Movie Review: Dragon Ball Z - Bardock, Father of Goku

Dragon Ball Z: Bardock, Father of Goku [1990]

(Or, alternatively, its hilariously long Japanese name -- "Dragon Ball Z: A Lonesome, Final Battle: The Father of the Z-Warrior Son Goku, The One Who Challenged Freeza")

Everyone and their mother told me to look up the "TV specials" for Dragon Ball Z, which aren't full-length theater movies per se, unlike the others that I've reviewed in the past, but rather like long TV movies aired only on television. The thing is that the TV specials don't take the form of "fight a random filler villain" like the movies, but rather tell stories that could snugly fit into canon -- even manga canon. In fact, 1990's "Bardock, Father of Goku" was apparently so well received that it inspired DBZ mangaka Akira Toriyama to put Bardock as a brief cameo a flashback in the actual Dragon Ball Z manga. Neat! 

(The other TV Special, History of Trunks, is actually based on a chapter from the manga, essentially expanding on a brief scene shown there)

I've only known Bardock from my playthrough of the Xenoverse 2 game, and he's... he's pretty generic, I'll be honest. Can this 48-minute mini-movie change my mind about that, while still tell its own story? As it turns out... yes, yes it can. You see, Bardock: Father of Goku really acts like a 'chapter zero' not just for the Freeza arc, but also for the previous Saiyan saga and Goku's origin as well. Sure, the special actually just reverting to Bardock "seeing the future" and seeing a montage of scenes from the Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z anime is a bit of a cheap way to shave off some animation time, but it actually works well in giving Bardock's story to end in a somewhat optimistic way even with the downer ending.

Because, well, this is the story of Bardock, Father of Goku, and a member of the Saiyan race... which didn't really make it to the present day. And I really loved the haunting scene of Bardock and his team transforming into Oozaru forms and just hyper-beaming the shit out of the random aliens of planet Kanassa. They really are working as footsoldiers for Freeza's army, the way that Raditz, Vegeta and Nappa were in the first arc of Dragon Ball Z, and this is how we first meet Bardock. A footsoldier who, while not taking any particular sadistic glee in killing people en masse, doesn't shy away from it either. In this regard, Bardock's no different from the likes of Dodoria or Zarbon or Ginyu, with his only real redeeming factor being his camaraderie with his gang of Saiyan warriors -- none of which get much personality. Bardock does get a personality, though, and it's essentially a more subdued version of a pre-character-development Vegeta. He's all about strength and power, and he doesn't give a shit about his newborn son Kakarot due to his shit power level. 

We get the rather weak plot device of Bardock being granted the "gift" of seeing the future by one random dude, which knocks Bardock out, ironically sparing him from being massacred alongside his team. We get to see Dodoria -- nominally the weakest of Freeza's lieutenants on Namek and the first to be killed, and a reminder at how quickly the power levels scaled up during the Namek saga, and how weak 'regular' Saiyans are before they get shit like zenkai boosts and super saiyan forms.  

Dodoria's massacre of Bardock's forces is brutal, and the betrayal as Dodoria laughs that Freeza's just anxious of the otherwise-loyal Saiyan soldiers is pretty heart-wrenching. Bardock shows up and manages to fight off some of Dodoria's nameless minions, but is no match for the pink fat bastard himself, who beats the fuck out of Bardock. Bardock manages to outrun Freeza's ship and return back to Planet Vegeta (just in time to see Kakarot's ship launched towards Earth). However, no one believes Bardock's warnings, causing him to fly into space and engage Freeza's forces himself. It's a bit of a stretch that Bardock, so wounded, is able to fuck up so many of Freeza's minions, but it is a Last Stand (tm) scene and he is desperate. 

And the special really does work Zarbon and Dodoria as being scared shitless at Freeza very well, like the simple act of Freeza's silence causing Dodoria to realize that something's wrong and he fucked up, or the simple act of Freeza unfolding his arms when Zarbon questions his orders causes Zarbon to panic the fuck out and open the door. 

Freeza is also absolutely untouchable here, which, of course is a given due to his role in DBZ canon, but it doesn't devalue Bardock's sacrifice or last stand at all. In fact, the futility of it all as he gives this grand speech about "fate" and "destiny" and launches a fistful of Ki blast... only for Freeza to grin and have the glowing orange ball on his fingertip expand into a gigantic size, and then lobbing it down onto Planet Vegeta, consuming his soldiers, Bardock and the planet? It's a hauntingly awesome scene, showing off Bardock's anger-driven last stand. It's depressing, but at the same time Bardock's knowledge that his son Kakarot will somehow rise up and challenge Freeza in the future is one small solace of comfort for the warrior as he is consumed by Freeza's blast alongside his planet.

And Bardock's pretty cool. He's not a hero in the traditional sense, but he's not outright evil in the way that some Dragon Ball protagonists start off as. His motivations to protect his own people from extinction, and his righteous anger towards the betrayal and attempted genocide by Freeza are both something we can sympathize with, but on the other hand, the movie highlights how he kills people as part of Freeza's army, how he is near-dismissive of his son (the only emotion he has was the surprise when he sees Kakarot in the visions) and he is shown snapping necks and being far more brutal than the likes of Goku (which, of course, makes him like shonen!Wolverine of sorts). Bardock's storyline is amazingly told, and in the short while of 40-ish minutes we get to see this man, completely outclassed by Freeza's weakest lieutenant, let alone the Emperor himself... but still muster a pretty damn good fight.

Oh, and earlier we also get a pretty cliched but still pretty damn badass moment of Bardock using a cloth stained in the blood of his allies as a red bandana. Badass. 

We also get a brief subplot with Vegeta throughout the movie, and it's fun to see young prince Vegeta and his bodyguard, Nappa (with hair!) beat up Saibamen as part of training, interact with Freeza and act with complete indifference when he's told that his planet is destroyed by a meteor. It's neat to see these, and while we could've used a couple extra continuity nods (no mention of Raditz? No mention of the King?) I do appreciate the decision to keep it just mostly between Bardock, Freeza and Dodoria, with everyone else being glorified cameos.

And I do definitely like how Bardock's story has a downer ending, but the movie itself actually ends with showing Goku's pod crashing on Earth and he's adopted by Grandpa Gohan, as the credits roll over a montage of scenes from Dragon Ball and DBZ. Overall, it's perhaps one of the best side-stories I've ever seen to come out of Dragon Ball Z, and a pretty damn good one. I can totally see why Bardock is super-popular.