Reviewed by Phil Wheat
Stars Justin Chatwin, Chow Yun Fat, Emmy Rossum, James Marsters,
Jamie Chung, Ernie Hudson, Randall Duk Kim | Written by Ben Ramsey & Akira Toriyama
UK certification PG | UK RRP £15.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 85 minutes | Directed by James Wong
Based on the hugely popular and long running manga series created by Akira Toriyama, Dragonball Evolution is the first live action adaptation of the Dragonball saga in its two-decade history. When high school student Goku (Chatwin) receives a mysterious dragonball from his grandfather on his 18th birthday he is oblivious to the powers it holds and the fact it will change his life forever.
According to legend there are only six other dragonballs in the world and when brought together they will grant the holder one wish. Unbeknownst to Goku the evil Lord Piccolo (Marsters) has escaped from the magical enchantment that imprisoned him for the past 2,000 years with just one goal in mind; reunite the dragonballs and use his one wish to rule the universe. In a failed attempt to steal the dragonball, Piccolo destroys Goku’s home and murders his grandfather, throwing Goku and his friends headlong into an action-packed race against time. With the clock ticking and the fate of the world resting on Goku, he and his friends must collect all seven dragonballs before Piccolo can seize control of them and destroy the world.
OK, lets get this out of the way first. I have never watched a single episode of the Dragonball anime or read any of the manga. However I have played every Dragonball videogame since the early days of the PSOne, and this film isn’t like any Dragonball I know! The film takes the concept of the Dragonball saga and runs with it… as far from the core themes of the original as it can. Yes, if you’re a fan of the Dragonball anime you’ll probably hate this film, if you’re a fan of the manga you’ll probably hate this and storywise, the film is pretty flimsy, but no more than other kid-friendly martial arts films such as the successful Warriors of Virtue series of films, of which Dragonball Evolution reminded me a lot. But enough of the negative, or perhaps not.
Taking the film on it’s own merits, Dragonball Evolution does have something to offer kung-fu movie fans. The fight scenes are pretty good, it’s obvious the filmmakers have taken huge influences from Eastern cinema and the Dragonball videogames. The fight choreography looks good, and there’s copius amounts of wire work on display, which normally I would deride, but it works in this context - Dragonball has always had an other worldly fighting style and using wires in the film captures that aspect of the franchise perfectly. It’s always good to see Chow Yun Fat in action and here he gets to send up his persona somewhat as the wise ‘mentor’ to our hero Goku. Rossum meanwhile is the obligatory “attractive female sidekick” which is a perfect fit for her acting skills. Marsters, as Piccolo, is wasted under all that makeup. It’s hard for him to convey any emotion and he comes across as a two dimensional comic book villian.
Even though Marsters may struggle as Piccolo, his performance is still 10 times better than Chadwin’s. The word wooden was really made to describe Chadwin in Dragonball Evolution, with the entire film resting on his shoulders he fumbles time and time again which leaves his portrayal of Goku utterly laughable. Where’s the anger? Where’s the heroism? Where’s the heart? It’s certainly nowhere to be seen in Chadwin’s performance. When all’s said and done, Dragonball Evolution is what it is: a kid-friendly kung-fu movie that has only the slightest of connections to Toriyama’s original source material. At a mere 85 minutes it doesn’t outstay it’s welcome, and if you can put your prejudices aside you might just enjoy the ride.
EXTRAS ** A digital copy of the film; Dragonball’s Evolution featurette; Live Action Manga; Making Dragonball with Master Wong; Music of the Spheres featurette; Dressing for the Dragonball featurette; Dragonball Evolution Cast Yearbook; Goku’s Workout