Luna Reviews DragonBall: Evolution
Usually when a new live action anime movie comes out, we’ll get at least one review out there. But since the most recent movie is DragonBall, this is a special case since without this movie, there never would’ve been an LAA in the first place. So in celebration, all this coming week you can look forward to reviews of the movie by our site and forum staff as we delve into this new chapter of DragonBall.
The next review is by Global Moderator, Luna:
And then the movie started. My first reaction was complete bliss, then complete horror. Goku is emo. “Grandpa I want to be normal, teach me how to get the girl” Wait… WHAT! Whoa, back up. Then the hardcore fan starting screaming inside. GOKU WOULD NOT BE SAYING THAT! Then I calmed myself down and took it for what it was. I slowly realized it wasn’t that bad. It was still pretty bad, but could have been a whole lot worse.
The dialogue was extremely cheesy and sometimes the delivery of said line made it even worse. “The first rule is… there are no rules.” Then I realized. Dragonball is infact cheesy. The fighting left something to be desired, and the final fight was way to fast and anticlimactic. But still cool enough. I found Joon Park’s Yamcha was spot on, besides a little bit to much of a ‘surfer dude’ accent he had going on. Emmy Rossum’s Bulma was good, maybe a little bit to sassy, but it worked. Their sudden attraction to one another came out of nowhere though. Roshi was pretty cool. Maybe Chow Yun Fat might not have been the best actor for him, but he made it work in his own way. Jamie Chung’s Chi Chi was pretty good. I guess I was expecting mediocre acting from her, but she did well. James Marster’s Piccolo might possibly be the coolest thing about the movie. So much for Krillen or even his ‘replacement’. Justin Chatwin’s Goku is still something I can’t decide on. I mean he was only acting with what he to had to work with. The best Goku moment was when he saw Gohan at one point, and screamed “GRANDPA!”, with the hugest Goku grin. That very well could have been the moment that I accepted Justin as Goku.
The Dragon was stupid. Nothing more to say.
The biggest flaw of the movie was how rushed it was. It was a ‘bing-bang-boom-its’s-over-movie.’ It left that feeling of “That’s it, that’s all?” I thought the special effects were pretty good. I found the humor was, well very humorous, corny and Dragonball-esque. Music was decent, could have been way more epic, but then again the movie itself wasn’t that epic.
All in all, it was decent. Entertaining. Could it have been better? Most defiantly yes. Was it satisfying? I thought so. Do I hope for a sequel with a whole new set of people working on it and maybe even a new studio besides Fox? More than anything.
If in star language then **½ and if I were to give it a letter grade C-.
Rating System:
* – Horrible
*1/2 – Very Bad
** – Bad
**1/2 – Good
*** – Very Good
***1/2 – Excellent
**** – Masterpiece
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My exact thoughts. I kinda knew that poor Justin was given crap and the rabid legions of DBZ fans expected him to make gold out of mere coal, so he did pretty ok considering the situation (*ahem* FOX!) I think, however, that being a fan does make a difference, I’m not saying it should have been a requirement but if everyone had been a big enough DBZ fan like Marsters was (Piccolo was AWESOME!!!! XD The highlight of the movie, go James, GO!!!) then the film probably would have turned out a wee bit better despite having FOX at the helm. Yeah, and Emmy was pretty good, too. only thing i disagree on is Yamcha, his character’s lines were cringe-inducing.*cringes* (>.<)
Actually, I considered the actors and actresses the best part of the whole movie. However, I disliked Marsters’ Piccollo. He seemed too calm. Piccolo should be going ape-crazy all the time.
Also, the characters spoke of him as if he was so dam strong, then Goku beated him easily, kinda. I totally agree with what you say tho. After watching this, I had to go “Krillin who?” Anyways, I really agree with the C. And even tho the movie wasn’t good, it was entertaining.
I thought Joon Park actually sounded like Yamcha. Like I said he laid the surfer dude thing on a little thick at times, but I thought he did a very good Yamcha.
This is the best review yet…great job…
Luna,i agree with everything you said,with Yamcha and Bulma,The Dragon,Roshi,Piccolo,Goku(Especially the “Grandpa” thing)The sequel,and your first paragraph…everything else,not so much…but i still like your review…
Don’t you guys ever comment on..the whole Oozaru being Piccolo’s apprentice,thing?Cause that kinda messes up the sequel…cause Vegeta and them are supposed to be Oozarus also cause that is a saiyan thing…so how will that work out???
We either need a reboot(Id be glad to do it) or no sequel….
Did anyone notice that they made Goku as Ang from Avatar the last airbender when Roshi said for him to master air, fire, and water bending????? It deserves a F
perosnally..i thought the movie was horrible. I just didn’t like the casts(except Yamcha) he was right on.. but the rest? They needed a lot of work ESPECIALLY Goku. Not being a racist or anything but Goku wouldve been better off as an Asian guy.
I’m not racist, since I’m asian, but I think DBE would’ve been worse if Goku was asian. I just don’t think an asian main character has enough charisma to carry the whole movie in a Western film. Also, There are no asian actor with the right amount of charisma and looks to fill that part.
yo Rainy Friday,
And you think Justin Chatwin had charisma?
Wow.
See, what you wanted to say is, I don’t know
any asian actors who are big enough stars to take
on this role and do just as a mediocre job
as Justin.
I don’t think he should’ve been Asian,
but I don’t think your comment is valid at all.
to rainyfriday
anybody kids can play GOKU except for JUSTIN gay a** mother f*****
i think my friend can play as goku he grow his hair out long bleach his hair out to bring yellow or gold spray alot of hair spray it stand up to 1ft tall and kinda look like goku hair style better of then this f*** up goku haven’t even turn super saiyan and it already blond
wow cLouDy, nerd rage much? or would that be homophobia?
I don’t see why people want a literal translation of the franchise. I mean you’ll be disappointed no matter what, so why not just enjoy the auteur’s vision and watch the original animé, or read the original manga, or watch the remastered animé if you want dragon ball.
But more on that when i get to my review later in the week.
Great review Luna, much enjoyed
I enjoyed it. The comics were pure cheese. The cartoons were pure cheese. The movie was pure cheese (albeit of a different variety).
Justin Chatwin’s Goku was not Emo. If he were, he’d be depressed all the time and singing douchebag songs. What they did with Goku was not make him Emo but rather merge him with elements of Gohan (school, chasing the girl, hiding what he can do, etc).
I loved Chi-Chi even if she was more likeable than her comic book/cartoon counterpart. I really like Jamie Chung in this role. It wasn’t an acting challenge by any stretch but she definitely fit the part quite nicely. It doesn’t hurt that she’s very easy on the eyes.
I like how they made Bulma more ascertive. Emmy Rossum was good here as well as playing brainy yet self assured, with just the right amount of conceited.
Chow Yun-Fat was spot on as Roshi even if they perplexingly chose not to make him bald (he did it for “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” so I doubt it was the actor’s decision) nor give him a vandyke beard. He showed no fear in chewing the scenery or acting like a living cartoon.
Yamcha was right except for the fact that he never fought. I agree that he and Bulma just suddenly fell for one another outta the blue.
James Marsters was great as a more pensive reinterpretation of Piccolo. He was simmering with hurt, hatred, and just-below-the-surface rage rather than yelling wildly with over-the-top rage. Excellent performance on his part.
Eriko Tamura was good with what little she did. Sadly, she got maybe one line at the most.
Randall Duk Kim was excellent as Grampa Gohan. He was intentionally being whimsical and cartoony in his delivery, much like Chow Yun-Fat. I found him quite endearing and he made his cheesy lines amusing rather than groan-inducing.
And you really need to give Brian Tyler’s score another listen. It’s excellent and the best part of the whole movie. It’s epic, whimsical, exciting, and adventurous without ever seeming out of place with the feature itself. He even throws in some flourishes of electronica and dance here and there to briefly change the pace and style of the mostly orchestral score.
That said, at 84 minutes the movie is far too brief. Normally I’m all for lean movies (”Taken” being a prime example) however this one was cut far too short. There are awkward cuts throughout. The best example being when Roshi missunderstands Yamcha’s offer of a fist bump. The gag is in full swing and suddenly cuts to Yamcha drilling through the wall to get to the next Dragon Ball.
The brief runtime also left the finished feature full of glaring plot wholes. For example, it’s never addressed how Piccolo escaped, who is Mai and why does she serve Piccolo, and how Roshi planned to cast the Ma Fu Ba all by himself when it took the lives of seven mystics to cast it the first time around. Also the film needed to explain that Goku was a different Saiyan/Oozaru then the one from 2000 years ago. An earlier draft of the script addresses this but the finished film does not.
Add to that the fact that Goku’s training (although clearly unfinished) feels far too rushed, Bulma falls for Yamcha too quickly, and there’s not enough Chi-Chi (okay, I added that cos Jamie Chung is gorgeous), the finished feature feels like it’s racing to get to the end.
There really needs to be at least 30 minutes (if not more) added to the film. Not for the sake of padding (that would only hurt the film) but so it has more room to “breath” and the characters can actually develop and grow closer (like Bulma and Yamcha), as well as have the fights have more of a standout flair.
One last thing, did anyone else notice that track four of Brian Tyler’s score on the soundtrack CD is called “Kaiou Samma”? I wonder (and hope) if this is a “Kingdom of Heaven”/”Chronicles of Riddick” situation where a whole character and their subplot was excised from the theatrical cut only to be reinstated in the extended cut.
In any case, I feel the movie is around a C+ or a solid B in it’s theatrical form.
my review
This movie was a cheesy one. very poorly done and i think street fighter the legend of chun-li was better quality wise. You can tell where the mistakes, plot holes, and complete cornballishness was. It reminded me very much of a movie like power rangers or something very kiddie. Sure you can say that the whole franchise as a whole was cheesy and corny and for little kids but it wasn’t. If we were to show ‘new fans of today” the real deal as did watchmen, there would be plenty of gokus penis and bulmas breasts and cursing and blood. Thats what we need. We need someone who will lead this franchise into nothing but respect by giving us what Akira Toriyama wanted when he made the MANGA not the ANIME wich was used to attract kids. Sure save the goku penis, because watchmen grossed me out with mr. manhattens. but that should be it. Why would anybody want to change a perfect story. Yes perfect. It has everything someone could want in a movie, monsters, comedy, extreme violence, and a great sci-fi backround. Why change it? so people who have probably never heard of Goku could appeal to it? Look how it worked out, hence this movie. You can’t appeal this stuff to kids of 2009, because dragonball has been of tv for a while. long enough to wher i was a kid. It’s almost like they tried to please the fans to much, but tried to please the non-fans(why, to make some money? no its about the real fans save that some non fans could like IT FOR WHAT IT IS not for what someone changed it into at the expence of the fans) Just look at watchmen is all I have to say. and im not some watchmen fanboy because dragonball was thee my whole life. i know everything about it so theres an obvious reason why i dont like this movie. If Dragon Ball (not Dragonball, that annoys the crap out of me) was handled with even a fraction of how watchmen was handled (to be as close to the source as humanely possible FOR THE FANS) then it would be truly something to behold. I have spent money on merchandise, manga, dvd’s and for what? so some company can ruin my dream of a movie, the chances of anyone besides a true fan to even remotly like it? Im upset truly very upset that know i they do reboot it, a wise comment or joke will be passed for this blatent slap to the face for my favorit franchise. Do you honestly think this movie won’t be remembered by non-fans when a real Dragon Ball comes out? Nah the foul taste of this movie is here to stay. And for the sake of the box office sales, please. Not everyone in asia had this site to warn them. Dragon Ball belongs to Asia so its natural that people locked to go see it. But its ironic really, that people flock the first week, it makes the bigger majority of its money in asia and people who paid money for this dud bash it and it haults major money making in asia. Then it comes over here, where some parts of this country havent even had a trailer let alone a poster and it makes 4 million dollars or whatever the cost (point is it was a financial dud) and gets panned by major movie critics. Hannah montana made more money than this movie is worth in the short time its been out. And about that( the 45 million dollar budget) it seemed even cheaper than 45 million dollars. First off, what company in their right mind would give a production team a mass amount of oney for a piece of garbage story? Fox obviousley saw the cliched story line, amount of action, and such and said “here enjoy your crappy movie with this crappy budget”. The budget is only as good as the pitch the production team give the company( Fox in this case). Seriousley what did they do? They had like 10 things that used special effects, and piccolo looked like he belonged in jim carreys The Mask with that hideous make up. This movie looked even cheaper than 45 million. It actually looked like it could be some sort of tv movie like that Ben ten movie. The acting was only passable at times for instance roshi and bulma. everyone else i laughed at. chatwin STRUGGLED to be funny and serious. Jesus Christ i laughed so hard at the dragon summoning scen that i had to hide my face in the popcorn that i barely ate becouse this movie made me nausias. And basically when ever chatwin poened his mouth i laughed, not because he was funny, but because he struggled in a childrens movie with one of the worst scripts i have ever heard play into a movie. Thank god this movie was only 84 minutes. any longer and the other half of the movie(yes, half walked out) would have left. Not to mention the mistakes in this movie. First off i heard someone say “why wouldnt he bring back his grandpa”. Well this is where the trying to please fans things comes into play. In the real story Gohan didnt want to be resurected becuase there were plenty of girls in Other world. Does the movie even hint at bringing Gohan back? no. another thing is that goku is walking around his house when it was destoyed to rubble. ????. lol obviousley someone over at the production team was a little lazy. and the whole oozaru was horrible. it was a backwards playing of him transforming. if that doesnt say “we dont care about this movie” i dont know what will. People were laughing at it. and i almost got up and walked out. This movie was bad in my opininon. You can yours and ill have mine. Oh well i pray for a complete reboot. a complete one. becuase next thing you know we will have a sequal to this crap. Oh well This will surely halt everyone one involved in this movies career.
My final review 1/10. that one was the enjoyment i got after i left, no no ran, out of the theatre. PLEASE CORRECT ME IF IM WRONG