Dragonball Evolution Review

Dragonball Evolution


Release Date: 9th April 2009 - Australia


Production Companies
20th Century Fox (presents)

Dune Entertainment (in association with)
Star Overseas

Ingenious Media (produced in association with)

Big Screen Productions (produced in association with)

Dune Entertainment III (copyright holder)

Durango Film Commission (Mexico unit)

World Film Magic

Distribution
20th Century Fox Australia


Genre: Sci-Fi/Action

Rating: PG

Runtime: 82 minutes


Budget: $30,000,000

Box Office Gross:

$56,511,457 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary 

On his eighteenth birthday, the mild-mannered Goku receives a mystical Dragon Ball, one of only seven that combines to grant a perfect wish to whoever possesses them. But an ancient tyrant named Lord Piccolo is free from eternal imprisonment and begins his quest to gather the Dragon Balls. Goku must enlist the aid of his friends and unleash the power of his evolving martial arts skills to defeat Piccolo before it's too late!

Cast
Justin Chatwin - Goku
Emmy Rossum - Bulma
Jamie Chung - Chi Chi
Chow-Yun Fat - Roshi
James Marsters - Lord Piccolo
Joon Park - Yamcha
Eriko Tamura - Mai
Randall Duk Kim - Gohan
Ernie Hudson - Sifu Norris
Texas Battle - Carey Fuller
Megumi Seki - Seki
Ian Whyte - Oozaru
Richard Blake - Agundes
Jon Valera - Moreno
Rafael Valdez - Butler
Mike Wilson - Hildenbrand
Freddy Bouciegues - Palmer
Shavon Kirksey - Emi
Julian Sedgwick - Mr. Kingery
Luis Arrieta - Weaver

Crew
Director - James Wong
Based on the Graphic Novel Series "Dragonball"/Executive Producer - Akira Toriyama
Screenplay - Ben Ramsay

Script Supervisor - Helga Ungurait
Executive Producer - Tim Van Rellim
Producer - Stephen Chow
Co-Producer - Rodney Liber

Co-Producer/Second Unit Director - Rich Thorne

Casting - John Papsidera

Production Designer - Bruton Jones

Visual Consultants - Richard Holland

and Bruce Crone

Illustrators - James Carson,

Dean Gschetter, Harald Belker and

Daren F. Dochterman

Art Director - Charles Daboub

Art Directors: Mexico - Marco Niro

and Hector Romero

Set Decorator - Roberto Bonelli

Costume Designer - Mayes C. Rubeo

Special Makeup Effects Designer and

Creator - Alec Gills

Special Makeup Effects Designer and 

Creator/Puppeteer - Tom Woodruff Jr.

Director of Photography - Robert McLachlan

Director of Photography: Second Unit -

Tony Cutrono

"A" Camera Operator - Casey Hotchkiss

Second Unit Director/Director of Photography -

Gary Capo

Stunt Coordinators - Jonathan Eusebio

Julian Bucio Montemayor and Jared S. Eddo

Special Effects Coordinator - Joe Pancake

Visual Effects Supervisor - Ariel Velasco-Shaw

Visual Effects Producers: Frantic Films -

Genevieve West and Randal Shore

Compositing Supervisors: Frantic Films -

Shane Davidson and Christine Albers

Editors - Matthew Friedman,

Chris Willingham and Thom Calderon

Sound Supervision & Design - John Morris

Sound Supervision & Design/Additional

Re-Recording Mixer - Chuck Michael

Supervising ADR Editor - R.J. Kizer

Re-Recording Mixers - Gregg Landaker

and Steve Maslow

Foley Artists - Alicia Stevenson

and Dawn Fintor

Music - Brian Tyler

Additional Arrangements - T.J. Lindgren

and Matthew Margeson


Review
In hopes of watching a film worthy of my time and entertainment, I was shocked to watch this piece of blandness, which is DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION. I know it's hard to express my disappointment in this movie, but it wasn't my favourite. I am a very loyal fanatic of the action anime show Dragon Ball Z, and what the filmmakers have tried to sketch out in this film is a failed adaptation. It made me wish I had chosen something different. The special effects and the scriptwriting have no flow.

The actors seemed miscast for the roles (except for James Marsters, who did well as the ruthless villain Piccolo), including Justin Chatwin in his portrayal of his Super Saiyan hero Goku. There are also a few funny bits that made me laugh.

I do not wish to contend with DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION or watch it again. It's an underwhelming action fantasy movie that doesn't please the fans. It does not live up to the anime series at all. In the quotation of Vegeta, "It's over 9000!".

Star rating: (2/5) Bad Movie

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