A personal favorite of mine, in regards to the Dragonball Z movie franchise, and agreed by most to be one of the best in the series. Personally, it ranks at a VERY close second place, right behind “Tree of Might”, as my favorite in the series.
The plot? Well, for a Dragonball Z movie, it actually has a pretty inspired one. Geriatric mad scientist, Dr. Kochin, uses the Dragonballs to free the evil Dr. Wheelo (pronounced “Willow” in the movie but spelled “Wheelo” on the back of the box) from his icy tomb deep in the mountains. Together, they plot to take over the world, only there’s one snag: Dr. Wheelo is nothing but a brain in a jar. Dr. Wheelo needs a body, but not just any body; he wants the strongest one in the world. You can guess what happens next. Goku and Company are brought to his fortress in the mountains to do battle with his various bio-warriors, and eventually, Dr. Wheelo-himself. If they lose, Dr. Wheelo gets Goku’s body. If they win…we get another Dragonball Z movie.
“Tree of Might” is my favorite in the series for personal reasons, but looking at “World’s Strongest” for all its merits, it really is the BEST in the series. The animation direction in this film is remarkably cinematic. Everything has a very creative and epic visual flare, as opposed to other Dragonball Z movies, which tend to be dull-looking and feel like an episode of the TV series. “World’s Strongest” feels like an actual MOVIE.
For Dragonball Z, the plot is most creative and entertaining. The TV series and the movies tend to follow the same formula of “evil alien/demon fighting Goku, transforming over and over again until it reaches its top level and then Goku has to turn to Super Saiyan 15 to beat him”. This was an early Dragonball Z film, so that means NO Super Saiyan plot-devices. Yay! The whole B-movie concept of a mad scientist with his brain inside a giant robot is very alarming considering the predictable trend of the bulk of these movies and is really most refreshing. All the characters are worked into the plot expertly and, save for maybe Krillen who kinda comes out of nowhere, nothing feels particularly forced.
Toei’s animation is gorgeous. The later movies would suffer from off-balanced animation budget (where two-thirds of the budget would be saved for the fight scenes and the remainder would be used for the “boring” stuff), but not “World’s Strongest”. The animation through-out this film is incredibly consistent and down-right pretty.
Of course, the animation shines best during the fight scenes. And let me say, this movie has my personal favorite fight in the entire franchise: Goku vs. Kishime and Ibuforiya. The battle is fast, brutal, hectic, creative and all-around CRAZY! From Kishime’s vanishing speed technique, to Ibuforiya’s ice blasts; there’s so much going on at once you almost get dizzy. And there’s one particular punch Goku throws at Kishime, you’ll know it when you see it, that I just want to congratulate the people at Toei for. EVERY time I see it I can’t help but go “OUCH!” The animation, sound, everything comes together to give an incredible feeling of power behind the blows. And there’s also plenty of fanboy-tingly moments, like Goku, Master Roshi and Krillen all shouting “Kamehameha!” at once. Great work.
And the voice-acting from Canada’s Ocean Group is once again worthy of all levels of praise. I say it often, but Scott McNeil’s Piccolo is just magnificently evil and barbaric-sounding. Saffron Henderson’s Gohan also really shines in this movie, giving the kid a tough yet cute voice that sounds childish and professional all at once. Don Brown’s Goku also deserves some kudos for striking a pitch so high while screaming “Kaiyoken!” that people often mistake it for the original Japanese voice actor (who was female).
I suppose the only real draw-back is Gohan’s musical number in the middle of the movie (they had one of these in “Dead Zone”, too). It’s really pretty annoying to listen to and very off-putting, considering how crazy-violent this movie is. It’s also kind of embarrassing when you’re telling someone how hardcore the action in the movie is, and then they have to sit through super-deformed Gohan dancing around with cartoon rulers and pencils.
This movie, at least as far as Dragonball Z movies go, gets a solid A. Whether you love Dragonball Z or are looking to get into it, this is something you should see. It’s the very best the franchise has to offer.
Grade: A
Dragonball Z movie 12: “Fusion Reborn”
The Dragonball Z movie series is one-step away from its conclusion, and to be honest, it’s really for the best. The Buu Saga, with all its goofiness, redundant levels of Super Saiyan and filler beyond anything you’ve ever experienced before, ranks as my least favorite of all the Dragonball Z story arcs and is one of the reasons why I quit watching the television show. And sadly, this movie culls most of its inspiration from that very story arc.
Story-wise, it goes like this: a dimwitted teenage employee in the Afterlife accidentally busts a machine collecting negative energy from souls departing to Hell. The negative energy possess him and he becomes the all-powerful, but annoyingly childlike, Janenba. Janenba wastes no time turning everything in sight into candy, and by flexing his powers over time and space, breaks down the barrier between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Gohan and Associates get in gear rather quickly to save their city from the walking dead (and a certain Nazi dictator) while Goku and Vegita take-on Janenba in the Afterworld. Things go from bad to worse when Janenba stops fooling around and transforms into his mightiest form, JanenPA. If Goku and Vegita want to win this battle they’re not only going to have to put aside their differences and fuse into a single super-being, but they’re going to have to do it RIGHT.
I’d say the worst part of the movie is Janenba. The character is, for all intents and purposes, Majin Buu colored yellow. He acts the same, he looks the same and he has the same candy-fetish. So if you loathed the Buu Saga as much as I did, you’re going to totally hate the first half of this movie.
Luckily, once the action picks up, he transforms into the royally hardcore Janenpa. The bulk of the animation budget was dedicated to the fight scene between Goku, Vegita and Janenpa, so the brawl is absolutely gorgeous to look at. What makes Janenpa so cool are his attacks utilizing his ability to warp time and space (think “The Spot” from Spider-Man only more violent). The animation never fails to accommodate this unique talent and the battle really shines as one of the best in the entire movie series.
Regretfully, since the majority of the budget went toward that fight scene, the rest of the movie has animation-quality noticeably worse than most filler episodes of the TV series. A few “artistic” devices were used to try and make this seem less obvious, like making most of the ghosts and zombies look completely flat with thick, black outlines (like the animation in Clerks: the series). Yet despite all that, the scenes not involving Janenpa are incredibly dull to the senses.
I’d also like to say that the movie had one of the most badass and also the most disappointing moments I’ve ever seen in a Dragonball Z movie. In one scene, Frieza makes a grand comeback and confronts Gohan. The two get ready to spar when Frieza commands an entire army of dead Dragonball Z villains from the TV series and the movies. It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen and really got my hopes up. Unfortunately, this lasted maybe 5 seconds. I won’t ruin how it ends for you, but chances are you’re going to be just as painfully disappointed as I was.
The main focus of the movie, the fusion of Goku and Vegita into Gojita, is remarkably unsatisfying. To try and create “tension” they include a torturously long segment of the most childish potty humor you can imagine, and quite frankly it just isn’t funny. The appearance of Gojita at the end isn’t going to impress anyone at this point in the Dragonball timeline either, as once you’ve seen one Super Saiyan transformation you’ve quite honestly seen them all.
“Fusion Reborn” has one of the most glorious fight scenes you’ll see in any Dragonball Z movie, hands down. However, this only makes up a very small portion of the actual film. The story is just rehashed from a uniquely bad arc of the TV series, the animation when characters aren’t fighting will have you wishing you were doing Algebra homework instead and the bit with Frieza is such a rotten waste of potential you might just hurl a brick at your TV.
This gets a C-. If it weren’t for that fight scene I’d rank it quite a ways lower.
Grade: C-
Dragonball Z movie 4: “Lord Slug”
The fourth installment in Dragonball Z’s movie franchise, and regretfully, one of the most creatively bankrupt offerings, as well.
The plot of the movie is one of the most rehashed and recycled plots in all the Dragonball Z mythos; “Evil alien comes to Earth, wants stuff, fights Goku, transforms to more powerful mode, Goku goes Super Saiyan, The End.” Well, to be more specific…
The geriatric space-tyrant, Lord Slug, has come to Earth in order to terra-form it into a new home world. Upon arrival he discovers the Dragonballs and quickly uses them to regain his youth, and the full-power that comes with it. After wrecking a good portion of the planet, Goku, Piccolo and the rest decide they’ve had enough and show-up to deal with the baddy. The fight’s not as easy as they’d suspect, as Lord Slug is in reality the last of a race of Super Nameks, which means he’s plenty tough.
“Lord Slug” hasn’t got much going for it in any department. The story is just plain boring. The previous installment, “Tree of Might”, had already given us a similar bad guy in Turles, and Lord Slug just feels like more of the same. Additionally, his legion of minions has to be the most uninspired in the series (save for maybe Metamacha, whose energy-sucking babies are rather cool) and thus, none of the precursor battles leading up to the showdown with Lord Slug are particularly enthralling.
To make matters worse, the fight-choreography for this movie is just plain BLAND. When compared to the clever, brutal and fast-paced fights from the previous installments, the battles in “Lord Slug” are just rather…boring. The final battle with the title villain feels especially uninspired, as all his attacks are nothing we hadn’t seen already from Goku’s encounters with Piccolo in Dragonball.
And, last but not least, Super Saiyan level ½ is utterly pointless. Just like Super Saiyan level 1 only with pink hair. It didn’t feel at all exciting or impressive and is certainly not the way one should be introduced to the Super Saiyan concept (nothing beats that first transformation during the Frieza saga).
There were some points of interest, though. The environment for Goku’s initial battle with Lord Slug was interesting, as it takes place in the ruins of a city. I don’t know why, but I found it entertaining to watch Goku and Piccolo get tossed through department stores and super markets. Also, although it’s sadly too brief, we get to see Chi Chi kick a little ass for a change at the very beginning of the flick. She’s supposed to be one of the most powerful women in the world, but you rarely get to see her throw down. While short (she only knocks out two baddies), it’s most refreshing.
“Lord Slug” also marks the first of the movies to be dubbed by the new Funimation cast, as opposed to the Ocean Group, who had been dubbing the movies up to this point. The Funimation crew had been dubbing the TV series for quite some time before they’d gotten to this movie, so all the new actors have settled into their characters quite comfortably, which means there’s no real awkward adjustment period. While it does take some getting used to, most of the actors are rather good and take the Ocean Group’s baton admirably. Sean Schemmel’s Goku is a personal favorite, and I’d say he’s about equal to Don Brown’s rendition (Ian Corlett will always be my favorite, however). Christopher Sabat does a nice job as Piccolo, and while a far cry from Scott McNeil’s take on the character, he’s still a good casting choice never-the-less. Lord Slug-himself has a voice much better than the actual character; the actor managing an impressive “grizzled old man” voice that sounds more menacing than it does goofy.
No, the major problem with the Funimation dub is not the voices, but rather, it’s the music. While the Ocean Group dub had maintained the original music (for the movies, not the TV series), Funimation made the choice to replace it with their own, bland Kasio Keyboard-quality slop. It does manage to grow on you after a while, but that’s mostly through developing a tolerance and not an appreciation. To make matters worse, they cram in excess amounts of licensed pop rock from bands like Disturbed. While, occasionally, this music does add some pep to the fight scenes, Funimation figured it would be best to run the music over dialogue scenes, montage scenes…and…well, over EVERYTHING. If you want to hear if King Kai is saying something important or not, you first have to drown out “Stupified” as the people at Funimation hadn’t quite mastered the art of volume-control.
“Lord Slug” is a shamefully skippable installment to the franchise, and really not the best way to get acquainted with the new cast. It gets a C-. It’s not as bad as some of the later installments in the series, but the story and fight scenes are so forgettable, well, it’s just a waste of time.
Grade: C-
Saw 2: Review
I Saw Saw II
Saw (2004) introduced audiences to a fresher form of horror which amalgamated the suspense of a Hitchcock movie with down and dirty visuals and the use of a drop of torture to create a compellingly successful horror movie. It was sadistically violent yet excused itself through the plot premise of a man, Jigsaw, who wanted to make sure that his victims would leave his death traps with a new appreciation for life. It was satisfactory for people who want a little bit more substance with their horror and definitely gratifying for those just wanting to see blood and guts.
Saw II does not disappoint as it hitches on to where the previous film left off. The Jigsaw killer (Tobin Bell) is at it again, leaving conceited victims in escapable death traps to give them a taste of death in order that they may fight (and appreciate) their lives. This time, he has Detective Donnie Wahlberg’s son and Donnie is not a happy camper. Donnie finds Jigsaw and is freaking out the whole time as he watches his son on a computer, navigating haplessly through a house of horrors in an undisclosed location.
As before, we are introduced to a cadre of miscreants who have a bit more character to them than your run-of-the-mill horror movie kids who are expected to die. There is a reason why each character is chosen for Jigsaw’s experiment and each test of their longevity is crafted with them in mind. The movie takes a step forward from the previous Saw by actually revealing the Jigsaw character, his origins, his motives, and himself as a person. He is not as deliciously evil or complex as Hannibal Lecter but is definitely as tangible and memorable. And as before, there is a nice twist at the end that is not as shocking as the originally but still a catalyst for a Saw 3.
As with all horror movies, this is a film to be reserved for those who can take it and not for those of us who are faint of heart or don’t want that “I’m going to Hell” feeling after seeing it. For those that can see it, Saw II is appreciable in its own way and you’ll like yourself better afterwards. Jigsaw is pleased.
Grade: A
Godzilla vs. Mothra: Review
Just as a note, I watched the film in fullscreen, English dubbed. That’s not the optimal way to view a Godzilla film, so I won’t mark that against it.
And as another note, this is the first time I’d watched the movie since I was around 8 years old and it came on the Disney Channel (back when you had to pay for it) on a double feature with “Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster”. I remember not liking it then because I hated, and still hate, Mothra.
C’mon, what has she got going for her? Ooooh she’s a really big moth! I’ve never dug the giant insect kaiju, like Kumonga and Kamakuras. That and she’s the “good guy” of the Godzilla universe. I mean, Godzilla will battle to save the Earth, but that’s only for self-preservation. If the Earth burns, so does he. Mothra fights to protect the world and innocent people and all that crap. Goody-two-shoes. Add to that I never really dug her special attacks, either. Stun Spours, Laser Antennea and that stinger ray from Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. The web-spray in larva form is alright, but that power really belongs to Kumonga. C’mon, moths only shoot webbing when they’re forming their cocoon, not to trap pray or whatever. And then there’s those two twin brats. I just don’t understand why Mothra is so popular. She even had all those Rebirth movies during the 90’s.
Anyway, with that aside, it was actually a pretty damn good movie. For one thing, I really liked the human drama in this one. The typical “Government hires scientists to stop Godzilla” drama has been done to death. A story about a group of reporters trying to get to the bottom of the Mothra egg mystery was actually pretty interesting. Add to that the greedy, back-stabbing theme park owners and a well-rounded array of human characters and the human drama was at its best.
I won’t waste your time too much with a plot-rundown, as there isn’t much of one (this is a Godzilla movie, after all). But essentially, the following stuff happens; the Mothra that attacked Tokyo (in “Mothra”) is old and dying and lays an egg. A bunch of greedy theme-park owners steal the egg to exhibit it. Godzilla recovers from his last battle (in “King Kong vs Godzilla”) and shows up at the theme-park. A battle with Mothra quickly follows.
This Godzilla suit is one of my favorites from the Showa series. He doesn’t look silly like in later films. In fact, he has these weird brownish eyebrow-things; it looks great. The fight scenes were both good and bad. The fast motion made me sick; it looked like and episode of The Munsters. The fighting-itself was rather impressive, though. They made Mothra’s flying look reasonably real, something they couldn’t seem to accomplish with Megaguirus 40 years later. The first Mothra/Godzilla battle was excellent, actually. It’s the second one that pissed me off. The Mothra larvae just get to vantage points and spray him with silly string for 20 minutes. Cheap! Just one more reason for me to hate Mothra.
But still, the special effects in this movie were impressive all the way around. Though I hate the tiny princesses, I was impressed with the effects used to make them appear to really be 6 inches high. Every scene they were in (which was quite a few) had to be a special effects shot. Everything from blue screens, to dolls, to giant sets were used to make it appear genuine. And, given the time period, looks really believable.
I also liked the way Godzilla’s atomic breath melted the tanks. They turned red, caught on fire and slowly turned to ooze. Nicely executed. I have to say, this is easily the best kaiju flick featuring Mothra in a prominent role, next to “Giant Monsters All-Out Attack”.
I’ll give it a B. It was a solid, well-directed, well-acted, well-written movie. One of the better in the Showa series and a real pleasure to watch, even if you hate Mothra.
Grade: B