Dragonball Live Action

[PunkyChewster]

Anyone wondering how cheesy this is going to turn out. Yeah Akira Toriyama is one of the writers for this American made movie, but I just can't see this working too well. I haven't actually watched a preview for it but I've seen some of the screenshots, more than likely I'll break down and watch a video clip before going to see the movie, I hate doing that.

[The_Disturbed_One]

It looks terrible man. I read an early draft of the script when it was leaked a few months back and they ripped the series apart. Piccolo looks completely retarded, Krillin isn't in it, and Bulma doesn't even have the blue hair. I love it when big studios take things I love and just destroy them.

The flick's name is gonna be Dragonball: Evolution, and stars Justin Chatwin as Goku, Emmy Rossum as Bulma, James Masters as Piccolo, Chow-Yun Fat as Roshi, and is directed by James Wong. It is set to be released in April. It is based off of the Dragonball manga and the equally-popular manga. It follows Goku throughout his adventures of obtaining the 7 magical dragonballs and fighting powerful opponents. Once all 7 dragonballs are gathered, a dragon appears and will grant one wish.

Check out the trailer here:

YouTube - Dragonball Evolution Trailer (720P HD)

[fadeout001]

More than that Goku is a teenager, not an idiot, lives in a modern day city, drives a very fancy sports car which that right there ruins everything about Dragonball since it was all that contributed to Goku being pure of spirit and heart. The story doesn't even follow dragonball at all. The script is supposed to follow Goku on his first adventure of finding all 7 which is basically the first season of Dragonball Anime. No aliens even showed up in that one. It was all Goku metting Bulma, traveling, meeting the other z fighters and fighting the Red Ribbon Army. Also Roshi is a huge disappointment seeing how he is not playing an old perv but a serious martial arts teacher. Geez go watch the Dragonball Animated movie which basically takes the first season and cuts it down into an hour maybe hour and half movie and they do an excellent job.

Now as a fan of the series I know this movie will blow and be just as stupid as that new street fighter movie The Legend of Chun Li which by the way will make the Van Damme 1990's one look like a complete masterpiece in comparison. But my one question for the new Dragonball movie is if they will be screaming for 20 minutes to powerup like in the show? I always wanted to know how long the voice actors screamed for before they looped it.

[hippie pieces]

This is as bad as the Street Fighter or Super Mario Bros Movie. Don't they even care about the source material? I hate how when Bulma throws the bike capsule down on the ground and Goku just says "cool". Goku is way more enthusiastic! I would settle for a poorly written story if they at least got the characters right. Master Roshi is suppose to be a bald old crazy pervert with a big mustache....

[Vysel]

I used to watch Dragon Ball when I was a kid and it seems that this movie is going to fail. It does not look anything like the animated series. I'm going to watch just for the sake of being a DB fan, but I bet is going to suck big time!

[rockchild]

though i haven't seen too many dragonball z episodes of the series or read the manga at all, I have however seen the trailer for this movie and to me it looks like it could be decent but to me as a fan of movies and graphic novels, I would prefer if the movie companies would actually stay to true to the material than to what they think people might like to see. For it is the fans that would give it better profits in the box office if it stayed true to the material, than what it maybe like and just have people who think it looks cule to go see it and they earn their money that way.

[spectrebert]

Yeah, despite the talented actors, the movie is pretty much assured to sink. We'll know soon as it opens in Japan 3 weeks (I think) before it opens in the US.
spectrebert

[The_Disturbed_One]

It already opened in Japan dude. Last weekend. It's gotten mixed reviews so far. It opens here in the US on April 8.

[mega_mega]

As bad as this movie is, I will still be at the movie theater on opening day.

[The_Disturbed_One]

Okay, I just finished watching Dragonball: Evolution, or I should say I watched what I could. I was, and still am, a fan of the manga and the anime. So, I figured that even a new spin or interpretation of Toryiama's work would at the very least be entertaining. I was wrong. About the only things that stay true to the series are the names of the characters and the fact that 7 dragonballs grant one wish. Everything else was entirely different, and not in a good way.

The film basically is strictly for the little kiddies who don't care about plot, characters, or continuity. If you are, or were, a fan of Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Z, I highly advise not watching this when it hits theaters in the US on April 8. If you have kids below the age of 10, then they might enjoy it.

I give Dragonball: Evolution a nasty 4.5/10, because at least there was an explosion or two.

If you want to read a better review, check out this guy's here:

Review: Dragonball Evolution - Review - Anime News Network

He says it better than I can.

[The_Disturbed_One]

Here are some stills. joy.

[spectrebert]

Ichigo at Anime Pulse podcast also did a review. He is currently in Japan and saw it there. He said it was just awful.
Anime Pulse

no hotlinking

[childeroland]

Can't be as bad as Street Fighter, though, can it?

This is supposed to be bombing in Japan, from what I've heard. I wonder if this film precipitated Rossum's move to ICM.

[WhiteCrowUK]

How this isn't direct to video I dunno.

[The_Disturbed_One]

Can't be as bad as Street Fighter, though, can it?

This is supposed to be bombing in Japan, from what I've heard. I wonder if this film precipitated Rossum's move to ICM.

It is possibly the worst film I've seen in the last 2 or 3 years, man. It doesn't come even close to the story of the original manga and the visual effects and costumes look ridiculous. I blame the costume designer, the writer (of the screenplay), and the director for all the faults of the film.