The Facts
Movie Reviews

Movie 8

Length: 72 min

Major Characters: Goku, Burori, Gohan, Vegeta, Paragus, Mirai Trunks, Piccolo

Minor Characters: Krillin, Oolong, Master Roshi, various aliens

Cameo Appearances: Bulma, Chi Chi, King Kai, Bubbles, Gregory, Chibi Trunks

High Points: Engaging plot (for a DBZ movie), excellent fight scenes, watching Vegeta get the snot kicked out of him, wide variety of characters, longest of the DBZ movies

Low Points: Abrupt ending, underdeveloped characters (Burori, Paragus), still too short

Plot in a nutshell: Madman and son lure the Z warriors onto a dying planet. Goku travels to the planet to find the Legendary Super Saiya-jin and finds his old childhood rival Burori. Burori transforms into a Super Saiya-jin and attacks Goku and crew, losing after a fierce battle. The planet is destroyed by a comet, but the Z team escapes at the last possible moment.

Reviewer's Comments: This is by far the better of the two Burori movies, and arguably the best of the DBZ movies. The story of Paragus's revenge and Burori's madness is leaps and bounds above the typical "huge enemy appears, fight ensues" plot of most of the DBZ movies. Even though the movie is long and tends to drag at points, the story is well balanced, with plenty of action starting at the middle of the movie and carrying on through the end. There are also some interesting emotional moments, most notably Vegeta's refusal to fight and the death of Paragus. Still, the movie leaves many questions regarding Burori's nature and past unanswered. The final showdown between Burori and Goku, which is built up throughout most of the movie, ends in one left-handed punch by Goku, which can be pretty disappointing considering the excellent fight scenes earlier in the movie. Overall, this movie is a great flick for a DBZ fan, and certainly an excellent start for anyone interested in Burori.

Movie 10

Major Characters: Goten, Trunks, Burori, Gohan, Videl

Minor Characters: Villagers, creepy shaman

Cameo Appearances: Krillin, Goku

High Points: Lots of humor from Trunks and Goten, great fighting scene between Gohan and Burori, impressive ending

Low Points: Silly plot, Burori's character still underdeveloped, very small cast of characters

Plot in a nutshell: Burori's space pod lands on the planet Earth, where he is frozen in ice. Goten and Trunks accidentally awaken him while searching for the Dragonballs, and a fight ensues. Goten and Trunks are saved by Gohan, and they enter a ki blast duel with Burori. Goten's wish from the Dragonballs allows Goku to help out, and Burori is killed with a triple Kamehameha.

Reviewer's Notes: After the excellence of Movie 8, it is inevitable that any sequel involving Burori would be measured against very high expectations. Unfortunately, Movie 10 falls far short of those. While overall a good DBZ movie, it falls back into the trite "huge enemy appears, fight ensues" syndrome. It is especially disappointing to see Burori, who was so dynamic in his previous appearance, turned into a mindless, monotone monster. Maybe the crash onto Earth made him retarded. The high point of the movie actually isn't Burori at all, but rather the hijinx of Trunks and Goten as they mock him during battle. The pranks they pull keep the movie from getting stale, but take away from the dark nature of Burori's character, leaving the movie a mish-mash of violent fights and off the wall jokes. The graceful battle between Gohan and Burori, along with the final duel, is memorable, but does not quite have the sense of urgency that the previous movie's fights did. Since Burori acts like a stupid beast, Goten and Trunks have to carry the story on their tiny shoulders, and though they do an admirable job, it would have been nice to see more of the DBZ crew involved in the action, especially a rematch between Burori and Vegeta. Overall, the movie is a good watch for a DBZ fan, but for a Burori lover it leaves much to be desired.