The “Dragon Ball” franchise contains several television shows and a few dozen movies with “Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug” being just one of those movies. For those unfamiliar with the hit anime, this movie is unlikely to work for you because it does not really work as a standalone picture.

Goku and his friends from the popular “Dragon Ball Z” series team-up to defend the Earth when a vicious and powerful alien named Lord Slug arrives on Earth with the intent of terraforming it. Filled with numerous action sequences, Goku and his friends battle to save the day from the tyranny of Lord Slug and his army.

If you haven’t seen the “Dragon Ball Z” series, you’re unlikely to really know any of the characters because the movie works under the assumption that you’ve seen at least some of the episodes of the show. From my understanding, some fans were disappointed with this film due to Goku’s lacklustre transformation into a Super Saiyan (if you don’t watch the show, don’t worry if you don’t know what that means). Lord Slug is not one of the more memorable villains such as Frieza and Buu. The animation all the characters is probably just as good if not better than the animation in the show.

The action scenes are pretty entertaining and I did enjoy the movie’s pace as it is considerably faster than the show’s. If you like the television series then this is worth checking out but I cannot stress enough, if you do not watch the show, this movie is not for you. It’s hard to say no to a movie that isn’t even an hour in length so I recommend that fans of “Dragon Ball” check this out because I think this a pretty fun way to spend a short time.