SGA's Dragonball Evolution Review

SGA's Dragonball Evolution Review

Here is my review for Dragonball Evolution. WARNING: Spoilers included.

Review Opinion
By SGA - Mar 17, 2009 02:03 PM EST
Filed Under: Dragonball Evolution
Source: Whitney Rios

I did the one thing I swore I wouldn't do...and that's watch DBE online. I'm a pirate. I just couldn't resist seeing it. The anticipation was killing me. But here's my review anyway.

Ok, so this movie was pretty awesome in my opinion. At some parts it did feel a little rushed, but doesn't every movie at some point? Except Spider-Man 3. That movie had so much story and only a few action scenes that it didn't balance it self out.

The part where Goku actually holds a conversation with Chi Chi is where I first started liking this guy. He fumbled over his words and couldn't seem to get what he was meaning to say out. "Yeah, 'cause there are a lot stupider names out there than Chi Chi. I mean, Chi Chi isn't normal. I mean, I like you not being normal..." and so on.

I like Justin Chatwin as Goku. He makes him into a very likable person who you just want to root for through the movie. The only thing I had a problem with is that they didn't make him AS clueless as in the anime/manga. Only a fraction of that. But he did have some of the funniest facial expressions throughout the movie. (Is it bad that when he was turning into Oozaru, I thought he looked constipated?)

Bulma on the other hand, not so much. As much as I love Emmy Rossum, I'd have to say her Bulma was weak, even though she was supposed to be tough. Emmy just wasn't right for this role, sorry. I love all of Emmy's other movies, but this isn't her best work. The only time I felt connected to Bulma was when she had a moment alone with Yamcha and you could see the relationship just starting to spark. And that's another thing, not enough build up in their relationship. You don't really feel the connection.

Joon Park was excellent as Yamcha. It helped that he sounded like Chris Sabat's version of Yamcha from the FUNimation dub, which is what most people are used to. He also had the attitude. He put up a "Bad Boy" front, but was a kind person at heart. He was just doing what he needed to survive. He, along with Roshi, provided most of the comic relief.

Chow Yun Fat wasn't half bad as Roshi. Regardless of those official statements Fox put out about Roshi not being perverted, it's still there. Needless to say, it's not over the top like in the anime, but it's still there.
One example is when he, Bulma, and Goku are looking through his stuff trying to locate his Dragonball and Bulma finds a swimsuit model magazine.
Roshi was wise, and cracked a few jokes, and was overall, a good supporting role.

Mai...not much to say here. She didn't do much in the movie except get
Dragonballs. I wish her role was expanded more. Her shining moment was when she was fighting Goku in the volcano, trying to beat him to the Dragonball. So far, she was dodging all of his moves, and when she tried to punch him, it didn't hurt him at all. It had one of those classic anime moments when the hit lands and nothing happens except that the punch has moved the skin a little bit and it's frozen there for a second. Loved that.

Piccolo. Very imposing figure, but again, didn't do much. He looked amazing and the fight scene between him and Goku was awesome (but too freaking short). He had a chilling voice, too. I wish they had shown more character development for Piccolo.

Now for one of the most controversial parts of the film...the Kamehameha.

One word....Epic.

Now, this wasn't your standard Kamehameha. It was kinda like a combination of the Kamehameha and the punch through move that Goku did in the cartoon against Piccolo. I'll go through what happens step by step.

Piccolo :"blah blah blah"

Goku : *gets mad*

Piccolo: (paraphrased) "you're gonna die"

Goku: KAME *starts charging energy bringing it in from all around his body*

Piccolo: look of disgust and throws his Demon Wave attack.

Goku: HAME...*pulls all the energy all the way back to his side.*

the Demon wave is too close for comfort when Goku releases the blast

Goku: HA!!!

in a side view, Goku then goes flying through the air and the Kamehameha completely blasts through Piccolo's attack. Goku is still going toward Piccolo.

in a POV (point of view) shot, you see the Kamehameha completely surround piccolo as he writhes in pain in the middle of the air.

back to a side view, you see goku punch Piccolo w/ the Kamehameha and it causes a HUGE explosion.

Goku then drops to the ground in the classic anime pose in the foreground of the screen in bottom corner, kneeling on one knee and fist in the ground, head down and then slowly raises it up.

At this point i was expecting more classic anime moments, such as Piccolo having a delayed reaction to gravity and falling down a few seconds later behind him. But that didn't happen. You don't even see Piccolo fall at all, the next thing you see is piccolo already on the ground.

They definitely left room open for a sequel. Which is good. Cuz even though this wasn't exactly like the anime. Once you see the movie, the changes aren't really that big a deal because you're sucked into the fun. The changes work for this kind of movie.

But because they did make so many changes and some of the cast overacted or underacted, and some characters weren't used to their fullest potential, I'd have to give this film a 4 out of 5 stars.

I wish Bulma was a little more like in the manga, because as it turns out, the tough chick thing didn't work for this movie. And even though I was all for the change at first, I think the others were right when they said she should have been truer to her anime/manga counterpart.

I also would have loved to see more Mai and Piccolo. They were great, but not enough screen time.

Also, as incredible as the fight scenes were. I think they could have been a bit longer.

So like I said earlier, I give this a 4/5.

Related:

Dragonball Evolution Sequel Script Already Written

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Superhero Hotties: Dragonball Babes

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SGA
SGA - 3/17/2009, 2:18 PM
I will be willing to discuss this movie in a CIVILIZED manner. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them, but please try to be civilized. I realize a lot of people have had trouble doing that about this movie.

Ok, and here's two things I forgot in my review.

1) Fullum Assassins. No they weren't power ranger like. They were actually pretty awesome, but like all of the other fight scenes, it was too short and you didn't get enough time to bask in all the glory of the fight.

2) the obvious wire work in the fights. Seeing as how this is based off the manga, which the manga was based off a Chinese tale, Journey into the West, I think the wirework suits it fine. It's probably a subtle homage to traditional Chinese wire work or something like that. It's nice to know they paid tribute to something in the movie. And the wire work wasn't as bad as you got further along into the movie.
SGA
SGA - 3/17/2009, 2:19 PM
Sorry, didn't mean to post this article twice....My computer messed up.
SGA
SGA - 3/17/2009, 9:19 PM
lol. don't worry, you can go to movie6.net and they have several free sites that you can watch the movie at. It's their featured movie right now. They also have a bunch of other movies you can watch that aren't out yet...but yeah, movie6.net is the place.

also, about the scuffles, don't worry about it, you have your opinion, i have mine. Disagreements due to different opinions aren't unheard of.
SGA
SGA - 3/18/2009, 12:02 AM
oh, I forgot to mention that the first part of the movie has been cut out. But all you miss is the opening credits and the fight between Goku and Gohan.
ManOfIron
ManOfIron - 3/18/2009, 2:10 AM
How was Oozaru? Transformation? was the "stock" pic we 1st saw in the movie? Was he a big ape or a 8 ft. monster man? lol i wanna ask more but i don't wanna lose any surprises lol
SGA
SGA - 3/18/2009, 2:58 AM
The Oozaru was totally awesome. He was only about 8 or 9 feet tall, but that's easily overlooked when it shows exactly how much strength he has.

The "fish faced oozaru" thing that we first saw was NEVER shown...thank God.

So, yeah, without ruining too much, I'm gonna give you guys this...the ending, but in anime form. check it out. It happens right after Goku turns back to normal and his fight w/ Piccolo. (for the record, I didn't make this video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3k36jpzBP0&fmt=18
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 3/18/2009, 9:19 AM
I watched it online. Not knowing the Anime i cant comment on how faithful it was but as a movie it was terrible..in pretty much every way. The only thing that rises it above Street Fighter is its sense of humor..not that it was funny! But it didnt take itself too seriously so maybe kids will enjoy it, i cant see what else it has to offer to fans of Dragonball or the general public.
SGA
SGA - 3/18/2009, 12:35 PM
okay, while i was looking around the net i came across this

Alex C from the Mainpage of a group I'm in on Facebook sent a email to Justin's youtube account, and he replyed.

Alex C's email -

I have seen the entire movie twice now. And im going to see it in theaters at least 5 times. The first time watching it through I was too busy being a sceptic about all i knew about dragonball, then something happened, i watched it a second time and let go of all that and loved the hell outa the movie. The kamehameha you did against james masters gave me chills that didnt go away for a while. Im hearing when they release it in america its 20 minutes extra of the movie, is there any truth to this? If so, thats the only thing this movie is missing, some more building on scenes here and there, and about 2-3 minutes more of fight between you and piccolo that doesnt cut away, some physical action instead of Ki blasts(which where freakin awesome btw)

anywho, i loved this movie, making all my friends see it with me multiple times.
Please let there be a sequal with all the original cast. At least no one else can be goku but you justin chatwin, and no one else can be piccolo but james marsters. All i can think about now is, whos vegeta? have you thought about that?

Justin's reply -


''Hey, thanks for the support! Although I do think that people shouldn’t be watching it on the net, I am glad that you are going to catch this in theaters! They are writing a script for a sequel. And yes the American release will have extra footage, including the last fight. Thanks for the support! Best wishes!''


I know what your thinking...anyone could create a Chatwin youtube account, so you can go here and check the validity of the account yourself. http://www.youtube.com/user/justinchatwin

I also read that Chatwin replied to someone else saying that

"they had to cut down a lot of scenes to fit a PG rating in Asia"

So the online version of the movie is cut down, and not what we are waiting for! so i think we should all scrap our reviews.
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 3/18/2009, 1:15 PM
Why? Are they going to insert scenes were the cast actually act? And have a completely new script? And a plot that wasnt scribbled on the back of a beer mat?..A few more fight scenes and some more violence is not going to rescue this from the turkey farm..but hey, like i said if the fans like it im happy for you
NoobMike
NoobMike - 3/18/2009, 9:08 PM
no ror, the fans of the original don't like it. Some people will, after all some people find Rose McGowan hot, which just baffles me, but the masses of DB fans will hate it (although I could be wrong and loose any hope I have left on humanity).

But seriously the casual movie goer will avoid this. Damn where is Galactus.. I seriously can't post my Watchmen review... this is getting frustrating, I always get a .net 2.5 error when trying to compose a new article (although I have the draft written in word).
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 3/19/2009, 8:16 AM
That happens to me sometimes too..shoot Galactus an email, maybe he can sort something out
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