Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound

"Bojack Unbound" is a Dragon Ball Z movie that fits comfortably after the events of the Cell Games but before the time jump introducing Goten. In the proud tradition of DBZ movies borrowing heavily from their series, this movie closely mirrors the ending of the Cell Games. There are even some visuals that feel like they are lifted shot for shot from the series. Since the Cell Games are a huge highlight of the series, they are using good stuff.

The beginning of the movie is quite promising. The "Z-Fighters" are all participating in a sort of Martial Arts Tournament, different from the typical Tenkaichi Budokai's. It is neat to see fights that we typically wouldn't see. Fights like Tien vs. Trunks are very entertaining. We even have a time for Krillin to shine.

Sadly, similar to the Buu Saga, this tournament gets interrupted for a different less interesting story. This comes down to the villain and villain team being as dull as dirt. They have an interesting design, some unique powers and a confusing back story but beyond that I can't tell you a thing about them.

The fighting arena is different, I feel this one and "Fusion Reborn" really worked on having strange settings for our heroes to fight in. And it is refreshing to have a DBZ movie where Goku does not take center stage. This is Gohan's movie, and in theory could have been the torch passing movie fans were wanting.

The ending feels a bit cheap. Some of the characters are criminally underutilized. Some power is obtained in a kind of cheap way. The emotional beats of the ending only really works if you're already attached to these characters and know their story.

The movie has some great moments, but as a complete story from beginning to end, it falls short. If only Bojack would have stayed bound, maybe then we could have just seen the tournament play out.