Spring Break
REVIEW: Campy charm can't fix 'Dragonballs' flaws
2 out of 5 stars
Stephen Ortiz
Issue date: 4/14/09 Section: Focus
When 20th Century Fox announced that it would be producing a live-action adaptation of widely popular manga, "Dragonball," many questions went racing through fans' minds, but the most important probably was "will they rape the essence of everything I loved about the subject matter?"
The answer? Well, sorta, but not entirely.
The film follows a socially awkward, outcast teenager named Goku (Justin Chatwin), who is just trying to get by in his normal daily life. The kids at school bully him because he's weird, but then the girl of his dreams, Chi Chi (Jamie Chung), invites him to a party she's throwing and then … well, the movie speeds up really fast and before you know it, King Piccolo, an alien from planet Namek, is breathing down everyone's necks and trying to destroy the world.
Yes, "Dragonball Evolution" is a bad movie full of poor acting, corny dialogue and massive plot holes that barely follow the story laid out by manga legend Akira Toriyama more than 20 years ago, but it still manages to produce some campy charm that fans might enjoy.
The character representations are off, and some characters are even missing (No Krillin? Really?), but it manages to get the job done - what more could you really expect from adaptations these days? Fox could have made something that only the fans would have appreciated, but that's just not how you make money, is it? This isn't "Batman," but compared to the majority of video game and comic adaptations, it'll do.
Sure, Chatwin wasn't the most logical choice to play everyone's favorite Saiyan, but he grows on you as the film progresses and once he dons the trademark orange keikogi and grows a pair, then it starts getting good.
Emmy Rossum plays the spunky and tough Bulma Briefs, whose character has always been a bit flat, but here is brought to a whole new level; James Marsters plays a convincing Piccolo despite limited screen time (odd, considering he's the main villain) and looks most like the original character from the series; but the scene-stealer is definitely Chow Yun-Fat as the old fighting guru and all around pervert, Master Roshi. He's over the top, animated and all in all ridiculous, as he should be.
"Dragonball" clocks in at an hour and 40 minutes, but doesn't really feel right until the last 20 minutes. The characters are there, and yeah, there are indeed Dragonballs to be found, but it just doesn't work as well as it could have.
The answer? Well, sorta, but not entirely.
The film follows a socially awkward, outcast teenager named Goku (Justin Chatwin), who is just trying to get by in his normal daily life. The kids at school bully him because he's weird, but then the girl of his dreams, Chi Chi (Jamie Chung), invites him to a party she's throwing and then … well, the movie speeds up really fast and before you know it, King Piccolo, an alien from planet Namek, is breathing down everyone's necks and trying to destroy the world.
Yes, "Dragonball Evolution" is a bad movie full of poor acting, corny dialogue and massive plot holes that barely follow the story laid out by manga legend Akira Toriyama more than 20 years ago, but it still manages to produce some campy charm that fans might enjoy.
The character representations are off, and some characters are even missing (No Krillin? Really?), but it manages to get the job done - what more could you really expect from adaptations these days? Fox could have made something that only the fans would have appreciated, but that's just not how you make money, is it? This isn't "Batman," but compared to the majority of video game and comic adaptations, it'll do.
Sure, Chatwin wasn't the most logical choice to play everyone's favorite Saiyan, but he grows on you as the film progresses and once he dons the trademark orange keikogi and grows a pair, then it starts getting good.
Emmy Rossum plays the spunky and tough Bulma Briefs, whose character has always been a bit flat, but here is brought to a whole new level; James Marsters plays a convincing Piccolo despite limited screen time (odd, considering he's the main villain) and looks most like the original character from the series; but the scene-stealer is definitely Chow Yun-Fat as the old fighting guru and all around pervert, Master Roshi. He's over the top, animated and all in all ridiculous, as he should be.
"Dragonball" clocks in at an hour and 40 minutes, but doesn't really feel right until the last 20 minutes. The characters are there, and yeah, there are indeed Dragonballs to be found, but it just doesn't work as well as it could have.
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