This film offers further proof, as if any were needed, that Western filmmakers cannot do justice to their Eastern counterparts when it comes to retooling anime and/or Fant-Asia for Occidental consumption.
1 CommentSep 24, 2009
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Dragonball Evolution (2009)
13
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:53
Fresh:7
Rotten:46
Average Rating:3.4/10
Consensus: Executed with little panache or invention, Dragonball Evolution lacks the magic that made the books upon which it was based a cult sensation.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating]
Runtime: 1 hr. 40 min.
Theatrical Release: Apr 10, 2009 Wide
Box Office: $9.4M
Synopsis: A young boy named Goku seeks out upon his grandfather's dying request to find the great Master Roshi and gather all seven Dragon Balls (of which he... [More]
Starring: Justin Chatwin, James Marsters, Jamie Chung, Emmy Rossum
Director: James Wong
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REVIEWS FOR DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION
As far as 2009 flops will go, [this] could have been much worse to sit through...
Apr 30, 2009
A contender for the worst movie of the year was released in April.
Apr 18, 2009
I am no expert in the field of Dragon Ball. However... the first live-action, English-language film in the franchise is absolutely insipid.
Apr 18, 2009
For anyone writing it off as a kiddie film, Dragonball: Evolution should be considered child abuse. Put everyone involved with this catastrophe on the receiving end of a Kamehameha wave.
Apr 18, 2009
this first installment was actually entertaining enough that a sequel could work out the kinks to become a very solid franchise.
Apr 17, 2009
The story seems to have been made up as the film went along, and not by anyone talented. The fight scenes and special effects are shamefully pathetic.
Apr 17, 2009
Faced with the choice of watching Dragonball: Evolution again and perishing in a fiery apocalypse, I'd take Judgment Day every time.
Apr 17, 2009
A rather tame live-action sci-fi flick.
Apr 17, 2009
The producer, Stephen Chow, made the funny and original Kung Fu Hustle, but here he and director James Wong get into a terrible mess.
Apr 17, 2009
Having been blandly adapted from a Chinese folklore-inspired Manga, that's about as much of the story that makes sense. Gibberish in the extreme, it has all the narrative cohesion of a trading card game.
Apr 17, 2009
[Chow's] hamminess doesn’t make Dragonball Evolution make more sense, but it’s a great way to cope with an otherwise inexplicable kitschfest.
Apr 15, 2009
Dragonball's value -- such as it is -- is that it's too dumb to actively hate.
Apr 15, 2009
Poor Emmy Rossum went from "Phantom" to this. Now that's a career decline.
Apr 14, 2009
Evolution is 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.
Apr 13, 2009
Top Criticjust another dull teen action film
Apr 13, 2009
There are a few entertaining fight scenes. But there is also uneven CGI, bad dialogue and a host of clichéd moments that make Dragonball Evolution just another disappointing matinee movie.
Apr 13, 2009
Top CriticThe film is crammed with treats for old-school Dragonball fans. For everyone else, this amounts to another seen-it-before, probably-willing-to-see-it-again distraction, a passable collection of ’splosions and special effects for a slow film weekend.
Apr 13, 2009
Fans of the best-selling Dragonball comics (and cartoons, and videogames...) might have a shot at untangling the knotty dream-logic that strangles Dragonball: Evolution's live-action adaptation.
Apr 13, 2009
Top CriticThe giddy, anything-goes spirit of Japanese manga comics and Hong Kong martial arts flicks animates Dragonball Evolution. Not enough to make it a good movie, mind you, but enough so you won't hate yourself if you sit through it with the kids.
Apr 13, 2009
Top CriticLATEST NEWS FOR DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION
April 10, 2009:
Weekly Ketchup: Dragonball, Hangover sequels announced
This week, Hollywood seemed to actually be listening to our usual complaints, as most of the new projects that were announced could be described as genuinely original concepts, except for a couple of...
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April 9, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Hannah Montana Hits A Flat Note
This week at the movies, we've got a pop songbird (Hannah Montana the Movie, starring Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus), a mall cop (Observe and Report, starring Seth Rogen and Anna Farris), and plenty of...
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April 8, 2009:
Jamie Chung Stands Up for Dragonball Evolution
For months, any bit of news about "Dragonball Evolution" has been greeted with snorts of derision from fans of the anime series -- but Jamie Chung, who plays Chi Chi in the film, asks that we wait to...
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April 7, 2009:
Five Favourite Films with James Marsters
James Marsters is perhaps best known to audiences as the blonde-haired Sid Vicious-alike Spike on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The vampire who earned his nickname by impaling his victims on...
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March 31, 2009:
Marsters Wants Seven Dragonball Movies
IGN recently spoke to James Marsters and Justin Chatwin -- who play Lord Piccolo and Goku in Dragonball Evolution -- and the pair spilled the beans on the future of the movie franchise.
More...
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