Official Synopsis
Even the complete obliteration of his physical form can’t stop the galaxy’s most evil overlord. After years in spiritual purgatory, Frieza has been resurrected and plans to take his revenge on the Z-Fighters of Earth. Facing off against Frieza’s powerful new form, and his army of 1,000 soldiers, Goku and Vegeta must reach new levels of strength in order to protect Earth from their vengeful nemesis.
Dragon Ball Z is a huge universe. Enormous, gigantic and definitely sits firmly in the hearts of its fans. And there are quite a few of those. To say it was a big deal when Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F was announced for a theatrical release, as well as the announcement of Frieza’s return, it would be an injustice to the word understatement.
Prepare yourselves, fighters, because here we go.
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The entire story revolves around one simple plot point — Frieza (Christopher Ayres) is coming back from hell and he wants his revenge on Goku (Sean Schemmel) — and he has prepared for it. Of course, first, he has to come back from the dead (not an easy task) and he has to pull himself together (literally). He does both, obviously, because the movie is driven by his revenge, as it wouldn’t be much revenge otherwise.
Anyway, the first 30 minutes of the film is dedicated to Frieza’s rebirth. The effort to bring him back is led by his temporary replacement, Sorbet (Jeremy Schwartz), who brings a lot of vicious comedy relief to the process. With the help of a mystical dragon, and a resurrection machine Frieza’s force has built, world beating badass is reborn into a more wholesome and powerful form.
What a way to begin a story, right? Writer and creator Akira Toriyama and director Tadayoshi Yamamuro don’t beat around the bush with getting it all going. They don’t waste time reminding people how XYZ are done in the movie, rather they just say ‘Hey! Let’s get this party started!’, and without any remorse whatsoever about story depth or exposition, they just get it going with the fighting. God, I love movies like this.
As the second act begins, and Frieza and crew head towards earth in search of Goku (because Frieza wants revenge badly), they’re met my Goku’s friends, as well as disappointment — Goku isn’t around. Goku and Vegeta (Christopher R. Sabat) are in a different dimension training with the very mysterious and powerful Whis (Ian Sinclair), who is trying to enhance their abilities to God-like status. Alongside of Whis is the deity Beers (Jason Douglas), who is the comedy relief and an avid eater of strawberry sundaes (he just is, dammit).
Anyway, as Goku and Vegeta are training, and oblivious to the return of Frieza, Goku’s crew try to do their best against Frieza’s force of 1000 soldiers, while someone tries to find Goku. The fight includes the likes of Gohan (Kyle Hebert), Krillin (Sonny Strait), Piccolo (Christopher R. Sabat), Master Roshi (Mike McFarland) and Bulma (Monica Rial). Let me just say, the fight sequence is above and beyond entertaining. The crew brings their best and ends up wiping out Frieza’s forces, only to be left alone against Frieza himself.
Unfortunately, that is an impossible task, despite their powers.
Midway through the movie, the crew has to find a way to contact Goku, hold off Frieza, while not getting obliterated in the process. Does this fight get a little long in the tooth? Heck no, the variety of characters in battle and their various methods of dispatching the bad guys makes the entire process interesting, fascinating and fun. Toriyama and director Tadayoshi Yamamuro keep the pacing and variety of onscreen action going until it has to concede with Goku’s overmatched friends.
As the movie pushes towards act three, Goku and Vegeta finally make an appearance, which is where the real beef of this movie comes alive. Frieza, who is beyond angry and revenge hungry achieves a new level of power for the occasion. Goku returns the favor, including the power, and the epic, land-smashmouth martial arts extravaganza begins and continues for nearly an hour. The film delivers on its promised crescendo. It doesn’t hold back on the violence and the rage these two characters feel towards each other reaches epic proportions. It goes back and forth, back and forth, back and forth until someone reaches their limits. Who is that, you ask? Not going to tell, but Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F delivers on its promise for untamed revenge and destruction.
Going into this film, I was almost positive that I would get lost in the large story I hadn’t kept up with over the years. Thankfully, DBZ Resurrection F feels contained, almost alone on its own island, welcoming all who have never tasted the series, but most certainly sparking a curiosity to check it out.
What I find baffling, even after two viewings of this, is how the end fight doesn’t feel long in the tooth and forced. I guess the formula here is the creative mixture of fighting styles, the slow climb to the climax of the fight and the gorgeous animation and audio that keeps your senses into it. The fight at the end was absolutely engrossing. I wanted more after it was said and done, and I hope to all that is good and holy in the Dragon Ball Z world that there is more to come.
Anyway, if you’re a Dragon Ball Z fan, you’re going to love this theatrical release. It’s a bit short on depth of story, but it certainly delivers what it promises, which is a vicious Frieza looking for a powerful fight with Goku.
Worth your time, folks.