 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Dragonball Evolution
- Review Date: July 26, 2009
- PG
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- 2009
Common Sense Media says
Movie based on anime series has lots of martial arts action.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this live-action adaptation of the popular anime/comic book/video game series has lots of martial arts action. There's not much blood, but expect plenty of fighting, weapons (throwing stars, staffs, futuristic guns, etc.), and even a couple of deaths (though one is reversed). Characters also flirt and kiss and use some mildly salty language ("damn," "hell," and the like). And while there isn't any obvious product placement in the movie, the film itself could be considered one big ad for all the existing Dragonball merchandise out there.
What's the story?
Raised by his kindly grandfather, Goku (Justin Chatwick) doesn't know where his mom and dad are -- but he's been told that when he's 18, all will be revealed. Unfortunately, that birthday coincides with the evil alien warlord Piccolo's (James Marsters) escape from thousands of years of bondage in search of seven spheres of power -- Dragonballs. According to his grandfather, Goku must hurry to gather the Dragonballs with the aid of a martial arts master (Chow Yun-Fat) a tech-savvy entrepreneur (Emmy Rossum), a rogue (Joon Park), and his high-kicking dreamgirl (Jamie Chung) ... before Piccolo does.
Is it any good?
Parents will definitely zone out during DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION, if only because it's nothing they haven't seen a thousand times already. The plot and characters feel lifted wholesale from other, better fantasy epics like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, and the normally welcome presence of Yun-Fat is not, regrettably, enough to make the proceedings fun for grown-ups.
That said, there's a strong chance kids will love it; the story is easy to follow, and there's plenty of bloodless mayhem to keep things moving through the mercifully brief running time. Also to the film's credit? A slightly more evolved sense of gender equity than most kids' action films (there are plenty of strong female characters who are more than just eye-candy or romantic interests). Dragonball Evolution will impress young fans, but anyone older than 10 who doesn't already know and love the source material will find it a chore -- and a bore.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about why kids want to see the movie -- is it because of the specific story or because it's part of the Dragonball franchise?
Why do you think the filmmakers chose to make a live-action movie instead of an animated one?
Does any of the violence seem more serious because the characters are real people? Why or why not?
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AGE
Is more devolution than evolution
Average kung-fu fantasy that is loosely based on the anime series of the same name.
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AGE
Great for fans, not sure about newbs
I have to admit, I was a big follower of the original anime series. I really enjoyed seeing this story unfold in a new way (live action). I am obviously biased, I can't tell you what you'll think about it if you've never heard of or followed Dragonball or Dragonball Z before.
The only thing I had a problem with was the pervasive use of cleavage shots. For instance, Chi-Chi, a main character, always has her shirt unzipped a bit (or a lot). In a world where people daily exercise their "freedom of lust", it would have been nice to have had a break from it.
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AGE
this is dragonball!?
i really can't believe that the made a movie this bad off of such a great anime! dragonball is my favorite anime and they just made a disgrace out of it! i can't stand the characters except for Yamcha. and where are all the other characters! when i watched it i forgot it was even dragonball!
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AGE
Those hating on this movie are doing it for the wrong reasons
Ignoring all the soccermom/oversensitive kid complaints and the deluded fanboy ravings where people trick themselves into believing this is a good adaptation, this movie is an insult to any DB fan. On the contrary with another reviewer, this movie's okay for newbies but fans will hate it. They got only 5-10% of it right. Everything else was so inaccurate it's incredible. But as a movie alone, it's still rather average. Some of the action scenes look good, I'll give it that, but otherwise, the plot's pretty weak, it suffers from a NUMBER of cliches and, well, aside from a couple of cool action sequences it doesn't offer much. Now, normally, I don't get at adaptations for inaccuracies. I usually try to look past them and just enjoy the movie. Sadly, there were WAY too many inaccuracies in this and even as a stand-alone title, it wasn't that good. Die-hard will find themselves ticked off and yelling at almost every scene in the movie while newbies will get a minor thrill from it, but that's just how I see it.
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AGE
Could have been a lot better
While it wasn't absolutely terrible, I had a hard time taking this movie seriously. At least the martial arts weren't all bad.
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Kid, 12 years old
July 13, 2011
AGE
DIS MOOVIE SUCKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have a friend who is a big fan of the show and he ALSO said that this movie sucks.
This movie was so terrible that i did not even watch this in theaters, I watched it on COMCAST ONDEMAND!!!! $2.99 DOWN DA DRAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And I cannot believe that I'm giving this movie 1 star on CSM. I'M ONLY GIVING 1 STAR IN CSM, BUT IN REAL LIFE I GIVE THIS A 0/5.
This movie sucked, end of story.
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AGE
Bad adaption
This film is a very bad adaption of the anime. Not only is it a bad adaption, but its also boring, forgettable, and the acting is not all that good. I would only reccomend it to the most hardcore of DBZ fans.
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AGE
^.^V
this movie is good for the whole family, as long as parental guidance is advice...
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| Topics: | magic and fantasy, adventures |
| Studio: | Twentieth Century Fox |
| Director: | James Wong |
| Cast: | Chow Yun-Fat, Emmy Rossum, Justin Chatwin |
| Genre: | Action/Adventure |
| Run time: | 84 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | April 10, 2009 |
| DVD release date: | July 28, 2009 |
| MPAA rating: | PG |
| MPAA explanation: | intense sequences of action/violence and brief mild language |
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