Dragonball: Evolution

Overall Score: 51

Director: James Wong

Run Time: 85 min
Rating: PG

Viewer Bias: 6

Like several young men my age, I had a rather lengthy "Dragonball Z" phase. The non-stop action and excitement of the Japanese anime was incredibly appealing to me in my early teen years and resulted in an obsession the yielded the purchase of a plethora of memorabilia. Alas, hearing that a live-action iteration of the "Dragonball" series was going to be released in theaters brought back a wave of nostalgia that peaked my interest. However, being unable to convince others in their early 20s to fore go their cash (and pride) to go see the film led me to wait many months for the DVD release - and even a couple others to work up the courage at actually rent it.

After reading several reviews of the abomination, I had formulated very low expectations for "Dragonball: Evolution." These low expectations were not met. Despite being a formerly huge fan at least the "Dragonball Z" series, it is easy to see that "Dragonball: Evolution" is a terrible production and does not even attempt to bring justice to the anime series. It even raises several questions such as: Where did the original storyline go? Why is there a mixed number of Caucasian and Asian actors from a Japanese series? What did Chow Yung-Fat do to deserve this? Was that really Ernie Hudson? Sadly, "Winston" from "Ghostbusters" does make an appearance and thus "Dragonball: Evolution" is born.


Direction: 4

Although James Wong may have directed such notable, stellar films as Jet Li's "The One" (Pictures on a Screen) and "Final Destination 3" (straight to DVD), his direction falls very short of the mark. As you will no doubt see in later categories the acting is painful, the writing belongs in a "Star Wars" film, and the overall visual look of the film is laughable. Mr. Wong's direction did little to nothing to help this sinking ship and has officially dragged many formerly notable actor's careers in the mud.


Editing: 6

In a production with few things going for it, the editing isn't too terrible. There are a few awkward cuts, but considering the insanity of the characters and situation the editing is done decently well.


Acting: 5

All you need to know is that the acting is terrible...I mean really bad. Somehow Chow Yung-Fat, a man with numerous award winning accolades, and former Golden Globe nominee Emmy Rossum play second-banana to up-coming actor Justin Catwin who plays the 18-year-old Goku. The poor direction of James Wong and awful writing of Ben Ramsey severally limit the range and illuminate the idiocy of each character to project a facade of a film that only appeals to 12-year-olds even though none of them have any recollection of the source material. Chatwin's performance is garbage and any attempt he makes to convey emotion is laughable.


Writing: 3

I could have sworn that George Lucas wrote this screenplay. Dialogue has more cheese in it than a super market and dilute characters to a infantile state lower than the original cartoon - which is saying something. Somehow screenwriter Ben Ramsey, director James Wong, and actor Chow Yung-Fat all felt that Yung-Fat's Master Roshi character should first intimidate Goku with the line "Believe it punk! You are getting your clock cleaned." Enough said.


Story: 5

The only things that attach "Dragonball: Evolution" to the anime series are character names and the dragon balls themselves. The "PG" rated film takes more time contriving a "geeky high school boy likes high school girl" drama, complete with bullying and teenage insecurity, than it does forwarding a plot in any relation to the source material. At 85 minutes, that is not enough time to create anything of interest. Also, I'm not sure where some of these characters are coming from. For example, Piccolo's (who doesn't looking anything like Piccolo) minion Mia was slapped into this story and is about as one-dimensional as a dot - and has as many lines as well. Dare I say the words stupid, pointless, and a waste of time?


Cinematography: 6

The cinematography ranges from decent to terrible. This inconstancy is most notable between landscaped, panoramic shots and more intimate character reaction and process shots. The former are done pretty well and the latter...lets just say fits in with the rest of the film.


Special Effects: 5

Another strange inconsistency. The realism of CGI in "Drangonball: Evolution" is all across the board. The prologue sequence is done surprisingly well whereas Goku's "Kamehameha" blast belongs in a late night sci-fi mini series. It is difficult to pull off any believability in visual effects when the subject matter calls for a spiky haired man and green villain to fly through the air shooting energy blasts at one another - but they still could have done a better job. The climax of "Matrix Revolutions" is closer to "Dragonball Z" than this.


Music: 7

The music really wasn't all that bad. It is by far, the best part of the "Dragonball: Evolution" experience and co-insides very well with the action on-screen. Nevertheless, it was still not notable enough for you to recall after viewing the film.


Wow Factor: 4

"Dragonball: Evolution" could have made up for some desperately needed points here, but falls flat once again. I don't want to criticize the film for its "PG" rating like an irate teenage fanboy, but the diluted action of "Dragonball: Evolution" yeilded the lower rating. In a world were the average teenager flick is at least rated "PG-13," "Dragonball: Evolution" feels a little too watered down. Although it is refreshing to see an action title attempt to entertain without needless fetishization of women or extensive violence, a live-action take on the "Dragonball" universe does not warrant as delicate of a treatment. The original series would easily be rated "PG-13" or higher if the unrated versions were shown in theaters due to the high-octane, violent action which is the staple of the series. It seems as though Goku pulls too many of his punches and the whole film misses its mark, never to become a "Super Saiyan" in anyone's book.

Pictures on a Screen - 51