Dragonball Evolution

[CaptainLewis]

Trailer:

Is anyone here looking forward to it?

[CaptainLewis]

Marsters discusses 'Dragonball' changes

James Marsters has revealed that the live-action remake of the popular anime Dragonball is different from the cartoon original.

Speaking to Jump Square magazine, Marsters, who plays the villainous Lord Piccolo, noted that some characters from the popular animation did not make it into the big screen adaptation.

"Definitely the story of this movie is different from the original. But it's a necessary change because we need to condense the long story of the original for a movie," he said.

"For example, some characters in the original don't appear in the movie. And we try to give it a more gritty and graphic feeling."

The ex-Buffy star added that the movie's hero character Goku is a good role model for children, saying: "I let my son watch the animes Dragonball, DBZ and DBGT since he was eight years old. At first, I thought it was too violent, but I realised this is the best show for training to become a true man.

"True men need not to flaunt themselves. They're calm, gentle and modest but when it comes to the crunch they don't hesitate to kill the enemy, and I think that's what Goku is."

Website: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a110 ... anges.html

[FormerBondFan]

My friend told me it looks bad.

[stockslivevan]

It looks stupid. About as bad as the film adaption of Super Mario Bros.

[CaptainLewis]

Dragonball Evolution

How supremely ironic that a movie with the word 'evolution' in its title displays absolutely no progression or development within the realms of the fantasy adventure genre. Peppered full of crass dialogue, formulaic plotting and stale characterisation, Dragonball is, well, a load of old balls.

The bargain basement plot follows an annoying twerp called Goku (Chatwin), who is supposed to be the hero of the hour - or at least the mercifully short 84 minutes. He has in his possession one of the world's seven 'dragonballs' - glowing orbs that when placed together can grant the possessor unimaginable power. The evil Lord Piccolo (Marsters) is after these and Goku must try to collect them all himself, with some nondescript sidekicks, in a bid to save the day. Yawn.

An overwhelming lack of drama is the main problem throughout James Wong's movie. There's no real sense of impending threat to either the characters or the world, with Piccolo frequently labelled as a nasty piece of work within the film yet doing little more than stand around and look evil. Buffy fans considering checking out Dragonball because of James Marsters's presence are advised to steer clear, as the legendary actor is utterly wasted in his role as the Big Bad. When he finally commits a callous act, by indirectly killing Goku's grandfather, there is a massive absence of any emotional reaction, which actually mirrors Chatwin's pitiful turn as Goku himself. At least Chow Yun Fat fares better as Master Roshi, delivering an exuberant and charismatic portrayal of the eccentric fighter who helps Goku on his ball-hunting mission.

Cliched superhero dialogue like "always have faith in who you are" ensures that plenty of groans punctuate proceedings, while the central romance between Goku and fellow student Chi Chi (Chung) is both unconvincing and poorly developed. How many times in movies do we see a young loner copping off with the girl of the school bully after she takes a shine to him? Still, at least their laboured coupling does stem from perhaps the movie's only effective sequence - when Goku manages to outmanoeuvre the attacking bullies and render them a battered heap without laying a finger on them.

Never offensively bad, Dragonball Evolution is a lame affair that pales in comparison to hordes of recent fantasy genre offerings. Offering little in the way of effective visual spectacle, the movie's script also fails to sparkle too. 1/5

Website: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a152 ... ution.html