Dragonball Z: Resurrection 'F'

Fox joined with legendary Japanese studio Toei to release this 2015 latest theatrical spin-off in the long-running Dragonball Z franchise of fight-saturated adventure-fantasies starring Goku, a "Saiyan" alien martial-artist who came to Earth as part of a fearsome conquering warrior race. But Goku is a good-natured lug whose only ambition is to boost his fighting abilities higher and higher, so he has turned out to be the planet's defender, accessorized with a nagging wife, a son, and sequels-full of extended family, allies, and other talking-animal and shape-shifting-ninja types. Directed by Tadayoshi Yamamuro, the film's plot concerns one of the franchise's longstanding villains, evil galactic conqueror Frieza, last seen to be literally in little pieces. Thanks to the mystic power of the "Dragon Balls," Frieza is brought back to life with boosted powers and he is determined to come to Earth to destroy Goku and his friends in a rematch. Fans won't be disappointed, although newbies to the Dragonball mythology will likely be baffled. Presented in a dual-language edition, rated TV-PG, extras (on the Blu-ray/DVD Combo version) include behind-the-scenes featurettes. Recommended. (C. Cassady)