Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods Review

By Daniel Alvarez on Thursday, September 26th, 2013

Battle of Gods had a considerable amount of hype prior to its release. It’s a given by now that Dragon Ball Z is the most well known and popular manga/anime franchise of all time. Despite the manga ending 18 years ago, the franchise is still going strong with toys and video games being released yearly. So, it’s easy to see why a brand new movie would be eagerly anticipated by Japanese and American fans alike. It was going to be the first really ‘new’ thing in years. Plus, original author Akira Toriyama would have a hand in writing it. Clocking in at 85 minutes, it was also going to be the first feature-length film. So, does it live up to the hype? Pretty much.

The story follows Lord Bills, the ‘God of Destruction’ and his search for the legendary Super Saiyan God. After hearing about how Goku managed to defeat Frieza, he heads on over the King Kai’s planet where the Saiyan trains. After a brief encounter, Bills heads to Earth where the other Saiyans are, namely Vegeta. Things start to go downhill when Bills announces he’s going to destroy Earth. Goku will have to turn into a god if he hopes to be an even slight match for him. The story as you can see follows the same, almost running gag formula that there’s even someone stronger out there. For the first time however, you really do get the sense that Bills is the strongest being in the universe.

Bills proves early on to be one of the most memorable of all DBZ movie villains. Remember Super Saiyan 3 and how it managed to beat Hirudegarn? This guy takes it out in a couple of hits without sustaining any damage! Some might think that’s just overdoing it for the sake of hyperbole, but this is what Dragon Ball Z is all about. Bills is not a very ‘dark’ villain, in fact he’s rather comical and loves food. (You could imagine what happens between him and Buu.) While he is a bit on the comical side, don’t think he isn’t a serious villain at all. Bills is a fantastic character with plenty of great lines and is funny enough for the viewer to get a good chuckle from. I hope they’ll use him again in the future.

Goku is back, but I can’t say I was a really huge fan of his portrayal. Bills is actually more of a character than a plot device, Goku acts like the latter. I think they took the fact that Goku loves battling people of higher power a little too far, he didn’t seem to care about the Earth at all and only cared about being as as strong as Lord Bills. This time, the villain was more exciting to watch than the hero.

All of the characters are back, and what better way to have them all there than for Bulma’s 38th birthday? I personally found it great to see what everyone was up to. Vegeta is a highlight, it’s amazing to see how far he’s come from his ruthless days. One of my personal favorite scenes in the entire movie is when after Bills slaps Bulma to the ground, and then Vegeta goes into a rage mode, yelling “My Bulma!” and attacks Bills. The hardcore Vegeta fans may not like him feeling such sentiment, but I thought it was great. Plus…you’ll get to see him dance onstage. (It’s as great as it sounds.) Gohan sadly has a less than satisfactory role, being nothing more than comic relief.

Emperor Pilaf makes his grand return, along with his two cronies, Mai and Shu. This is a negative I have with the film, these three serve no purpose and could have easily been written out. Other than being a call-back to the original Dragon Ball, they’re just wasted screen time. (And after GT, you would think they would be done with Pilaf.) One of the biggest hypes for the film was the new Super Saiyan mode, God form. It was a bit disappointing to sat the least. First, it’s just a color swap, they just painted Goku’s hair and eyes red. It didn’t exactly do much either, or show why it earns the title ‘god.’ Hopefully in the probable next movie it’ll get to show off more.

One of the main things I like about the Dragon Ball movies, it gets to have fun with the continuity. Early on we get quite a few references to Frieza destroying Planet Vegeta and Goku battling him. The fights in this movie are very solid. It’s truly something to see them in HD movie theater quality. Goku’s battle in space with Bills will of course be the highlight, and the outcome is pretty refreshing. It’s bold, but a welcome change of pace. (This is why Bills should go down as one of the best characters in Dragon Ball.) Though, many are going to wonder how Vegeta’s Super Saiyan 1 form did better than Goku’s Super Saiyan 3. The soundtrack is good, but not as good as I would have hoped. (It’s still solid, but pales to the soundtracks of Cooler’s Revenge and Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan.)

Overall, Battle of Gods is a pretty fun watch. Lord Bills is a fantastic addition to the growing list of DBZ characters. Some of the characters get less than stellar roles, (namely Gohan) but it’s a blast to see how everyone is doing. Goku was a bit of a disappointment, but Vegeta was good. Super Saiyan God sadly doesn’t live up to the hype. The ending however is quite surprising and a refreshing change of pace. Is it the best Dragon Ball movie? It’s a tough call, it’s up there with Cooler’s Revenge, Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan and Wrath of the Dragon.