The new Dragon Ball ‘Super Movie Super Hero’ was the highest grossing film on the week of release beating out Idras Elba’s new picture Beast and released to critical acclaim. The film follows the story of the return of the Red Ribbon Army and their attempt to conquer the world with the new Android creations Gamma 1 and Gamma 2 which are robot “Super Heroes”. They are programmed to defeat “evil” and serve “justice”, although in reality they are trying to kill the world’s defenders, the Z fighters. Gamma 1 and 2 come into conflict with Gohan and Picalo, two heroes who protect the earth and a huge battle ensues which culminates in the release of a giant kaiju size monster called Cell Max. He is intent on destroying the world and our heroes team up to defeat him and Gama 1 and 2 see the light and fight for the side of good.
Dragon Ball is a long running anime and manga series which started in 1984. It follows Goku and Bulma on their quest to find the magic Dragon Balls and defeat evil. Later the series focuses on Goku and Vegeta’s battle against evil and their quest to get stronger and become gods.
The latest movie in the franchise takes place 2 months after chapter 88 of the Dragon Ball Super Manga where Frieza, the main villain of the entire franchise, who massacred millions and makes money from enslaving people and destroying whole planets. Freiza also ruined Goku’s and Vegeta’s lives when he blew up their home planet and killed their parents. He achieved a new transformation in this latest chapter and nearly killed our two heroes. They only escaped because he spared them!
Their role in the latest movie is minimal with them spending most of the time training Broly, the Legendary Super Seyian, the strongest character in the series.
Goku and Vegeta have a very minor role in this movie which in my opinion is good because it gives the movie time to focus on under used characters like Gohan, Picalo and Gotenx as well as Android 18. These characters have been side-lined over the years as the story switched its focus to Goku and Vegeta and their quest to get stronger.
The story of the latest film focuses on the return of the red ribbon – army a huge threat in the original series. The film gives a nice little recap for those who did not watch the original Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Z and is a great starting point for new fans to jump into this vast world of heroes, magic, aliens, and monsters. Because Dragon Ball has been running for 38 years it’s very hard for newcomers to get into because of all the characters stories, so this movie is a good starting point for new fans because it strips back Dragon Ball to its core of good vs evil it also has all the action and fights the series is known for.
The new art style
Most fans weren’t too enthused about the change from hand drawn animation to full CGI – some were put off by the change and some even compared it to a bad PS2 game. The CGI is high-budget though and reflects the original mangakas style so its very faithful to his vision. Personally, I don’t think it really effects the film. The fights were already in CGI in the main series and prior TV shows so I don’t think it’s much of a change.
My opinion on the film is it’s a good instalment in the franchise and a good super hero movie in keeping with the spirit of the show.
If you like Marvel or DC this movie is nothing like them. Its fun and mindless slapstick action packed fights with energy beams, transformations, flight and explosions. It’s fun and a nice experience with a heart-breaking ending, so if you’re a dragon ball fan, or just want a fun action movie, Dragon Ball Super Super Hero is the film for you!
ROCK THE DRAGON!