Freiza has returned for the Dragon Balls, but the discovery of two stranded Saiyans results in an explosive encounter for Goku and Vegeta.
Forty-one years before the movie's main story, King Cold (Jason Douglas) arrives on Planet Vegeta with his son Frieza (Christopher Ayres) and their army.
The nervous King Vegeta exits his palace to meet the monarch, introducing his son as their new ruler, as he is retiring, warning of his coldhearted son's ruthlessness. Insulting them right off the bat with his typical "monkeys" insult, Frieza reveals the classic DBZ scouters, at this point brand new. Testing one, he locks onto multiple Saiyans he says are in sniping positions, and blasts each of them in seconds. King Vegeta is enraged and cracks one as they leave, then returns to the special Saiyan nursery for gifted babies, where his son Vegeta is above all others. After swelling with pride over his plans to rebel against Frieza and have his son be a ruthless king, he is shocked and confused to find another baby nearby. Some workers explain the child is Broly, son of Paragus (Dameon Clarke), and their scanners found his latent power is beyond the prince's. Infuriated at this claim, the king scans Broly, causing the baby to cry, and to their surprise the scanner explodes. They fetch another and find his power is under half the original rating, but a scientist notes he's is still exceptional, saying he could be the legendary Super Saiyan. Later, Paragus bursts into the throne room after learning Broly will be sent to some random world, a fate he says is meant for low-class warriors. The king retorts that Saiyans have always conquered planets, so doing so by himself would prove Broly a great warrior. Paragus counters that the planet, Vampa, is inhospitable and devoid of intelligent life, and wouldn't fetch a good price. The king then reveals the truth: Broly's power is so high it's freakish, and will most likely drive him insane later in life, making him a danger to the whole universe. Horrified and enraged, Paragus realizes the king is jealous of Broly; the king warns him to hold his tongue and explains he's too late, as the pod has already launched. Paragus rushes out and steals a ship, launching into space with worker Beets (Anthony Bowling), venting that the king is too prideful of the prince and is jealous that another child near the same age could overpower him. He plans to find a hospitable planet to raise his son, then allow Beets to leave. As he'd be executed if he returned, he wants to raise Broly and get revenge on the king.
Paragus and Beets land on the rocky, barren world, the former forcing the latter to help, and not caring about any of the recent news about the Saiyans and Frieza.
The duo is forced to hide until daylight when some monstrous bugs attack. Paragus warns Beets not to look at the setting moon too long, or else he'll transform into a great ape, explaining since the young Saiyan never has that he'll lose his sense of self. They land on a soft, green terrain, which they learn is a large, bestial creature after the insects begin sucking its blood; they realize the creatures feast on each other. Beets finds Broly's pod empty, so they head to a cave full of dead creatures where the boy is eating. Beets is shocked to find Broly's power level is 920, exceeding his own. Knowing Broly couldn't have done all this, Paragus incapacitates the boy by grabbing his tail, and determines he transformed into an ape and killed the insects. When they try to fly off, Beets finds the main floater is busted, meaning they're stranded and can't even call for help. Paragus says they have enough rations for 10 days, and decides to save what he can by killing Beets. Five years later, Goku's father Bardock (Sonny Strait) and Saiyan Leek (Austin Tindle), return to Planet Vegeta, wondering why Frieza wants the Saiyans together. Bardock is suspicious when they find he's already there, noting he could've used a radio. He recounts how Saiyans always conquered planets, then King Cold took over, and they've never worked together happily. Leek says no Saiyans like Frieza, and Bardock theorizes that since the reverse is true, Frieza might've decided to exterminate them. A nearby Saiyan suggests they've found a planet everyone is needed for, but Bardock becomes certain after learning Frieza has been asking about the Super Saiyan. On Frieza's ship, his underling Kikono (Sonny Franks) says they've determined the Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan God are just a myth. While pleased, Frieza says he's still not cancelling the attack, since the Saiyans are together, as it's the perfect opportunity to be rid of them. Meanwhile, Bardock returns him to his wife Gine (Emily Neves), who explains their oldest son Raditz is off-world with Prince Vegeta, and Kakarot is still in a nursing pod. She is horrified when he declares he's going to send Kakarot away to a decent planet, as with his latent powers he's destined to end up on a terrible world. Despite her complaints, he is certain Frieza is about to attack them, afraid of the Super Saiyan, and doesn't want to risk it not being just a legend. Gine tries to talk sense into him as he carts their son away later, suggesting they leave together, but he points out the soldiers would follow them using scouters. She notes how strange it is for a Saiyan male to care so much about their child, and Bardock believes that, after so much destruction, he wants to save something, and a perfect choice would be someone labeled low-class, like his son. They say their goodbyes and send their son off, with Gine begging him not to forget them. Back on Frieza's ship, the tyrant shrugs off Kikono's point that their forces will be halved, saying it's better to put a sleeping beast down before it can awaken. Exiting the ship, he hurls a massive energy ball at the planet. Most of the Saiyans watch in horror, and with Bardock fighting back but unable to stop it, Frieza watches joyfully as the readings on his scouter plummet to zero. Other Saiyans get word that a meteor hit the planet, and while Raditz notes they're lucky they ignored Frieza's order, Vegeta laments that he won't get to be king. Nappa brings up the prince's brother, and Vegeta shrugs that he probably died too. This attitude surprises the others, who are further shocked when Raditz is just as uncaring about his own brother, despite knowing he survived in a pod. While they ignore the destruction, Broly and Paragus are left unaware, and Kakarot's pod makes it to its destination on Earth.
A montage shows Goku and Vegeta growing as images from the series flash by, until we see the adult Goku (Sean Schemmel) and Vegeta (Christopher Sabat) training.
Bulma (Monical Rial) watches from a resort area with Whis (Ian Sinclair) and Beerus (Jason Douglas), and she explains their location is far enough from people that Goku and Vegeta can safely cut loose without hurting anyone. The sparring bothers Beerus so they stop, and Goku tells Whis he wants to get stronger is because the Tournament of Power proved he can't stay at his current level. Vegeta, on the other hand, wants to fight Frieza, venting his anger about Goku reviving the tyrant. He snarls the only reason he helped them was to help himself. Goku doesn't believe Frieza would attack again, since they helped him, but Vegeta snaps that he doesn't care about such a fact. Bulma gets a call from Trunks, who reveals people broke in and stole the dragon balls and her radar; they were wearing the armor of Frieza's men. Goku wonders what Frieza could possibly want, as the wish is limited by Shenron's power, and the dragon could therefore not make the tyrant much stronger. Vegeta is sure Frieza is after immortality to possibly beat them one day, but Goku is skeptical. Bulma reveals the last ball is on the ice continent and she was putting off getting it. When Beerus chooses not to come along, she hands him her daughter Bulla to watch. On the journey, Goku pesters her about her intended wish, and she says she planned to wish to be five years younger, as more of a change would be too obvious. In space, Kikono reports their success to Frieza, who decides to wait until they have all seven dragon balls before heading to Earth, as Goku and Vegeta can sense him. He is pleased to have instructions on how to make the wish, and Kikono asks what he intends to wish for. Frieza surprises him by revealing he doesn't want immortality, as his time stuck in Hell showed him eternal life would be boring. Being impervious to damage would be a similar case, and as he cackles that Kikono can't guess, his underling Berryblue (Veronica Taylor) guesses he wants to be taller. This claim horrifies Kikono, but she boldly states many underlings have died for calling Frieza a pipsqueak, and their lord admits that she guessed correctly. Frieza confuses Kikono by saying he wants to be five centimeters taller, and while he could just revert to his second form, he wants his others taller as well. His logic for the amount is similar to Bulma's: too much would be noticeable, and he wants people to think he's still growing.
Deeper in space, soldier Cheelai (Erica Lindbeck) is bored searching for recruits, but her partner Lemo (Bruce Carey) says they lack forces because Frieza killed them.
She admits she only joined because she's wanted and being a member keeps her safe. Lemo has served most of his life, but isn't a soldier and hasn't seen Frieza in person. As they talk about how frivolously Frieza kills his men, they find Vampa and lock onto a distress signal from Paragus, who makes it out just before they can leave. They're amazed to see a Saiyan, and as he thanks them, a bug attacks and Paragus calls Broly (Vic Mignogna). His son rockets in, leaving them shocked as their scouters can't reach his power level, so they invite the Saiyans aboard. On the ship, a simple bar of food in a wrapper confuses the clueless Broly, but he quickly devours it. His lack of civility is even apparent as thanking Cheelai is difficult. They return to Frieza, who is amazed to see Saiyans but notes Broly's lack of a tail. Paragus explains he chose to remove it because his son would rampage. Though there's still a possibility of rage that Frieza dislikes, Paragus says he can stop Broly by using a controller that sends a shock to the collar around his neck. Broly shows his lack of social understanding again, and Frieza says he seems to have tremendous untapped potential. He gives Cheelai and Lemo a generous payment. Frieza asks if Paragus knows of the "meteor" that destroyed his planet, and is pleased to learn he doesn't mourn it. The man is enraged to learn Prince Vegeta IV is still alive. Saying he'll help Paragus get revenge, Frieza has Berryblue take them to their quarters and get new armor, deciding he will head to Earth now.
Broly meets up with Cheelai and Lemo after a shower, saying his armor was too difficult to move in. He is infuriated when she suggests he take off his waist fur.
Calming down, he says it's special, and Paragus orders him to eat, not waste energy. Cheelai is disgusted that he doesn't let his son speak. A drunk starts hitting on Cheelai and knocks Lemo away for interrupting, which angers Broly enough to make him step in despite Paragus saying to stand down. The man is surprised when his punches do nothing to Broly, who responds by easily lifting him and growling until Paragus gives him a massive shock. Cheelai and Lemo watch in horror as Broly screams in pain, and rush to help. She chastises Paragus, and steals the remote as he orders her to stay away from Broly. Paragus is called away, so he tells Broly to stay quietly. Lemo says Paragus is worse than his dad; he and Broly are surprised when Cheelai reveals and crushes the remote. They head to the barracks where the ravenous Broly tears through food, and help him open a thermos, flabbergasted to learn he has never had water. Opening up, Broly reveals his fur is the ear of "Ba," the giant beast from Vampa, whom he became friends with while training. Paragus said this was just playing and shot off the ear; Ba was changed, so Broly kept the ear as a reminder of their lost friendship. Surprised at Broly's pure naivety, they determine that Broly doesn't like fighting, but Paragus saw his talent and forced him to train. They say the man is just using Broly, but he replies it's not right for them to say such things about his father.
Frieza's soldiers on Earth find the last dragon ball as the tyrant explains the situation to Paragus, who assures him Broly has strength enough to fight. Frieza permits him to do what he wants to Vegeta, but furiously demands that Goku be left to him.
Kikono enters with news of the dragon balls, and on Earth his fighters fly off in terror when Goku and the others land, only for Vegeta to easily shoot them down. They are horrified and wonder what to do as Goku gives a "death stare," but Frieza's dramatic arrival draws Goku and Vegeta's attention away. The Saiyans take note of an intense power, surprised to see Saiyans as Broly's power sends a burst of wind. Paragus grows angry upon seeing the spitting image of the king, and Frieza smugly declares his intention to use the dragon balls. Whis tells Bulma they could have a problem due to the Saiyans' warrior nature, and Frieza introduces his companions and explains what King Vegeta did to them. Frieza and Vegeta are irritated at Goku's ignorance to a word the former used, and the prince scoffs at Paragus's desire for revenge, saying his father's actions aren't his. The confrontation agitates Broly as Goku tries to calm the situation, and he slams into Vegeta after Paragus orders an attack. Vegeta compliments his power and notices Broly's intense speed, believing he must've trained to hone his skills. Paragus says the prince is obviously skilled, and Frieza commends Broly for keeping up, especially since he only ever fought Paragus, while training. He says that while fighting someone of such power was "obviously meaningless," Broly adapts well. Growing annoyed, Vegeta stuns Broly and Paragus by turning Super Saiyan; Frieza is disappointed Broly can't transform. Though Vegeta again has the upper hand, Broly soon catches up, leaving the prince amazed at how quickly he learns while fighting. Vegeta then transforms into a Super Saiyan God and effortlessly sends Broly hurtling through some mountains. Paragus falls to his knees, believing Broly is at his limit.
To their surprise, however, Broly's rage grows as Vegeta comes to watch, and he continues ignoring Paragus, who reaches for his remote, finding it's gone.
He orders his roaring son to return, but Vegeta slams Broly with a blast, causing him to sink beneath the water, where a strange energy surrounds him. His power creates a whirlpool, and while Goku is stunned at the strange Saiyan, he admits to Vegeta that he forgot the Senzu Beans, and the latter begins to worry. Broly launches a powerful green energy blast from his mouth, and after taking a punch from Vegeta, easily knocks the prince away. At Frieza's enjoyment of the situation, Paragus says his son seems to have the power of a great ape without losing speed and agility, the downside being a lack of control. Goku's taunting annoys Broly, whose body grows enough with his power to snap his collar, and he manages to knock Goku around as they fight. Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan, but finds himself still at a disadvantage and ascends to Super Saiyan God, then uses a strange technique to hold Broly in place. He explains that they on Earth try to be peaceful, and despite having come across many enemies over time, he feels like Broly isn't one of them. This only angers Broly further, and after momentarily freezing and hitting Goku, our hero hurls him to the ground, causing quakes that send everyone running. Cheelai and Lemo take the balls, and Frieza warns Paragus that Broly had better keep going. As Broly gains the upper hand, Cheelai and Lemo lament that he is being forced to fight, angry at Paragus and wishing they could help. Paragus for some reason worries that Broly will be killed, as his son is able to grab Goku, then fling him around like a rag doll, slamming our hero into the ground and dragging his face through the icy side of a mountain. Frieza is pleased as Goku lies helpless on the ground, and elsewhere Piccolo (Christopher Sabat) senses his friend's plight and mentally calls him. He feels Broly is so strong he'd just get in the way if he tried to help, and says it must be pretty desperate when Goku says he'll teleport to him if it gets bad enough. With some furious roars, he transforms into Super Saiyan Blue, but he still has a fight ahead of him, and he and Vegeta have one last option to stop the rampaging Saiyan.
As a fan of Dragon Ball since I was a kid, I remember the excitement I felt as info for this movie came out, and finally getting to see it was incredible.
Images came out of Goku with his famous Power Pole, and trailers came out showing crisp, beautiful animation as the Z-Fighters faced a then-unknown enemy. When it turned out to be Broly, I was intrigued as his design holds similarities to his original look, but is definitely a completely new take on the rage-filled Saiyan. Design-wise I like Broly's armor, and the fur is a nice addition both aesthetically and as a part of Broly's background to show his surprisingly gentle nature. I prefer the original method of controlling Broly, using a necklace and crown that held back his power, but the shock color does wonders in showcasing the new Paragus's abuse and that Broly is controlled like an animal, fitting his explosive power. The use of the collar shows how Paragus really worsened his anger issues, as his terrified reaction to the controller shows it was a constant punishment. Rather than learning how to deal with his anger, Broly was only given pain and taught to bottle his emotions up, which will inevitably lead to more violent outbursts. The best change to the story is with this and Broly's background, which was severely underwhelming with the original film. The original is certainly menacing and powerful, but I always found his motivation incredibly silly, and rather boring. While this Broly's power drives him crazy and his father made the issue worse during their isolation, the original just hated Goku for keeping him awake as a baby by crying. Broly here garners more sympathy, and is a good addition to a "nurture vs. nature" debate that we see with Goku, Vegeta, and their kids. Like other Saiyans raised among their people, Vegeta is naturally more brash and mean, easily turning to violence to get what he wants but changing over time. Goku, while starting out this way, hit his head as a baby, erasing his violent personality and allowing him to be raised a gentle kid. This is the same for their kids, who also have the fact they're only half Saiyans, taking away some of the inherent aggression. In a way it does make me roll my eyes that Broly overpowered Goku and Vegeta despite having little experience actually fighting. The defense I could think of is that while he's untrained in typical combat, Broly would have survival experience, and has a Saiyan ability to learn quickly while fighting. For all we know, he could've even found another way to train without Paragus, and regardless, rage has always been powerful for Saiyans, especially the more gentle. Heck, it's not like we got a good story for the mighty Jiren during the tournament, as all we learned of him was his people were killed and so he decided to gain strength. There were also some changes to the original telling of the Saiyan extermination, specifically changes to Bardock and how he fought back. In his original movie, Bardock had a different outfit and, after conquering a planet, was given the power of foresight that caused him to predict Frieza's betrayal. Obviously no one believed him, so he was left to fight Frieza alone after his crew was massacred, and he ended up in space getting blasted like he does here. Back then, he seemed like more of a typical Saiyan, giving little thought to his son while everything happened, until he foresees Goku fighting Frieza on Namek. We get Gine as well, as she'd never been seen before, and she definitely isn't the typical Saiyan either, caring for their sons immensely and clearly not being a warrior. While the original story had Goku destined for Earth and blasting off coincidentally before the destruction, here Bardock makes an effort to save him. This gives more depth to the original Saiyans, who are typically seen as just violent warriors, as obviously at least some had a more caring side. Trailers made it seem like another change was to Goku, Vegeta, and Broly's ages, suggesting they'd been born around the same time. This honestly bothered me a bit, but it isn't as extreme as it seemed, with the only big change being that Broly was born alongside Vegeta, not Goku. I don't really mind this, in part because like I said, I'm not a fan of his original backstory involving his baby hatred for Goku. We see a lot of old faces in this movie, and new ones are added in, but the movie doesn't focus on many of them, which, along with the lack of even other Z-Fighters, helps keep the story from getting bloated. Cheelai and Lemo are fun additions to the Dragon Ball world, as clearly being criminals but with heart to them as they care for the abused Broly. Bulma and Frieza having such frivolous wishes was honestly hilarious to me, especially the latter, as any fan would expect a much bigger wish from the great Frieza. The animation throughout the movie is incredible, blending a more typical art style with some cgi for the bigger battles near the end. The fight scenes are amazing and fluid, as they tend to be in DBZ films, and seeing Vegeta, Goku, and Broly going at each other brutally with fantastic movements was breathtaking at times. The brutality helps show that, while gentle normally, this Broly isn't here to play, as when he flings the helpless Goku around, there is true weight to his attacks. Every slam into the ice feels powerful, and Goku's cries radiate the pain he's in, ending with him lying motionless on the ground. Now while the animation was smooth and fantastic, and the sounds and voice acting were great, some cuts were rather odd. Occasionally there were shots that would last for a brief second, like when the movie at one point returns to Frieza's ship and we see just a picture of him for some reason. These cuts are choppy when they happen, but they aren't too constant, and the fluidity of the rest of the movie helps counter them. I definitely loved this installment to the Dragon Ball world, and am glad we finally have a canon Broly, especially a more intriguing one. ​With Goku wanting more challenges, Broly is a perfect person to come across, and a perfect person to include if the group plans to face other universes.
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