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List Price: $29.98 | | Label: Twentieth Century Fox
Salesrank: 14854
Released: July 28, 2009 |
| Our Price: $9.30 |
| Used Price: $3.37 |
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MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Genre: Action/Adventure
Rating: PG
Release Date: 28-JUL-2009
Media Type: DVD
Description of Dragonball: Evolution:
Co-produced by Hong Kong legend Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle), Dragonball Evolution is an agreeable if low-wattage live action adaptation of the iconic manga and anime series Dragon Ball. Director James Wong fuses the series’ fantasy-based characters and devices with a somewhat lackluster storyline involving average teen Goku (Justin Chatwin), who breaks from his wholesale pining for classmate Chi-Chi (Jamie Chung) to that he’s at the center of an intergalactic search for the all-powerful Dragonballs by evil warlord Piccolo (Buffy’s James Marsters). With the help of master Roshi (Chow Yun-Fat, who backburners his stoic screen image in favor of some God of Gamblers/Once a Thief-level hamminess), Goku develops his fighting skills to take on Piccolo and save the Earth. The film’s abundance of martial arts should please younger and less discerning viewers, but its hackneyed dialogue and sluggish pace (especially in the fight scenes, which stutter where they should flow) may disappoint longtime fans of the book and television adaptations. The CGI effects, which labor mightily to reproduce the source material’s eye-popping look, also fall short, though the cast is game, especially Marsters and Chow. -- Paul Gaita
Stills from Dragonball: Evolution (Click for larger image)
Dragonball: Evolution Reviews:
ONE OF THE BEST B-MOVIES EVER!! 9 OUT OF 10 
2009-12-26 - Okay, so this film was ripped apart by critics and fans of the DBZ franchise. This film was completely stupid, ludicrous in the extreme, filled to the brim with bad dialogue, and GOD HELP ME I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT! Now mind you, I am not a DBZ fan (Though I have seen a few episodes and it was entertaining), but I choose to look at films from just a film point, not from a source material point (The only film I ever watched that I expected to follow its source material was Watchmen, and I was very satisfied). If you are a fan of the hugely popular anime show, then I definitely don't recommend this to you and you should just walk away from this review. But, if you love cheesy martial arts films and have been looking for an awesome B-movie, then let's proceed with my raving review of this film.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT: When Goku turns eighteen, his grandfather gives him a dragonball, in which there are only seven known to be in existence. But when the villain Piccolo escapes from his prison, he intends to find all the dragonballs because when all seven are together, a dragon can be summoned to grant one wish. So after Goku's grandfather is killed, Goku goes on a quest with friends to stop Piccolo before he finds all seven and his wish to rule to world is done. Oh yeah, it definitely doesn't follow its source material, but good God it's so damn awesome to watch.
MUSIC: The music as any martial arts flick should be, it's awesome to listen to and never gets boring. It fits everything so nicely and it transitions quite well.
ACTING: Oh it's bad. The dialogue is pure comedy gold, especially when you hear characters spout off lines such as "The dragonballs are within my grasp," or "Hey! We've still got our dragonballs!" as well as other comical lines. Any gripes with the bad acting is done away with because this area is so damn funny. No wonder I get a lot more laughs out of these kinds of films instead of intentional comedies.
ACTION: This film has awesome action scenes. Whether it be a fight sequence or even some shootouts, this film never fails to be consistently entertaining. Sure they may be over-the-top, but they are spectacular and should please anyone who isn't stuck up and intent on having every film be a serious endeavor. This film provides plenty of amusing, escapist martial arts fun that just plain rocks. This film just never got boring somehow, and I'll go as far as to say that I liked it better than the Mortal Kombat films. Call me crazy, I loved this awesome film.
OVERALL: One of the best B-movies ever made. Delightfully campy, completely over-the-top, filled with spectacular action scenes, awesome music, and funny humor, Dragonball Evolution is a dream come true for B-movie fanatics while it's a nightmare for DBZ fans thanks to the fact it almost completely ignores its source material. I recommend you rent it first before buying it, because most likely you won't be showering it with praise like me.
THE GOOD: Awesome over-the-top action scenes, awesome music, totally campy dialogue and humor, and it's just a damn awesome film all around.
THE BAD: Underdeveloped storytelling and its B-movie qualities will not be enjoyed by some.
What a sad effort to make a quick buck 
2009-12-21 - Honestly don't even bother wasting your time and money on this lousy movie. James Wong obviously can't direct for crap if this is the result. For someone whom has not seen the Dragon Ball manga you'd still expect him to direct a film with a decent plot right? what talent?. I mean Batman was a great comic and the movies were great but this film totally suck.
Don't trust the 5 star reviews from a bunch of virtual marketers. (You might like this film if you are mentally aged 5 or under or under influence of drugs) If you don't believe me just read the other reviews from people with 1 star, we can't all be wrong, and we don't try and trick you into buying or seeing the movie too!
Dragonball Evolution....... 
2009-12-19 - I'd have to agree with one reviewer out there in cyberland that people just love to complain about live-action adaptations of their beloved series. Determined that Hollywood will never get what made those series so great in the first place in the movies. Dragonball: Evolution is certainly no exception. I was one of those few that remained optimistic about the movie. I'll admit, fans have a right to be upset that the people who made this movie took liberties in making the movie, not adhering to the original DBZ series storyline and whatnot. They also have the right to be unhappy that the production values were pretty low-budget. I, too, was expecting something pretty spectacular in that department as the anime is pretty wild.
Yet, even so--on its' own merits, I still thought the movie was entertaining. Personally, I enjoyed it. My thoughts on things are that, if they made this movie exactly like the anime series, it would be pretty pointless. Why would fans even bother to go see it at all. Honestly, I've been a fan of the series since it first aired years ago and I wouldn't see it if it were exactly the same. Second, maybe they didn't have enough money to make the production values any better. I hear tell that a sequel is already in the works. If so, maybe they'll get things right this time all the way around. That way, casual fans and hardcore fans alike will feel the same way about the movie.
WONDERFUL Magic classic timeless movie the BEST
2009-12-14 - If you are a true dragon ball fan ,you will love this movie . There are many DragonBall so called fans who run around dogging this movie who are not real fans. When watching the movie you will see excellent acting, story telling SPECIAL EFFECTS .But mostley you will get the feeling you are a part of the movie , that there is hope in the world & good will win over evil. this movie has the backing & punch of the true dragonball creater, his hand in this movie ,is clear, he is creative and vibrant....you can not stop watching & I look forward to the next movie because its a joy to watch. The young at heart wii love the movie.
Another Americanized film 
2009-12-07 - I approached the film Dragonball with no preconception of the Dragonball franchise, and evaluated it as a film. American teenager Goku is depicted as an outcast of sorts in high school, for his unusual background (lives with asian grandpa, rides a scooter when everyone else has a car, etc.). And he is head over heels for a asian girl named Chi-Chi. Basically, you need to approach the film as a typical boy-saves-the-world kind of film, that just happened to have names and backdrop of the Dragonball manga/anime franchise.
Another way of looking at the film is that it became "Americanized." It's not an unusual approach. For example, the anime show Cardcaptor Sakura was shown on TV years ago, in English track, with Americanized names and dialogue. I think Twentieth Century Fox, the movie studio that produced this film, figured that having an Americanized version of Dragonball as a film would be profitable, and draw consumer interest from fans of the anime/manga franchise. Of course, interest was drawn, along with boos and bad reviews from disappointed fans over this Americanization.
The film itself is mediocre. I don't think the plot was fleshed out enough to create a decent story. Goku basically goes from one quest to another, in search for all seven Dragonballs, and defeat Piccolo. The director tries to make the film interesting with all the fight scenes, and special effects. But the fight sequences seem to stutter in a go-and-halt like fashion, rather than run smoothly. Compare the fight scenes in this film with that of Mortal Combat, for example, and you'll see exactly what I mean.
In my view, Dragaonball: Evolution is not the worst film of the year, as many reviewers proclaim in their reviews here. But it is certainly a disappointing one.
