Dragon Ball Super: Broly Review

I have been watching the Dragon Ball series since 2002. Lord knows where I'd be if I didn't have access to my grandparents' crazy huge selection of channels on their big screen TV. Though I spend quite a bit of time on the internet, I only recently 'joined' the online Dragon Ball fan community. And with that I was exposed to the original Japanese broadcast and the many talented people who discuss this great series on various social media platforms like Twitter and YouTube. There were quite a few years when my attention to Dragon Ball waned, but the latest series, Dragon Ball Super, and the fans, brought me back to those days as a kid watching reruns of Dragon Ball after school. Like many of my favourite movies that have returned (Star Wars, Jurassic Park) It has been an absolute joy to relive the Dragon Ball experience. This was no different when I saw the latest Dragon Ball movie last weekend.

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It was a fully packed house at my local cinema tonight with a few fans even dressing up for the event. The large number of commercials played in front of this movie seemed like a cruel irony. I've only been waiting for what felt like forever to see this movie. But it was a small price to pay in the end. I cheered internally with unbridled enthusiasm when the first frame made its way to the screen. The story begins by establishing the three fathers, King Vegeta, Paragus and Bardock to Vegeta, Broly and Goku (Kakarot), respectively. The purpose which I think they pulled off really well here was to elucidate and contrast the type of father they are to these younger Saiyans. This essentially lays the groundwork for the rest of the movie. Though I guess you could argue the interaction between Goku, Vegeta and Broly was orchestrated by fate, it wasn't played out that way like the trailers suggested.

Vegeta, born with greatness thrust upon him; Broly, a Saiyan with an unusually high battle power, that which surpasses Vegeta's and pretty much sets up the story of this movie; and Goku, a low-class warrior; all vastly different individuals brought together by a common enemy: Frieza. Frieza was surprisingly one of the highlights of this movie, and this time around his role is more of a comedic one. I think this was the only way to bring him back into the fold, if not one of the main characters. And honestly, it works really well. Unfortunately, it could end up being his schtick moving forward, thus potentially taking away any sense of threat he imposes on the Z(S?) Fighters. However, my favourite character of this movie, and I knew this would be the case from the very beginning, is Broly.

When I first heard that Akiri Toriyama himself was penning the story and changing up aspects of Broly's personality, I was immediately excited about the possibilities. I know the fandom was divided over Broly prior to his reimagining. In the original movie he was just a big, powerful dude whose motivation to fight and destroy things stemmed from a crying Saiyan baby - Kakarot - who he grew up resenting. I was on the other side of the fence. While I acknowledged the lack of personality in Broly, it was simply too fascinating to see a Super Saiyan take on four Super Saiyans, with energy to spare. At the time of this movie, Super Saiyans were starting to become a normal aspect of the Dragon Ball lore, but this didn't sully the immense power demonstrated by Broly.

In saying that, I always felt he was missing something - a personality. His relationship with his father is such a great aspect of his character to focus on. There is so much depth to be explored there, and this movie did a pretty good job at showing the audience that side of Broly's character. It didn't really exist in the original movie, but you always knew it had to be there. I was very pleased to see that was the direction they (Akiri) took with Broly. The story of his only friend, Baa, a beast native to the planet that Broly and his father were stranded on, planet Vampa, was very touching. It gave the audience more reasons to sympathise with Broly. Old Broly was the devil, he said as much when he destroyed a planet during his fight with the Saiyans, and he was crazy, essentially. Probably driven mad by baby Goku's constant wailing. New Broly likes fighting, it's in his genes, but the reasons he fights in this movie were not of his own volition. He is an attack dog, and Paragus is his handler.

Paragus was controlling Broly much like he was in the original movie, and while their relationship appeared to be stronger, it was evident that Paragus cared more about getting his revenge. He was stranded on a wasteland of a planet for 40 years after all. So the idea that Broly is just a pawn hasn't really changed. But that wasn't too shocking. Though, it was interesting to see that Broly was unaware of his father's true ambitions. Something Cheelai, an outcast of the Frieza Force, tries to make Broly realise. This was the first part of the movie, before the much anticipated fight scenes that fans like myself have been eager to see.

It should be said that most of the story elements are thrown out the window once the fighting begins. But I wasn't complaining. I don't think I've seen a Dragon ball fight quite like this one. Other than the crazy aerial combat, the choice of 'camera' placement was a fresh take on the series. At one point it looked like a first person shooter game. In this case, the bullets were energy blasts, and their hands were doing the firing; and in some cases, the mouth. Broly went from fighting Vegeta in his normal state to fighting him in his Super Saiyan God form - a new transformation for Vegeta. Broly's rise to new limits cannot be understated here. I don't want to use the word prodigy, but he made a fool of both Goku and Vegeta. The audience is reminded that this Broly is not evil. He's being forced to do something that he can't control. Though for a guy with such a calm exterior, he withdraws a lot of power from anger, a key ingredient to the Super Saiyan transformation, though in this instance, a quasi-Oozaru state. This quickly puts his calm disposition to the wayside. Which leads to the all out destruction of a once snowy, mountainous terrain.

Frieza, like Paragus, wants to see the Earhtly Saiyans suffer, though for Paragus that focus is primarily on Vegeta. I don't want to talk too much about the following scenes because all they really do is showcase Broly's drastically growing power. However, one thing to point out is Frieza's manipulation of Broly. He kills Broly's father to anger him, to success, just to see him get even stronger. This moment throws more evidence at the fact that everyone in broly's proximity are essentially interested in him only for his power, all but Cheelai and Lemo. To a lesser degree Vegeta, but only because his desire to fight powerful opponents doesn't interfere with the safety of planet Earth. Unfortunately the same can't be said for Goku. This is Cheelai's role in the story and it's perfect. She truly cares for Broly. I mean, she didn't even trust Goku. She understands that Broly has been nothing but an instrument for practically his entire life and because of her ability to see through him, she saves him in his most desperate hour.

Speaking of, the fight between Broly and Gogeta - Goku and vegeta were just no match for Broly, separately - was so fast you'd miss out on half the action if you blinked. Though that isn't the reason that fight isn't in my top five, it was very well done overall. For me, I like the fights that are a little more character driven as apposed to just all out combat. Goku vs. Jiren was all the elements combined. I don't think anything will top that fight, for me personally. The story ends with what was probably one of the craziest revelations of the movie: Goku acknowledging and accepting his Saiyan heritage. For long time Dragon Ball fans that was a very big moment indeed.

To wrap this review up I'd like to acknowledge some of the technical aspects of the movie. The animation. Wow. There aren't words that fully describe how beautiful this movie looks, I particularly liked the different art styles incorporated into the second half. It is without doubt the best looking Dragon Ball movie to date. Growing up with the Funimation dub of Dragon Ball Z I was very attached to the Bruce Faulconer soundtrack, and it was tough for me to transition to the original Japanese soundtrack. Norihito Sumitomo is an absolute madman when it comes to making music for this series. Funnily enough some of my favourite tracks in fact come from the Dragon Ball Super series. And I enjoyed the soundtrack in this movie just as much. I haven't mentioned this yet but for me as a fan my absolute favourite moment in the entire movie was the sound of Cha-La Head-Cha-La playing as the movie transitions through a highlight reel of sorts of all the great Dragon Ball moments. I really could not contain the feelings I was having. I felt like a kid again and it was such a powerful moment to experience. For any long time Dragon Ball fans that was surely a highlight.

This movie is the definitive Dragon ball experience with truly touching moments and some of the best fight scenes you've ever seen from this series. It's almost finished its run at the theaters. It's been a roaring success at the Box office and I think it spells a very bright future for Dragon Ball. I hope you got to experience Dragon Ball Super: Broly on the big screen like I did. It's the only way to experience this movie to the fullest.