of cohesive set. For me, that's enough to warrant a purchase right there,
but then again, I said the same thing about the two Dragonball GT box sets. Ugh.
The DBZ movie and television show sets are only about two months from being
complete, with May 19 marking the release of season nine of the show and the
last double feature, containing movies 12 and 13. Those two are sets I can
recommend with a clear conscious. Goku and Vegeta's final fight with Buu tops
off the television series nicely, and movie 12 has the epic confrontation
between Goten, Trunks and (wait for it) zombie Hitler and his zombie army of SS
troops. No, I didn't make that up. Check out Broly's film pack if you like, but
make double sure to be back here in May for the final two releases and reviews
of the of the best anime in recorded history. And just think, by then all of us
fans will be social pariahs for singing the praises of the basis for possibly
the worst film of the year. Woo-hoo!
Final Rating:
(only
because it's DBZ otherwise,
)
