Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug
Synopsis — from MyAnimeList
Gohan Son and Piccolo are peacefully playing when they sense a powerful entity approaching Earth. It soon reaches everyone's ears that this entity is in fact a small planet on a deadly collision course with Earth. Gokuu Son and Kuririn attempt to change the small planet's path with a Kamehameha, but the attack fails and the two warriors are blown away. However, after coming very close to Earth's surface, the object changes direction on its own and explodes soon after. The small planet reveals itself to be a vehicle for what seems to be a castle. A large army emerges out of the structure and declares that the planet is now in possession of Slug, king of the universe. While defending the city against the invaders' attack, Gohan loses his Dragon Ball, allowing Slug to take it. After reading Bulma's mind and stealing her Dragon Radar, Slug commands his army to collect the wish-granting relics. With the Dragon Balls in his possession, he uses them to wish his youth back. Now young, wise, and very powerful, Slug commences world domination.
Audience Consensus
Audience opinion on Lord Slug is sharply divided. While some appreciate its action, humor, and moments for side characters like Piccolo and Gohan, many critics find its plot extremely derivative and riddled with nonsensical elements. It's often considered one of the weaker DBZ films due to its lack of originality and questionable writing choices.
Strengths
- Decent animation and sound for its time (1991 DBZ standards).
- Some entertaining fights, particularly side-fights and those involving Piccolo and Gohan.
- Creative villain abilities and unique battle strategies employed by characters.
- Moments of humor and memorable one-liners.
- Thematic use of setting (e.g., a theme park) to enhance the mood.
- Gohan and Piccolo given significant roles and moments to shine.
Weaknesses
- Extremely unoriginal plot, heavily rehashed from the King Piccolo arc of the original Dragon Ball.
- Inconsistent and nonsensical plot points (e.g., whistling weakening Namekians, the use of the Spirit Bomb without enough energy).
- Villain (Lord Slug) is generic, a rip-off of Piccolo, and lacks depth or proper backstory.
- The 'false Super Saiyan' transformation is underwhelming, poorly explained, and lacks precedent.
- Pacing issues, with a large portion of the runtime dedicated to fighting over story development.
- Some characters (like Krillin) are sidelined or underutilized.
- Dialogue is often described as cringeworthy and bad.