Dragonball Evolution

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Movie based on anime series has lots of martial arts action.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

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.

  • Like other epic fantasy films, the movie's messages are generally positive: Have faith in yourself, you can do anything, willpower can triumph over anger, and so on. But whether kids will absorb that amid all the high kicks and karate chops is another matter. One character is a thief, but he's presented, briefly, as more of a lovable brigand a la Han Solo. There are several strong female characters.
  • Constant martial arts action, with more emphasis on ducking, dodging, and diving than on brutality and bloodshed. Fights and scuffling, and two blodless deaths (one of which is reversed). Some futuristic sci-fi gunplay, but no impacts or blood. There's also lots of energy bolt hurling/combat and combat with martial arts weapons -- throwing stars, staffs, etc. When supernatural beings are cut in two, they regenerate before being hurled into lava. A martial artist is attacked with metal rods; he dodges the blows so adroitly that his attackers only hurt themselves.
  • Mild kissing; some flirting, cleavage, and sexual tension.
  • Words include "hell," "damn," "crap," "fart," "sucks," "oh my God," and an incomplete use of "s--t."
  • No real-world brands are mentioned, but the movie is an adaptation of the popular anime/manga series, so in a sense, the whole thing is an ad for the Dragonball franchise (which includes plenty of products).

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.


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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?


This review was written by James Rocchi
Kid, 13 years old
April 11, 2011
 
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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Adult
April 27, 2009
 
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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Teen, 17 years old
April 13, 2009
 

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Kid, 13 years old
August 2, 2010
 
For kids
soooooooooo boring!

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Teen, 14 years old
March 2, 2011
 
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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Adult
January 23, 2010
 
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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Adult
July 27, 2009
 
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
 
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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Teen, 17 years old
December 24, 2010
 
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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Adult
June 13, 2009
 
^.^V
this movie is good for the whole family, as long as parental guidance is advice...

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This review was written by James Rocchi
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

This review was written by James Rocchi
 

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About our rating system
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.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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