On the 5th floor of the AMC 25 Empire on 42nd Street, someone asked me what was with the crowd of people that kept bumping into the light stand next to the theater entrance.
I explained that it was the New York premiere of Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F, and after hearing what was going on, this person and his friends debated about going to see the film.
But unless you’re well up on Dragon Ball knowledge, this isn’t worth seeing.
The film did not start immediately once we all were told to go in. We saw a pre-show screening helmed by Justin Rojas (the social media guy at FUNimation), where he and a few voice actors (like Sonny Strait and Chris Ayres) talked about how Frieza, the main villain, managed to cement himself as the main antagonist compared to every other Dragon Ball villain. Then came a questionnaire. I got everything right except any questions about Battle of The Gods, which I have not seen.
It probably isn’t necessary to watch Battle of Gods to enjoy this, but it would make the context of certain things understandable, as this is essentially a sequel to that film. Resurrection F has the last of Frieza’s group threaten Pilaf, Shu, and Mai into gathering all the Dragon Balls to summon what’s left of Frieza after his annihilation at Future Trunks’s hands. Thanks to a new regenerative technology, they are able to bring back Frieza, in his eclectic and gleeful state, and not surprisingly, he desires to exact his vengeance on Goku, despite the fact that Goku has changed plenty since their last encounter.
There’s a good amount that holds the film back, so before I get into what I liked about it, the drawbacks of Resurrection F are obvious: this is definitely not for those who haven’t seen much Dragon Ball. If you thought about trying to get your friends into the franchise with this movie,mthen it won’t work out. Prior knowledge of DBZ will be very helpful in getting acclimated to the cast, the jokes, and some of the references. I mostly expect those who have seen the series to watch the film, so this isn’t a huge problem, especially since this movie plays off nostalgia to an extent.
Sometimes, it doesn’t work out. One case was when they bring in the cast of six to face off against Frieza and his army. I dunno how Master Roshi or Tien got invited into this party, but based on the fact that we see Roshi grow in size, which I don’t believe has been seen since the early days of Dragon Ball, it seemed a clear play of bringing back almost all of the characters who played a part in Goku’s development. And when you have 18 available, seems especially weird to have her sit on the sidelines.
A high portion of the scenes for about 60% of the film were long and drawn out. The timing for certain points felt like it was going to end and it would move towards another scene, but you then realize the monotonous conversation between the same characters was continuing, and that only makes the film feel more extended than ncessary. The battles were almost the same way, but they were battles. However, it’s a shame that they weren’t all that exciting until Frieza actually started fighting. I was also disappointed that the visuals seemed unappealing. It kind of reminded me of the DBZ video games, and some parts looked awkward, mostly the backgrounds, which did not exactly look like a good sight.
It is definitely a Toriyama work, which generally works for him rather than against him. I complain about the long extensive scenes, but some had their jokes. The very start of the film begins with a joke. There are fairies, there are animals, it’s all happy and jovial — and then there’s Frieza’s really mad face looking at everyone as he’s trapped and can’t move. That is a hell only Akira Toriyama could think of. Jaco is full of jokes. The destroyer god himself, Beerus, just wants Earth’s food. That is why I love the series. The battles are ok, and sometimes they can be great. But how can you not laugh at powerful human or alien creatures succumbing to dealing with mundane, human tasks? I mean, you’d think Krillin could do better than be a police officer…
If you’ve watched the TV Dragon Ball series, you should give the film a try. You should probably expect how this will end for Frieza (Ok, actually, you may not guess HOW this will end for Frieza), since we all know Frieza no longer can hold a candle to the power levels of Goku or Vegeta. Instead, you’ll laugh at how Goku and Vegeta, instead of trying to defeat the threat that is Frieza with ease, fight each other on who’s turn it is to fight him.
These guys…
