Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler (1992) User Reviews

Hello Vegeta!

[ericstevenson · 8/10 · 6 May 2017]

Next up for Anime Month we're starting to look at the "Dragonball Z" movies. There might not have been as many of them as the "Pokémon" movies, but still a lot. This movie features the return of the villain from the previous movie, Cooler. It's great to see a villain with relatively large importance to the mythology make a return. I really do like his new appearance, given how shiny he is. I do wonder why he didn't model his robots after his most powerful form. Was that supposed to be his third form out of four? I guess he just chose the one he was the most well known for.

It's actually kind of a pity, because his final form was the coolest (hey, I made a joke!). This features Vegeta making his first movie appearance. I admit it doesn't make sense how Vegeta got there in the first place, but he's as awesome as ever. I found out how to pronounce Yajirobe's name! This is what I get for reading the manga first. I do love that little robot that talks about how everyone's going to die. We get some fairly good action in with a lot of the side characters too. It is however hard for me to love this given how short it is, but it still got its message across. ***

Cooler's Back

[nightdawndaylandofthedea · 7/10 · 4 August 2006]

If you read my comment on Cooler's Revenge, you'll know I really like the Cooler villain. He's an awesome character. Way better then Frieza. This movie I like, but it's not my favorite Dragon Ball Z film because first of all him trying to destroy New Namek is random. Just sort of annoyed me of how much irony there was in that. I do like the twist at the end and the fact there's like millions of Meta Coolers which seem impossible to beat. Also there's a stupid move in this movie on Cooler's part. Everyone who has seen this film knows what I mean when I say never say out loud what could kill you when you think the heroes are dead.

Cooler returns!!! That is rather cool, ya know?

[Aaron1375 · 7/10 · 25 July 2010]

No stupid pointless henchmen dubbed with french accents, yay! I suppose that is probably a stupid reason to enjoy a movie, but man that was rather dimwitted to the people who dubbed the previous DBZ movie featuring Cooler. This DBZ movie is rather good though and not only for that reason. This one also marks Vegeta's first appearance in a movie. Granted it could have been better, but for a while there this one was shaping up to be one of the most action packed installments yet. To bad they ended the movie rather weakly, basically in the same fashion they ended the first Hulk movie. The story has our group of Z fighters going to new Namek to try and help the Namek's on their new home with a bit of a huge problem. Seems some strange metal planet is essentially trying to unit with the planet and bring it within itself. A bit like the planet eating Unicron I suppose combined with the Borg of Star Trek fame. Well after fighting some robot fighters Cooler appears and now he is metal and stuck in the final form of Frieza rather than the cool version he was able to turn into in the first movie he was in. Well Goku and Vegeta must fight him and then a whole bunch of him. It is rather cool, that is until they are captured and then the movie fizzles a bit.

The best DBZ english movie out

[C6YR2001 · 14 September 2002]

This movie was possibly the best DBZ dubbed movie ever. It makes sense, no crappy backround music, it's perfect. It wont make any stupid references like "If you wanted to join my army you have to use the side entrance!" "Thanks but no thanks, we're both self employed." This could possibly be the only reason why I liked this movie over all i give it a 9 out 10...since there is no Cha La or the Japanese music.

inferior to the previous film

[erminahotmail · 7/10 · 26 January 2024]

Then this number 6 Dragon Ball Z movie then This speaks that there are dangers towards the planet New Namek They are dangers fifth the Z warriors go to Namek think about making the inhabitants the planet is covered by an electronic planet that everything is made only of machines so itthey face everyone but incredible surprise their leader is Coola yes it's him But he is made of a metallic version Since he is made entirely of metal that has become Metal Coola Luisa a broken one the last shot So what do I think of this film Well to me I liked it but it's not up to parof the previous film because this film has a lot of problems let's say the things I didn't like So what I really couldn't understand why this film the animation is bad I'm not joking it's just like that and how is it possible it had a thing of the kind because all theDragon Ball movies have always had good animation but in this movie it's the only one where the animation isn't good then I didn't like them and the robotic army because they don't matter to you but one thing they did just makes you happy a lot of people because this time afterfive films finally in this film Vegeta appears for the first time But I tell myself one thing because Coola doesn't recognize Vegeta and yet he should be the prince of the Saiyans No not even a mention and then he is discovered because Coola is still alive Well when the previous ones movie Goku haddestroyed his piece was shipped from a space graveyard where satellites and spaceships are dumped But since space is such a thing fur activated it A chip that fused with the piece Coola Nicosia created that planet Apple the clash final he saw that he tookthe two Saiyans who tried to suffer the energy but for now Lollo was not consuming energy so everything exploded and then after Goku passed by throwing a blow and everything was destroyed So this film may not be one of the best films but it is not it can't even be seen from the draft, but it remainsalways lower than the previous film to conclude with a 7.5 rating.

The best action packed DBZ movie

[Son Goku-3 · 10/10 · 20 August 1999]

I loved this DBZ movie! It has hard hitting fast paced fighting and has a simple storyline. The animation is great. Kooler is back and a whole lot tougher than before in his new cyborg body. I love the way Metal Kooler is shiny all the time. The Japanese dialogue is also good. I just love Gokuh's voice. It also has Piccolo kicking some serious butt! Big DBZ or any anime fan will love this movie. If you are able to find the subtitled version of this movie, then I highly recommend that you get it!! I give it a 10 out of 10.

Triumphant Sequel

[gigan-92 · 10/10 · 19 April 2010]

The first direct sequel to a previous DBZ film, or rather the first returning villain. Also, the most obvious reason to love this one is that it is Vegeta's debut in a Z film and as a super saiyan no less. Yea!! This time around Cooler has returned as a robotic version of himself, although later we learn it's more complicated than that, and with an army of 'Cyclopean guards'. Meta-Cooler is incredibly bad-ass, and I love how the animators added the glimmer effect to the metal plating. To add to it, he now has tremendous strength, surpassing that of a super saiyan as he demonstrates when he beats Goku into the ground. Even with Vegeta's help, the golden duos seem to struggle and are left exhausted by the fight. And oh yeah, he has somehow picked up the ability to use the Instant Transmission technique. The battle is a crazy one, with Vegeta delivering his latest signature move, the Big Bang Attack, and also delivering my favorite line of dialogue: "Why won't you die?!!" The music is tight and the classic Namek backdrop never gets old. The fights are intense and there seems to be quite amount of pain going on, as when Cooler nearly snaps Vegeta's leg (!!!). When brute strength and the combined efforts of two super saiyans fail to take out Cooler, the only way to victory is perhaps in Cooler's lack of understanding about the depth of the golden-haired warriors' power. But as with almost any DBZ film, there are a few goofs. Obviously, there is a question of power. Piccolo has already fused with Kami, making him a Super Namek and technically much stronger than Goku or Vegeta at the time. Also, as an inconsistency to season five, Dende already is the guardian of Earth. Which would in turn mean that Goku, Gohan and Vegeta (not to mention Trunks, who doesn't appear in this flick though) would have already trained in the Hyberloic Time Chamber and already surpassed the basic super saiyan level? Surely Full-Power Super Saiyan Goku and Ascended Super saiyan Vegeta could easily crush Cooler without any real problems. But hey, I'm not complaining. A truly sick installment.

The Z fighters head to Namek to stop a mechanical planet from enslaving them but they meet a even bigger threat, the return of Freiza's wicked brother, Cooler!

[talarisw · 10/10 · 9 September 2012]

I'm a big fan of Dragonball Z, it's my favorite anime. This is the 6th of 12 dbz films. This is the 1st direct sequel to a dbz movie, and the 1st dbz movie to reprise a dbz movie villain. I'm glad that out of all the dbz villains to be brought back for a sequel film, it was Cooler because he's the best villain. Fans will debate which dbz movie is their favorite but this is by all account the best made dbz movie ever! It has a really well constructed story, animation is top-notch and the action/fight scenes are excellent. In fact you don't have to be a dbz fan to enjoy this, if you like great action or sci-fi this movie's for you. The film is a follow-up to the 5th dbz film but this film is a whole new story and not a continuation of the last one. In the last film Cooler came to earth upon hearing his younger brother, Freiza(a major villain from the TV series)have been killed by a surviving Saiyan, Goku(the star/hero of dbz)and he wanted to avenge his family's honor and kill the last Saiyan, the rest were killed by Freiza decades earlier. However in this film there's no mention of Freiza or Cooler's relationship with him and this time it seems Cooler no longer wants revenge for his brother's death and is out to avenge his own defeat at the hands of Goku. The story, however, is beyond awesome, possibly the best plot of any dbz movie. Cooler attacks planet new Namek, first they were attack by Freiza and now his brother, but it's a little complicated and the movie's full of plot twist. Goku and the Z fighters go to Namek upon hearing a mysterious mechanical, machine like planet has attached it self on to Namek like a giant leech and dispatched robots drones called Cyclopean guards to enslave the Namekians. The Z fighters get there and to their surprise they find the guy who's running the show, Cooler, who came back from the dead and now has a machine body but same evil brain. This would be a great surprise if the title & advertisements didn't give it away. They give a great explanation to how Cooler came back, his dead body parts were floating in space when the mechanical planet called the Big Gete Star(cool name) rescued him and with his brain parts they were able to bring him back to life with a machine body. First of all Cooler looks awesome, he's in his 3rd body form from the last film but I love the animation on his new body which he calls "meta-cooler". The animators did a excellent job making his body look like real metal, it looks smooth, shiny and even has reflection. Cooler's English voice is also awesome here. Most of the movie are fight scenes but they're some of the best fight scenes I ever scenes. The fight between Cooler and Goku was epic. Cooler is much stronger here then in the last film, Meta-Cooler is one of the strongest and most powerful villains in all of dbz. Even in his super Saiyan form Goku struggled to even slow him down and fan favorite super Saiyan Vegta makes his first appearance in a dbz film to fight meta-cooler. It's never explained how Vegeta new what was going on and came and I never was a big fan of the Z fighter Vegeta, I like him better when he was a villain. But the main thing is even with two super Saiyans they couldn't stop meta-cooler but it does help that he can regenerate his body parts if damaged and the best part is when meta-cooler duplicates himself so there's 100 meta-cooler vs two Saiyans but unfortunately we never seem them fight the Coolers. In a great plot twist we find out Cooler is the big Gete star, that his brain parts merged with mechanical junk in space and created the machine planet, his brain acts as a main computer for the planet and he is a giant head and plans to devour each planet one at a time. I don't want tell you anything more but this is really great. Cooler comes off as really evil and threatening and this might be the darkest and most violent of all the dbz films. Meta-cooler is one of the greatest villains in all of dbz. I also love the theme music. This is Dragonball Z at it's best!

Even Cooler

[JayWolfgramm · 5/10 · 18 March 2023]

Cooler can't help but get compared to his more successful series brother. He isn't helping matters by doing a lot of the same stuff Frieza has already done. Starting with the negative, the explanation of how Cooler survived the events of the previous movie makes no sense. The explanation for the ending of this movie makes very little sense.

On the positive side, one of the best attributes Dragon Ball has had as a franchise is its characters, and this movie brings out a lot of them to play. It is strange to think that it takes 6 movies into the DBZ franchise before Vegeta finally shows up. Goku and Vegeta having to work together to fight off Cooler is the big selling point of the movie.

Sadly, the other "Z-Fighters" don't have much to do outside of fight faceless drones and maybe get captured. New Namek is a unique location for the movies, but there is little they can do there to make the fights interesting.

Another middle of the road review, for a middle of the road movie.

Great Movie!! Even better in dub!

[lucas-42 · 10 December 2002]

The original Japanese version of this movie was good. But with the new music, the dub is actually better in my opinion. The movie is pretty good with some top-notch animation for it's day. Goku and Vegeta make their first appearance TOGETHER in a movie and it's pretty cool. The storyline is somewhat different than most other Z movies. But it's still only alright, it's not a GREAT DBZ movie.

One of the best Dragon Ball movies.

[Kdosda_Hegen · 9/10 · 26 February 2021]

It's full of fantastic action with some very unique ideas and twists. Fight choreography is wonderful. I guess the only problem is that the final fight is underwhelming, but other than that this film is truly awesome.

One of the much better DBZ movies out there.

[SSJAniFan · 12 August 2003]

spoilers

This is one of my favorites, and you know why? Because it stars Goku and Vegeta(who's FINALLY made his debut in the movie series)! The two have to reluctantly team up to defeat Cooler again. That's basically the entire plot, but I think it's awesome finally seeing these two rivals actually have to work together, even if it's in a DBZ movie and not in the mainstream TV series. But like I said, seeing them fight side-by-side is awesome. I won't spoil it, but the battle between the two saiyajins and Cooler takes a few shocking turns. Well, a slight giveaway: in this, Cooler becomes a cyborg, just like Frieza did in the show, but the way it happens keeps him from becoming a complete ripoff of Cyborg Frieza. Plus, some reviewers said this film was really short. I have to disagree on that one. It's actually an hour long(movie seven is the shortest, then movie one). I will also say this: the English dub SUCKS. It ruins the entire film, but at least they took out those stupid songs they were playing for the last two English-dubbed films(this is DBZ, not Spawn!)

BOTTOM LINE: One great hour-long fight scene, er, movie!