Super Android 13

God I love DBZ, most people I know are split between loving it and hating it. I respect both opinions but personally, I love it. The most common complaint I hear about DBZ is that it's too long, and yes that tends to be true. The show, great as it was, had the problem of dragging out fight for about thirty something episodes. Those of you who have that opinion regarding the show will actually be pleasantly surprised by this movie. It's essentially 45 minutes of straight action and fighting, which is where the show strengths are. We start with Androids 17 and 18 destroying their creator Dr. Gero in a scene that mirrors the series (despite the fact that the movies usually are not in continuity) The death of Dr. Gero triggers the activation of the powerful Android 13 and his minions 14 and 15. Meanwhile, the Dragon Ball Z gang is shopping at a mall and there are a few comic relief shenanigans, including a humorous bit of Trunks holding a spot in line for Krillin, Roshi and Oolong for a swimsuit pageant. However the comic relief doesn't last long and our two minor villains show up. Android 15 is a purple skinned midget whose ridiculous clothes lead me to believe that he's some sort of racial stereotype, also every 5 minutes or so he drinks flask, leading me to believe that he's actually a prototype for Bender from Futurama. Android 14 is a big ol' S.O.B. who looks like the terminator if he were conceived by Rob Leifeld. He's so big and badass that he causes TV's to explode simply by walking past them. Following their programming, they seek out Goku nearly destroy the entire mall in doing so. Goku and Trunks engage them in battle but Goku demands they leave for a place with less people. They continue their fight in an icy wasteland, conveniently located near the city. The fight continues and Goku seems to be an even match with the androids until Android 13 shows up. This guy is one of my favorite Z-Villains. He wears a Baseball cap during a fight, how cool is that. Also, he's one of the few DBZ villains to actually swear. Whenever you see him you feel like George Thorogood's Bad to the Bone should be playing in the background. Goku and Trunks take them on while Krillin and Gohan watch from a distance. Just when the fight seems to be turning in the villains favor, who should show up but Vegeta, in one of the most awesome character entrances in Z history.The three Pair off against the various androids but not before all going Super Saiyan at the same time. The rest of the fight is pretty straight forward with the great action that DBZ is known for. Eventually Vegeta and Trunks defeat 14 and 15. When 13 learns of this he stops fighting and picks up a few of their spare parts and adds them to himself, making him uber powerful, and blue for some reason. Oh and I think Piccolo showed up at some point but even with the reinforcements, 13 is now seemingly invincible. As per usual, the only one with enough energy to fight is Goku and he start forming a spirit bomb. However, instead of throwing the energy at the super robot, Goku absorbs the energy, goes Super Saiyan and kills 13 via punch through the chest while making the mother of all rage faces.

And so we end with our heroes having a laugh together and Piccolo and Vegeta sitting on an iceburg watching fish jump.

What Works:

Pure action. Familiar heroes, and great villains. I also like 13's attitude about his mission to kill Goku. He's well aware of the fact that he cannot escape his programming, but unlike characters in the show like the gentle Android 16, 13 does not give a crap. He seems to think, "If I gotta kill this guy, I might as well have fun doing it" I think that's pretty cool.

What doesn't:

Yes, it gets corny at times and the dialogue can be bad at times but hey that's DBZ. The good really outweighs the bad in this movie.

Overall

5/5

*Sigh* Well, this is a Dragon Ball Z review so I guess there's only one thing to say.

Nappa: Vegeta, what does the scouter say about this movie's powerlevel?

Vegeta: IT'S OVER 9000!!!!