*This covers the entire uncut version of the movie so for those of you who only saw it on Toonami, you probably won't recognize a couple of these excerpts*
Dead Zone is the first and actually in my opinion, one of my not so favorite DBZ movies in the series. It's about a member
of the Makyo race named Garlic Jr. who is bent on becoming immortal and seizing Kami's throne to take over the Earth. It
starts in a remote location with some rocky hills where we see Piccolo screaming and causing one of the hills to explode
in a shower of smaller rocks, a show of his power. He's still upset that he lost to Goku in the World Martial Arts
tournament that took place at the end of Dragonball. He insists that he'll finish off Goku for good this time. But his
training is interrupted by a mysterious approaching figure running/flying towards him. He spots another behind him. But
before he can do anything, a third warrior comes up from beneath him and catches him off guard. Their speed is too much
for him as they pummel him around. As he gets sent sailing downward, he spots a forth one who looks huge (Garlic Jr. in
his transformed state as if yo! u couldn't tell) watching the whole thing. The other 3 converge and blast him with an
energy attack that causes the entire rockface Piccolo crashed against to collapse. Garlic Jr. is excited as he knows
Piccolo and Kami were one in the same and are now both dead. At the lookout Kami is in pain thinking Piccolo was killed
by Goku. Cut to Japanese opening credits...
In the peaceful wilderness surrounding Goku's home and family, Gohan is studying about various wildlife. Chi Chi calls
Gohan in for dinner. He arrives back and hears the sound of a hovercar approaching, which is Ox King, Chi Chi's father.
Ox King climbs out bearing some gifts for Gohan which are mainly books. But suddenly, he twitches in pain which starts
to freak out Gohan. He collapses on the ground and Chi Chi sees who caused it. One of the mysterious warriors who took
out Piccolo was standing right behind Ox King. Chi Chi demands an explanation and the warrior wants what's on Gohan's
head, the dragon ball. Chi Chi sends Gohan inside and prepares to do battle when Gohan runs into the other two. Chi Chi
charges the first one, but the guy simply raises his hand and knocks her down with just his energy. Goku, who was
underwater in a nearby pond, senses the danger and takes off running back to the house but arrives too late to see
Chi Chi and Ox King laid out by three unknown! warriors, also of the Makyo race. After Chi Chi struggles to tell him what
happened, Goku sets off to rescue Gohan.
At a mysterious location, Gohan is crying and 4 other dragon balls are sitting there glowing as well as the one on Gohan's
hat. Garlic Jr declares his goal to gather all 7 of the dragon balls and wish for immortality. Not to mention his desire
for revenge by destroying the planet. Gohan isn't sitting quietly and he tells them his dad will come and teach them a
lesson. Garlic Jr learns that Goku won the martial arts tournament against Piccolo. Gohan's anger starts to swell and
Garlic Jr senses a mysterious power within Gohan and decides to train him to be a part of his group.
At Master Roshi's
house, Goku, Roshi, Bulma, and Krillin are tracking the location of the draon balls to somewhere in the south. Goku asks
to borrow the dragon radar, which Bulma agrees to, and hightails it out of there on the Nimbus. Back at Garlic Jr's
castle, there's a funny moment with one of Garlic Jr's henchmen trying to keep Gohan in check and is chasing him around
complaining of not being the bab! ysitter type. Gohan bops the guy from behind and takes off running to an upper level
where his hunger and curiosity get the best of him and despite one of the demon's warnings, proceeds to take a bite out
of an apple. But the apple is no ordinary apple as it actually has intoxicating effects, and Gohan becomes "drunk". He
sees things from dinosaurs to weird fuzzy creatures and has some close calls with falling off from high above the castle
where they are at, all the while Garlic Jr's henchman is chasing him trying to keep him from causing problems. Garlic Jr
stands on a balcony watching this and realizing further that Gohan is no ordinary boy. Gohan finally sits in Garlic Jr's
throne and falls asleep.
Finally, Garlic Jr. has all the Dragonballs and prepares to summon the Eternal Dragon. Goku is almost there as he sees
the hideout. Garlic Jr summons the dragon as the shy above turns dark with clouds. Shenron appears and asks for Garlic Jr's
wish. Garlic Jr wastes no time and accomplishes what many villains before and even after him have never been able to
accomplish...immortality. Shenron grants this and Garlic Jr becomes immortal and calls upon the dark spirits and demons
to arise and walk the Earth once again as his revenge is carried out. After reveling in his newfound immortality, Goku
finally shows up arrives and challenges Garlic Jr's henchmen. But before the battle begins, another unexpected guest
joins th fray, Kami. This surprises Garlic Jr as he realizes Piccolo isn't dead. Goku doesn't want Kami to get involved,
but Kami has his own reasons for fighting. He reveals that 300 years ago, his father, Garlic wanted to take over the
previous Guardian's throne as the s! uccessor. He was Kami's fierce rival and when his evil intentions are recognized,
Kami gets the throne and Garlic was none too happy with the decision and decides to unleash the other demons to wreak
havoc. But his insurrection is put to a quick end and Garlic gets sealed away for all eternity.
Now 300 years later,
Garlic's evil desire to take over as Guardian of the Earth is reborn through Garlic Jr. But Goku is tired of listening
to this and demands to know where Gohan is. Goku darts with great speed past Garlic Jr and his henchmen and hurries
inside to find Gohan. Goku doesn't get very far and is soon surrounded by Garlic Jr's henchmen. They finally reveal
themselves with the short one being Ginger. The one who "babysat" Gohan is Nicky, and the big guy is Sansho. The fight
begins amd Goku manages to hold his own for the moment. The henchmen don't hesitate to increase their power and after
yelling some moronic words, bulk up and charge Goku. But Goku starts to have trouble! as he gets knocked face first into
a stone statue for starters. But Goku isn't about to give up yet and wants them to bring it on.
Meanwhile, Kami prepares to take on Garlic Jr. But Garlic Jr warns him that he is now immortal and not even Kami can kill
him now. The fight between Goku and Garlic Jr's men rage on as Goku manages to block all their hits and land a successful
hit on all three of them, sending Ginger crashing to the floor and the other two in different directions. Goku demands that
Ginger tell him where Gohan is. But Nicky and Sansho fire energy blasts from behind that would surely take out Goku, but
they are suddenly deflected by another set of energy blasts. It's Krillin. Goku is real glad to see him. But Krillin isn't
the only one to drop in as Piccolo makes himself known as well. Piccolo makes it clear that he's not there to help Goku,
only that he has a score to settle with Garlic Jr's trio (for those of you who have seen only the TV version and wondered
why he had a score to settle with them, now you know why). But in a funny moment that breaks the tension, Krillin gets
pee'd on from a! bove by Gohan who is still a bit woozy from that alcoholic apple.
Up above, Kami and Garlic Jr start to
battle. Kami avoids some energy attacks and tries to hit Garlic Jr with an eye beam, but Garlic Jr dodges it and hits
Kami in the midsection, knocking him into a pillar. Garlic Jr starts pummeling Kami against the pillar and it seems like
Kami is starting to lose. Back inside Gohan is staggering as Goku tries to go after him, but Garlic Jr's henchmen get in
the way. So Goku asks Krillin to go after Gohan while Goku continues the battle. But Krillin's path is blocked by Sansho
as he starts to charge him. But before he can get in close, the ground beneath him is blown apart and he falls down to
the lower level where Piccolo intends to make him and the others pay for what they did to him. Piccolo knocks Sansho into
another chamber and won't be taken by surprise this time. They start to battle and Piccolo quickly takes the upper hand
with some well places punches. Piccolo goes! for the coup de grace and hits Sansho so hard, he goes crashing through
several pillars and into a wall where Piccolo kills him with an energy blast.
Kami starts to lose as he is sent crashing through a wall. Garlic Jr holds him over a cliff and is about to finish him,
but Kami musters up some power and uses his energy to knock Garlic Jr away. Ginger and Nicky expell some swords from their
bodies which forces Goku to rely on the power pole for defense. Both of them are starting to overwhelm Goku and even gets
a chunk of his hair sliced clean off. Goku gets serious and makes the power pole extend and sends Nicky crashing into
another part of the castle's exterior. Goku goes fist to fist with Ginger and sends him crashing down with a flying kick.
After retracting his power pole, Goku charges up the Kamehameha. Ginger, as he is flying backwards, fires an energy wave
at Goku. But Goku fires the Kamehameha and it easily punches through the energy wave and envelops Ginger, sending him
plummeting right at a fallen Nicky. The resulting explosion kills them both.
Inside, Garlic Jr tries again to convince
Kami how hopeless it is t! o fight him and is only mildly surprised he held out this long. But Kami has one more trick up
his sleeve, a kamikaze attack. But Garlic Jr just laughs knowing it would only be futile. But Piccolo shows up making a
bold speech about how helpless Garlic Jr will be once he's finished with him. Goku also shows up and tells Krillin to get
Gohan out of there.
But before the battle gets underway, Garlic Jr shows his true power and transforms into a huge version of himself. The
battle really gets intense as Goku and Piccolo try to attack Garlic Jr with punches and kicks, but he's just too strong
and is barely phased. Garlic Jr hits them with energy attacks and the two are starting to lose. Part of the castle is
leveled with that attack. Krillin is trying to dodge the falling debris, but gets hit on the head by part of the ceiling
and is knocked out and drops Gohan where more debris falls on top of him. Goku gets grabbed by the head by a charging
Garlic Jr who also grabs Piccolo as well. Despite their attempts to break free, Garlic Jr puts them through a wall and
drops them several stories below to the ground. But they aren't out yet and escape his clutches. They decide to get really
serious and remove their heavy training clothes which will let them move faster. Goku is surprised he and Piccolo are
actually on the same side. But Piccolo makes it clear to Goku that he's next after Garlic Jr.
Piccolo charges at
Garlic Jr with Goku following suit. Their speed soon overcomes Garlic Jr's and he gets knocked down. The two push him
back and fire an energy blast that completely engulfs him causing a huge explosion that levels another large part of the
castle. Thinking they won, Kami reappears on the scene. But before he can say anything, Piccolo tells him to back off as
he has a score to settle with Goku. But before they can start the fight, Garlic Jr appears from the rubble and increases
his power even more as he uses it to open up a portal to the dreaded dead zone. The rest of the castle is is being sucked
in by this intense vacuum of a vortex. Krillin comes to just in time to avoid being sucked in himself and holds on for
dear life. Goku calls out to Gohan while Piccolo tries to hit Garlic Jr with an energy ball, but it merely is deflected
by Garlic Jr's energy barrier he put up around himself. Goku almost gets sucked in and grabs another standing pillar.
Same thing nearly happens to Krillin as well. All seems lost when Gohan's cries are heard. But those cries soon disappear
as the entire debris field that fell on Gohan is destroyed in a massive explosion, revealing one pissed off Gohan!
Garlic Jr is flabbergasted as he sees Gohan standing there somehow unaffected by the dead zone's enormous vacuum.
Garlic Jr gets desperate and uses all his power to try to take Gohan off his feet. But Gohan holds his own and his rage
intensifies. With a burst of fury, Gohan lets out a furious yell, and as all the others lose their grip and starts to
fall into the dead zone, unleashes a huge energy ball that knocks Garlic Jr into the dead zone and immediately after,
the portal closes and Garlic Jr is sealed inside forever which is ironic since he now has to live with his immortality
in a dark void. Gohan quickly passes out from the intensity as the surrounding vortex cracks and breaks apart li! ke
glass, exposing the real sky above. With the castle now in complete ruin, the scene pans around a bit with Krillin asking
Kami what happened to Garlic Jr. He says that he is forever trapped in the hell that he created (another part that is cut
out of the TV version of this movie) and will wish that he was never given eternal life and sees the irony in his defeat,
being a fate similar to his fathers with being sealed away forever.
Gohan finally comes to, and is happy to see his dad and thanks him for saving him, not remembering his actions when he was
consumed by rage. Goku is surprised by this. They decide to head home and Goku grabs his power pole. Goku, Gohan, Krillin,
and Kami begin to walk off as Piccolo looks from afar vowing that he will face Goku again another day. Nice effects on the
closing moment with Goku and Gohan on the Flying Nimbus with Goku deciding not to tell Chi Chi about who really won the
battle and will wait until Gohan is a little older before telling her. They fly into the distance and disappear as the
scene pans down into the depths of the ocean where pieces of the glass that is the dead zone shows Garlic Jr trapped for
good. Cut to end credits with some weird music and even weirder lyrics (you'd have to see the translation to understand
what I mean).
Personal
Rating: 7/10
My
Opinion: You know I originally gave this movie a 3 out of 10. But having seen the uncut version on DVD, I thought it turned out much better this time around. With the use of the word hell and stuff and the scenes that weren't in the TV version, it made a lot more sense and actually came off a lot better. The scene with Gohan and the alcoholic apple remains kinda weird, but oh well. The battle towards the end was pretty good and it ended real well with Kami's small bit of dialogue that was also cut from the film. So if possible, try to see it uncut. It's much better that way!
|