All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Average User Score: 5 (38 sources)

Submit Movie Review

Review this film

Tell the world what you think of Dragonball: Evolution

Your Score:

reset score

Write Your Review:
When writing your review, remember to keep the language clean.

Submit Review Cancel

petewrigley

-1

Agree (2)

Disagree (4)

What you really have to take into account when watching this film is that it's an adaptation of the source material, and not a downright copying of it. With that said, the film was actually pretty decent and was nowhere near as bad as certain...
[+] Read Full Review

What you really have to take into account when watching this film is that it's an adaptation of the source material, and not a downright copying of it. With that said, the film was actually pretty decent and was nowhere near as bad as certain other film adaptations out there.

I will say, however, that the film could have gone in a much better direction than it did. The only real reason I'm hoping for a sequel is to give them another shot at actually pulling off something that fans and non-fans alike can watch. Perhaps if something along the lines of the upcoming Star Trek film was done in which the ads went out of their way to tell viewers to "forget everything" previously associated with the series, I'd respect this movie more, but as it is now, it's decent. Nothing great, but nothing that incredibly horrible.

[-] Minimize Review

Report Abuse

Posted apr 17, 2009 3:56 am pt

songokou89

-1

Agree (6)

Disagree (2)

I am a huge fan of dragon ball... and THIS was definitely NOT dragon ball.

Report Abuse

Posted apr 17, 2009 12:31 am pt

GeigerdolylWodd

-1

Agree (1)

Disagree (1)

Its more Dragon Ball less Dragon Ball Z. The yay so many minutes of Z they have near the end may leave many a Dragon Ball Z fan disappointed and chomping at the bits as to how much this movie sucks...as a Dragon Ball Z movie. The only thing they...
[+] Read Full Review

Its more Dragon Ball less Dragon Ball Z. The yay so many minutes of Z they have near the end may leave many a Dragon Ball Z fan disappointed and chomping at the bits as to how much this movie sucks...as a Dragon Ball Z movie. The only thing they fail to mention or acknowledge is how true to the basics of the source it is as a Dragon Ball movie. When viewed as a live action adaptation of Dragon Ball (the series that precedes Dragon Ball Z) it holds up better. The sad thing is most Dragon Ball Z fans have probably never even bothered to watch let alone read an episode of the flagship series which was responsible for its later Evolution into Dragon Ball Z to begin with. But the basics from season 1 of Dragon Ball are there with some minor tweaks to plot and character. Spoilers
Goku goes to school in the movie but never did in the Anime. Goku becomes Oozaru in the movie while the sun is still up. In the Anime he only changed at night under the moon while they were trapped in a big hole. In the movie they get trapped in a big hole but there is no full moon overhead and they dig their way into a volcano. Its basically Dragon Ball remixed. Bulma's hair is completely blue in the Anime in the movie? She's a throwback to Lori Petty's Tank girl with one streak of blue hair. Bulma has a tracking device to find the Dragon Balls in the anime and this movie. Bulma tosses out a capsule to make a motorcycle in the anime. In the movie it looks less like a capsule initially? But the general gist is still there. On the Dragon Ball Z front Goku does a lot of dodging in fights he has in the Anime. In the movie there's one scene where he does nothing but dodging all throughout the fight with the bullies because of a promise he made to Gohan his grandfather. In the anime we don't ever get to see Goku and his Grandfather spend time together he is only mentioned in passing. In the movie we do. In the anime Goku reveals his dragon ball to Bulma after she intrudes on him with her tracker. In the movie same thing albeit remixed with a would be fight/action sequence.

He also mentions his grandfather to her in the anime. In the movie same thing. In the anime Bulma comes across one of Master Roshi's skin mags. In the movie? Same thing. In the anime Goku learned to throw the Kamehameha fireball from Master Roshi.In the movie the same but then they also add further incentive for him to learn it by turning it into a more romantic encounter with chichi. There are worse movies than this Dragon Ball: the magic begins comes to mind. That was the first live action Dragon Ball movie. The only other thing missing aside from a few notable characters (flying nimbus included) and props (extending magic staff anyone?) was the humor. Dragon Ball Evolution took itself rather seriously. The original Emperor Pilaf saga had some bodily function humor in the form of fartjokes, bowel movement jokes and one pee joke.

[-] Minimize Review

Report Abuse

Posted apr 16, 2009 9:59 pm pt

TheSwordDancer

-1

Agree (1)

Disagree (2)

I've heard a lot of negative talk about this film and, being a fan of the franchise, I had little to no hope for this film. However, after seeing the movie for myself, I actually liked it. Sure, it wasn't great, but it could of been way worse....
[+] Read Full Review

I've heard a lot of negative talk about this film and, being a fan of the franchise, I had little to no hope for this film. However, after seeing the movie for myself, I actually liked it. Sure, it wasn't great, but it could of been way worse. There were many nods to us fans and in the end, when the credits rolled, I was pleased. Sure, it's not for everyone, but if you just take it as it is, a light hearted action/comedy, then you will be pleased too.

[-] Minimize Review

Report Abuse

Posted apr 15, 2009 2:39 pm pt

anthonykomonski

-1

Agree (4)

Disagree (1)

Based on the popular anime/manga series, Dragonball: Evolution is nothing more than a less than stellar piece that Hollywood could make. The story isn't true to the original series, and half the stuff including dialouge, effects, and such are just...
[+] Read Full Review

Based on the popular anime/manga series, Dragonball: Evolution is nothing more than a less than stellar piece that Hollywood could make. The story isn't true to the original series, and half the stuff including dialouge, effects, and such are just plain rubbish.

Do yourself a favor, and watch something else, that is, if you are a die hard Dragonball fan or anime fan.

[-] Minimize Review

Report Abuse

Posted apr 14, 2009 10:49 pm pt

Govvy

-1

Agree (0)

Disagree (0)

If you are a fan of the Dragonball TV cartoons then that is more than enough to entice you to go watch the film. For those that don't know about the cartoon franchise, well, you might want to stay away.

The film is basicly a very...
[+] Read Full Review

If you are a fan of the Dragonball TV cartoons then that is more than enough to entice you to go watch the film. For those that don't know about the cartoon franchise, well, you might want to stay away.

The film is basicly a very flat storyline of what goes on in the cartoons. Lord Piccolo who is played by James Marsters is a rather boring character who has no dimension. He seems very angry with life and as the bad guy it seems as if he wasn't directed at all. James Marsters is a good actor and he looked the part, but I would have to blame the director James Wong for failing to get the part right.

The lead character and hero Goku played by Justin Chatwin seems very lame and lacking. I don't think I laughed once during the whole movie and for a character that is suppose to be full of life and laughs was very disappointing. In fact I would have to say this part is just bad casting.

The rest of the cast was okay and the storyline was simplified and destroyed in one. The animation mixed in with the filming didn't blend too well and at times it didn't look right on screen.

One of the worse things to do in a martial arts film is not too use it. This is the biggest problem with the whole film and one that stands out above all else. There seemed a lack of it along with style, grace and skill.

In the end I was disappointed with the whole film and thought their effort on the dragon was terrible. The dragon Shen Long turned up looking small and shiny, nothing like what I wanted to see.

[-] Minimize Review

Report Abuse

Posted apr 13, 2009 6:36 am pt

• [+] The New York Times
  
  70
  May or may not appeal to fans of the Japanese fantasy franchise it is based on, but aficionados of apocalyptic teenybopper kung fu extravaganzas are in for a real treat.

  by Nathan Lee | Read Full Review »
• [+] Village Voice
  
  70
  Far more entertaining than it deserves to be, unless you're a 10-year-old boy, in which case it's only the greatest movie ever made.

  by Aaron Hillis | Read Full Review »
• [+] Boston Globe
  
  50
  Nearly all the actors seem to be having a good time, and the action moves so fast that you don't mind when something nuts happens.

  by Joel Brown | Read Full Review »
• [+] Variety
  
  50
  A popular Japanese manga series gets a pleasing if paint-by-numbers live-action makeover in Dragonball Evolution, which half-heartedly tries to keep the faith for its pubescent male fanbase.

  by Russell Edwards | Read Full Review »
• [+] Entertainment Weekly
  
  50
  Marvel at the fact that something this trippy made it to our local multiplex.

  by Adam Markovitz | Read Full Review »
• [+] The Onion (A.V. Club)
  
  42
  The film is crammed with treats for old-school "Dragonball" fans, from the inclusion of all these characters (who don't actually do much) to the moment when spiky-haired Goku dons his orange gi. For everyone else, this amounts to another seen-it-before, probably-willing-to-see-it-again distraction.

  by Tasha Robinson | Read Full Review »
• [+] Los Angeles Times
  
  40
  Director James Wong ("Final Destination") and writer Ben Ramsey are utterly blasé in their approach to the series' mythology and structure, cobbling together an 84-minute movie that seems to exist only to rile up fanboys. On that count -- and that count alone -- Dragonball Evolution triumphs.

  by Glenn Whipp | Read Full Review »
• [+] Austin Chronicle
  
  40
  Bottom line: costumed Goku and Chi Chi cosplayers may argue the finer points of this adaptation, but it is fairly dazzling it its own overextended, futurist-teenpulp fashion, and Chow makes a vastly more entertaining Roshi than he did a King.

  by Marc Savlov | Read Full Review »
• [+] TV Guide
  
  38
  Just know there's a whole lot more great stuff out there than just what Evolution has in store for you -- namely, the anime that it was based on.

  by Jeremy Wheeler | Read Full Review »
• [+] The Hollywood Reporter
  
  20
  Completely lacking in visual, narrative or stylistic coherence, the film also suffers from cheap-looking visual effects and poorly staged and edited action sequences that will not exactly please the fanboys.

  by Frank Scheck | Read Full Review »