Well, we're at the end of the animated Dragon Ball films. 19 Animated films in total. ...unfortunately, I'm STILL not done, but more on that later. Today we look at the two most recent films released, the Super Duology! ...named so because Super adapted these two films into it's first two arcs. I thought that was obvious.
As you well know by now, I'm watching the Japanese versions, my opinion isn't better than yours, and I use a confusing mix of Japanese and dub terminology to anger both sides of the debate. Ain't I a stinker?
BATTLE OF GODS
To make things clear right off the bat, I'm reviewing the Extended Edition, not the Theatrical version. Why? Because I FRIGGIN' LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!! Sorry, let's start at the top. Our film begins with Beerus, god of destruction, waking up after around 39 years of sleep to find someone he dreamed about called Super Saiyan God. Cut to Goku on King Kai's planet, and you know where this is going. Beerus and his attendant Whis arrive to ask Goku about the Super Saiyan God, but Goku has no idea what they're talking about. Before the duo leave, Goku begs Beerus to spar with him. Goku goes Super Saiyan 3 straight away, but Beerus just curb-stomps him with a finger and leaves to ask Vegeta on Earth. Speaking of Earth, it's Bulma's birthday and everyone of the gang is there. ...Except Launch. No one cares about Launch. King Kai warns Vegeta about Beerus, but it's too late as he has arrived, and Bulma invites him and Whis to the party. Oh, and the Pilaf gang are there! They're kids again, but just as hilarious as ever. Well, one wacky event after the other happens, and Vegeta successfully manages to keep Beerus happy and calm... until Buu eats all the pudding before Beerus can try any. Now Beerus will destroy the world as punishment. ...that is so petty and stupid that's it awesome. Well, everyone tries their best against Beerus, including Vegeta becoming super charged when Beerus slaps Bulma, but no one stands a chance against him. All seems lost, when Goku suddenly appears! He uses the Dragon Balls to ask Shen Long how to get a Super Saiyan God, and the crew begin the process of making one. ...unfortunately, they all suck at math and basic listening skills, so they are one Saiyan short. But Videl reveals that their IS one more Saiyan... she's secretly pregnant with Gohan's child. They try again with Videl, and Goku becomes a Super Saiyan God! Well, the fight happens for a while, until Goku suddenly returns to base without noticing. Despite losing the god power, Goku gains a second wind and attacks Beerus at standard Super Saiyan, keeping up just as good as in his god form. Well, despite the second wind, Beerus is just too powerful for Goku, who yields defeat to Beerus. Beerus insists on keeping his promise to destroy Earth, and does so. ...he destroys a single rock, saying he may finish the rest later some day. With the realization that Beerus won't destroy the Earth, the heroes say goodbye to Beerus and Whis as they return to their planet, promising to return to try pudding. The movie ends with Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo reflecting on what happened and how the god power felt... until Goku reveals he had been watching Beerus beat up his friends before, causing Vegeta to have Bulma slap Goku repeatedly.
...Oh my goodness, I love this film. The emphasis on comedy and characterization is what I love most in my Dragon Ball, as opposed to simple setups as excuses for fights. Not to say the fight between Beerus and Goku isn't amazing, just that it is a natural evolution of the story. Also, Beerus and Whis is amazing, and the fact that Goku couldn't overcome Beerus but still succeeded in saving Earth by showing his potential is so much better than Goku just fighting a random evil guy for 40 minutes until he wins because time is almost up on the movie. This movie isn't perfect, of course, and people that aren't a fan of the more comedic side of Dragon Ball may not enjoy it, but in my opinion this is the best Dragon Ball film made so far.
RESURRECTION "F"
We start with being shown the deepest, darkest, most depraved part of Hell reserved for the most vile, evil, unrepentantly evil villains of all history: A sunny, flowery wonderland filled with fairies, singing teddy bears, and happy, upbeat music that screams sunshine and happiness. ...I think I missed that part of the Bible... anyways, Freeza is obviously here, screaming n agony over the display in front of him. We then cut to the remnants of Freeza's forces, and see how crappy they're doing without Freeza. Seeing that they'll be destroyed soon, the leader, Sorbet, decides there is only one option: Head to Earth and ask Shen Long to Resurrect Freeza. With the unwilling help of the Pilaf gang, Freeza is brought back to life and fully healed on the Freeza Force spaceship. Now that he's back, Freeza has just one thing on his mind: REVENGE! And so, he goes off to train. 6 months later, Jaco arrives on Earth to warn that Freeza will be there in one hour. Unable to contact Goku or Vegeta, who's training with Whis on Beerus' world, Bulma assembles the backup squad! Gohan, Piccolo, Krillin, Roshi, Tenshinhan, and Jaco. ...Earth is so screwed. Well, they manage to defeat all of Freeza's men, but they say that even all combined they'd stand no chance against Freeza. So since it's that part in the story, Goku and Vegeta show up to save the day. Goku fights Freeza for a bit, until they both decide to pull new forms out of their butts! Goku reveals a Blue form of Super Saiyan that has the god power, and Freeza reveals a gold form that hurts my eyes. Well, despite putting up a decent fight, Goku still beats Freeza... until Sorbet shoots Goku in the back with a laser, causing Freeza to gloat about winning. Finally having enough, Vegeta steps in to fight Freeza himelf, having Krillin give Goku a Senzu to save him. Vegeta reveals his own Blueberry flavoring, and proceeds to whoop Freeza so hard he loses his gold! Well, Freeza decides to heck with it, and blows up the planet. Seriously. Luckily Whis and Beerus saved Goku, Bulma, Jaco, Gohan, Piccolo, Tenshinhan, Roshi and Krillin from the destruction, and Whis can turn back time 3 minutes so that Goku can stop Freeza. He does so, and Goku steals the kill from Vegeta with a Kamehameha. our heroes celebrate the win, and Goku and Vegeta agree that they'd rather grow stronger instead of teaming up, and we end our 19th film with Freeza returned to the Rose Garden that is Hell, where he screams forever more. ...Until the Tournament of Power, at least, but that's another story...
This movie is good... but no where near the levels Battle of Gods reached. Freeza is as delightful as always, the inclusion of Jaco is nice, and seeing Roshi, Tenshinhan, and Krillin back in action was great. However, half this movie is devoted to a fight scene with poorly explained power ups being thrown out, a rather pat resolution, and playing up how weak everyone but Goku and Vegeta are. I like the movie, and it's still better than a lot of the other films, but it's not the best. Still, if you prefer the action packed fight scenes, you may like this more than Battle of Gods. In the end, it's all opinions.
FINAL THOUGHTS
These 2 films, while not perfect, are great. Battle of Gods focuses more on the comedic and character driven aspects of the franchise, while Resurrection F focuses more on the action packed fights and inflated powers of the franchise. But more than anything, these two movies revived in interest in Dragon Ball in it's fan-base, the public eye, and most importantly Akira Toriyama. Toriyama didn't have a lot of interest in Dragon Ball, having been run into the ground during the manga's original run. But he agreed to step in to fix Battle of Gods, and he had a lot of fun. So much so that he wrote the first draft screenplay for Resurrection F, which went on to be the biggest financial success in Dragon Ball history. These two things led to the decision to bring Dragon Ball back to t.v. in a brand new series: Dragon Ball Super. So like them or not, you have got to respect these two films for bringing the creator of our beloved series back.
Well, I guess that's it. No more movies. No...more... movies... Ok, fine. We still have three movies to go, but they're unlike anything you've ever seen in this franchise. Prepare yourselves, as we delve into the darkest timeline, for when we next meet I'll be reviewing the Live-Action Trilogy. Yes, that's right: Trilogy. Kami help us all...
I am The R2 Dude, and this is The R2 View!
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