Movie: “Dragon Ball Z: The World’s Strongest”
Studio: Toei Animation
Year: 1990
Country of Origin: Japan

Intro

Somehow I don’t recall watching this movie as well. I mean I wasn’t even two yet when this movie was released. I guess now that I have some time to catch up, I might as well watch it. Judging by the title itself, I thought it would be like a tournament style of movie like the original Dragon Ball. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Plot

Dr. Willow was a mad scientist that wanted to rule the world using controversial science. He along with his assistant, Dr. Kochin were supposedly killed before their dreams were realized. 50 years later, Kochin is able to resurrect their dreams by gathering the Dragon Balls and thawing the ice that froze their laboratory along with saving Dr. Willow.

Dr. Willow was a shell of his former self with just his brain surviving while the body did not make it. He is on the quest to find the strongest warrior on Earth and thought Master Roshi was it, but was wrong after his henchmen dispatched him easily. After finding out that Goku was indeed the world’s strongest, he set his sights on using Goku’s body as the new host. Goku must defeat the brains of the operation and save his friends or else all is doomed.

Good

I like the fact that there was an original antagonist that was very powerful that could give our heroes a run for their money. Sure to many casual fans, Dr. Willow is a forgettable villain throughout the rich history of the DBZ franchise, but in this film, he had the chance to make an impact, and that’s what he did. What made him a great villain compared to the others is that he wasn’t going to rule with an iron fist but was going to use the mass intellect to do so. He wasn’t a true fighter as he was just a brain attached to a giant robotic body with many special abilities.

Bad

Although a new villain is fresh, it wasn’t scary. Like I had stated in the previous paragraph, Dr. Willow will be forgettable in the history of DBZ. I didn’t know he was an actual character until the movie started. He probably will still be forgotten down the road.

Overview

It was an enjoyable movie with lots of action that DBZ fans will sure to love. I enjoyed it more than “Dead Zone” because the villain was more powerful this time, Gohan can actually fight and had matured, and it was longer by a few minutes even though it clocked in at about an hour. I don’t think it has much replay value, but it was fun nonetheless.

Overall rating: 3.5/5
Reviewed by: Timtastic