Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Cooler has resurrected himself as a robot and is enslaving the people of New Namek. Goku and the gang must help.
Return of Cooler is a fairly by-the-numbers DBZ movie entry. The plot is a recycled revenge/villain-returns formula with little new to offer beyond the cyborg gimmick for Cooler. Acting (Japanese dub performances) is competent but unremarkable for the franchise. The animation and cinematography have some decent action choreography and fluid fight sequences typical of the early 90s Toei output, earning a modest above-average mark. Novelty is low — it retreads the Cooler premise from the previous film and leans heavily on familiar DBZ story beats including the Namek setting. The ending, while featuring the expected Super Saiyan power-up resolution, feels abrupt and unsatisfying even by movie special standards.