By making this review, I have to step aside being a Dragonball Z fanboy and just be a regular moviegoer not knowing anything about the film. The movie is definitely not the Dragonball I've grown to. It should be seen independently from the animé and manga. Dragonball Evolution attempts to make its plot different from the series. They tried to make a movie like X-Men which has an independent story from its origins but retains the backstories of the characters. Unfortunately, it is a failure as an adaptation . Thus, they added the word "evolution" to its title. No wonder they also moved the playdates. Is it that bad?
Dragonball Evolution turned out to be a futuristic teen movie with a stereotype loser who can save the world from an alien porn dominatrix. It lacks everything; substance, character depth, fight scenes, etc. The actors here are also lackluster and they don't fit their roles. Justin Chatwin (Goku) is not goofy and heroic. Emmy Rossum (Bulma) is lost with her character, she's more of a damsel than as a tough scientist. Chow Yun Fat (Master Roshi), what happened to you???
Dragonball is all about fighting. They could have concentrated the movie with the fighting. The fight scene outside Chichi's party is fun to watch, which I wish should have done throughout the film. I think that was the part where Stephen Chow entered. Stephen Chow should have directed the film instead of producing it. He should have made it like Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer. Dragonball is close to those movies in terms of hilarity and fighting.
Live-action Dragonball is like this James Wong!
The film is not totally bad as I expect it. It is not that good either. It is okay if you don't see it as a Dragonball franchise. It's good to watch while smooching with your partner or while picking your nose.
Ratings:
Visuals: 3 out of 5 stars
Intellect: 1 out of 5 stars
Plot: 2 out of 5 stars
