Cert - 12, Run-time - 1 hours 40 minutes,

Director - Tetsuro Kodama

When the Red Ribbon Army shows signs of creating a new artificial superpowered weapon, alien Piccolo (Toshio Furukawa) assembles a team to stop them from attempting to destroy the world again.

Last year I named anime adaptation Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train one of the best films of the year. I went in knowing absolutely nothing and left thinking it brilliant - only learning afterwards that it acted as a brief between the first and second series of hit anime Demon Slayer. In the case of Dragon Ball, I’ve known of the existence of the TV and manga franchise, but aside from that my knowledge is basically zero.

Luckily, for the latest big screen adaptation there’s enough brief context provided to get the general gist that Red Ribbon Army = bad, almost everyone else = good. We primarily follow towering superpowered alien Piccolo (Toshio Furukawa) as he learns of plans that the aforementioned organisation has of creating a new artificial creature, stronger than any they’ve created before, capable of destroying the Earth. Helping them in this venture is recently-released-from-prison Dr Hedo (Miyu Irino) - a figure who will work with anyone for the right funding, and a worrying amount of Oreos.

There’s perhaps more in this film to cater better to existing fans of the franchise, however the stripped back narrative certainly helps to keep newcomers engaged. In many ways it’s both a blessing and a curse, causing things to occasionally feel somewhat thin. This largely comes across in the action sequences which each feel a bit too long; the big finale especially as it descends into a series of bright, flashing lights and screams. Such a feeling is certainly present in a scene or two tangent to characters training on another planet to explain where they are, instead of a simple line of dialogue explaining this.

Perhaps part of the reason fight sequences have an extended feel to them is down to the lack of tension which lies within them. More down to the lack of proper build up to them within the narrative than anything else. Yet, the film as a whole doesn’t suffer from feeling overlong. In fact, it doesn’t feel near its one hundred-minute run-time and moves along rather quickly.

The most engaging and substantial content is certainly held in the scenes focusing on the central narrative. Despite the issues which crop up every now and then there’s a generally enjoyable time to be had with the amusement that’s to be found within this particular feature. It’s perhaps likely to work best for those already invested in the Dragon Ball franchise, however it manages to not alienate those going into it afresh - creating elements which both lean for and against the film as a whole - and overall creates an enjoyable, if occasionally wobbly, 100-minutes of big screen amusement.

Jamie Skinner -Three stars