It has been argued before that Dragon Ball Z should have ended a long time ago. Specifically, it should have ended following the long arc that had the heroes taking on the alien warlord Frieza. It was the last time that the series had any sense of stakes, the characters at that point still vulnerable enough to be in any actual danger. Since then, these characters have essentially become gods, and the series has degenerated into a succession of ludicrous power ups that lead into fights devoid of tension and danger. This is the main problem with Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F, which brings the iconic threat back but treats him with utter nonchalance.
The movie begins with Frieza in his own unique version of hell, hanging from a tree while stuffed animals parade around him. The remnants of his army, led by Lord Sorbet, heads back to Earth and interferes with Pilaf's latest attempt to collect the Dragon Balls. With them, Sorbet wishes Frieza back to life. The resurrected Frieza immediately plots his revenge on Son Goku, who is spending his time in the world of Beerus, Lord of Destruction, training with Vegeta in their neverending quest to become stronger.
Frieza may have been a serious threat once upon a time. But here he is practically a joke, a mere nuisance in the day-to-day lives of these indomitable heroes. Goku and Vegeta are hanging out with literal gods. Compared to that Frieza doesn't really seem that dangerous. And the movie operates in that way, with the characters just shrugging off every terrible thing that Frieza does. Frieza is such a minor villain at this point that the movie is forced to delay the arrival of its two main heroes. Otherwise, it would all end too quickly.
And at this point, nothing really matters. There's always a way to undo anything that goes wrong. The story has a built-in reset button in the Dragon Balls, and various other means of negating damage. The movie isn't at all interested in delivering a story that actually affects the status quo of the world. The last movie, Battle of the Gods, at least introduced something new to this universe. This movie clings to the past, one that just isn’t as interesting anymore. At best, it is running in place, throwing out a series of meaningless fights that don't change anything in the slightest.
The animation still isn’t great. It certainly hasn’t improved since the last movie. Once again, the computer-generated imagery helps bring greater movement and dynamism to these fight scenes. But there fights are all the same, and there’s little sense of progression or tension in these supposedly world-ending clashes. The same tricks are used over and over again, and the power levels are so high at this point that it’s paradoxically hard to feel any of it.
Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F feels like a step back. The sense of humor is still there, but it takes a back seat to what has become the least interesting part of the franchise. There is just isn’t much left to say through the characters fighting. By the end of all this, the characters have gained absolutely nothing. They have learned no valuable lessons. They have not grown as people. They are still the same insanely powerful people they were when they started. As much affection one might have for these characters, this movie just isn’t worth the time.
My Rating:
