Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13! (1992)

Memorable, crazy movie

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This is a completely story-less, low-content and suspense-less movie, (more a lengthy TV episode) It's not worth standing on a shelf with other Dragonball Z movies this junk has nothing to offer, the music is stinky boring, just like the fights, the characters the whole presentation and the little content I can not recommend anyone to look at it. The animation is nice, and at least the some fights are well animated.

No, I'm not kidding. I legit believe this is the best DBZ film I've seen, and I've seen 'em all, from Dead Zone to Resurrection F (dubbed, which is what I am reviewing here).An instant point in this movie's favor is how efficiently it establishes the characters. We get about 7 minutes of Roshi and Oolong being surprisingly funny to Future Trunks's annoyance, Krillin still looking for a wife (hang in there, Krillin, you'll find one soon enough), Goku and Gohan shopping with Chi-Chi, all while Androids 14 and 15 make their approach.Oh yeah, the androids. In one of the most badass ways to introduce the goons of the film, Androids 14 and 15 literally just walk through the city like they're the Terminator, pushing through walls and buses and I can't help but love how much of a f*ck they do not give about anything around them. It's pretty awesome, actually. What's more, I get a legit sense of tension as they approach Goku (who somehow doesn't see all the smoke outside, but I can forgive), making their way to the floor beneath him for a sneak attack.And then literally the rest of the movie is the kind of DBZ action I love: collateral damage (and yet somehow less of it than Man of Steel), ki blasts, characters getting punched, screaming, debris flying everywhere, even after the fight moves to the arctic. The fights are all pretty even with the good guys taking a beating but never feeling like they're completely outmatched like most other DBZ villains will leave them. They take hits, but they keep getting back up and ready to go again. It really helps make the fights feel even, and even after Super Saiyan is deployed the androids still put up a good fight before being destroyed. I don't care what people say about power levels, I like this. I like fights that feel knock-down drag-out scrappy. It makes the victories feel earned, not just taken.But what really sells this movie, for me, is the titular character. Android 13 has far more dialog than most movie villains and it really helps make him a memorable character. He makes quips, he taunts Goku, he just steals every scene he's in. No wonder they put his name in the title. He's the entire reason to watch the film.Not only that, but Android 13 is possibly the most subtly brilliant villain that DBZ's ever had, and it's a shame they wasted him as a one-off in the movie. With just a few lines of dialog, he manages to establish himself as an almost existential villain, completely aware of the fact that he has no business killing the main character, that his creator's grievances against Goku (said character) are completely meaningless at this point (since said creator is long dead), but he's going to do it anyway, almost like a soldier, following orders he doesn't agree with. That doesn't mean he can't enjoy it (shoot, the guy enjoys himself too much not to), just that he sees nothing after killing Goku and fulfilling his creator's ambition.What compounds this thought is how he reacts to being called a slave with no free will. He has a short rant about all the horrors we humans commit with our free will and how we have no right chastising him for being a murderous killing machine. He was created to fulfill a purpose, and that's all he seeks to do, regardless of how petty his creator's motives were. It makes me wonder what he would've been like if he HAD fulfilled that purpose and suddenly been without one.Would he have gone on to kill the rest of the world? Don't think so, because he really only takes interest in the other Z Fighters when they start interfering with his appointed task, not even killing them, just incapacitating them.Like I said, Android 13's the star here. He gets all the fun lines, he steals every scene he's in, and the creators SOMEHOW made the one-punch-to-the-gut defeat that Broly and Bojack lost to feel satisfying with him. It's kind of amazing, actually.That and the trucker hat. The trucker hat is the key to everything.Would be a 10/10, if they'd fulfilled Android 13's potential as an interesting, complex character, though I doubt they could've done so in the span of one movie. Still the best DBZ movie nonetheless, in my opinion.Oh yeah, the abridged version? Absolutely hilarious.

When Trunks gives his last ditch effort vs super android 13, the android smashes his sword to pieces. Then he blasts trunks quite a distance away. the sword would have fallen to the ground and more than likely would have been destroyed completely or lost when Goku did the SSJ version of the spirit bomb. Yet when trunks is next shown he still has the hilt showing from the back. I doubt he would have gone back to the future so soon. Therefore it was probably just a slip on the design team. Another than this mistake it is a well done movie. Sigh i don't need 10 lines to explain how the design team messed up. This will have to do so i can submit this.

This movie is one of the finer of the Dragon Ball Z movies. It's the first movie to introduce Mirai (adult/future) Trunks. Past this is a small summary of what happens, since not much happens in the first place (It's mostly action oriented), don't feel too bad about reading on. *** It begins on a day when Chi Chi, Gohan, Goku and the rest of the gang go shopping and three of Dr. Gero's androids.... yes he has more... activate on a mission to destroy son Goku. Goku, of course, begins his fight with-in the city but decides to take it to a more remote location up north where people won't get hurt during the fight. Of those to show up, we get to see Vegeta kick some pimp bot butt (you'll see what I mean) and Trunks slice open a can of whoop *** with that sword of his. Of course, three androids are enough... but another android arises that is worse than.. uhh, well... about as bad as all three of them put together! SUPER ANDROID 13!! Well, the only way anyone can think to defeat him is with a Genki Dama... but will that be enough?? ***Anyway, it has some really great fighting and is a great movie to watch again and again. BUT, it isn't too strong on the storyline level, so don't expect much. Hey, only a FEW dbz movies have much of a storyline anyway. Enjoy it for what it is. Some great dbz fighting and one of the most wicked looking expressions I've ever seen on Goku's face!