James Wong’s “Dragonball Evolution” wants to be a big-budget adventure movie about a boy who collects magic balls to summon a wish-granting dragon. It ends up being a mess of half-finished ideas, a cast that never quite connects, and a script that can’t decide whether it’s a comedy, a horror film, or a fantasy epic.
The film follows Goku, played by Justin Chatwin, as he searches for the seven Dragonballs after receiving one from his grandfather on his eighteenth birthday. Along the way, he teams up with Bulma, played by Emmy Rossum, and Master Roshi, played by Chow Yun-fat, to stop the evil Lord Piccolo, played by James Marsters, from gathering all seven and taking over the Earth. It sounds simple. It doesn’t stay simple.
Trailer, via 20th Century Studios.
Goku’s Search
Goku’s journey starts with a gift, moves through a party, and ends with his home destroyed by Piccolo. The film spends too long on Goku’s backstory, told in voiceover and flashbacks, before it gets to the actual chase. The pacing slows down whenever the story stops to explain itself instead of showing action.
The Cast
The cast is talented across the board, but the chemistry never gels. Justin Chatwin plays Goku with energy, but the script gives him few lines that land. Emmy Rossum is fine as Bulma, and Chow Yun-fat brings presence as Roshi, but neither gets enough to do beyond moving from one scene to the next. James Marsters, as Piccolo, commits fully to the role, but his performance is buried under a heavy prosthetic design that turns him into a monster more than a character.
Piccolo’s Design
Marsters described Piccolo as a being “thousands of years old” who was “put into prison for 2000 years” and grew bitter. The makeup reflects that idea, giving Piccolo a worn, decaying look. The first application took seventeen hours and left Marsters struggling to breathe. Later applications took four hours. It’s ambitious, but it reads as excess rather than depth.
The Film’s Failures
“Dragonball Evolution” fails on nearly every level:
- The plot drags in its middle stretch, with too many scenes of Goku talking to himself about his past.
- The action sequences are sparse and poorly staged.
- The humor misses its mark, landing as forced comedy in a film that should be tense.
- The film’s ending feels rushed, tying up threads that should have been resolved earlier.
Reception and Legacy
The film grossed $56.5 million against a production budget of $30 million. That’s a loss. It was released in Japan and several Asian countries on March 13, 2009, and in the United States on April 10. Its failure caused Fox to cancel all subsequent films. The whitewashing accusation remains unresolved.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| March 13, 2009 | Release in Japan and several Asian countries |
| April 10 | Release in the United States |
A Short Run
“Dragonball Evolution” was intended to start a series. It didn’t. Fox canceled all subsequent films after this one.
The film is a curiosity for fans of the anime, but it’s a disappointment for anyone expecting a faithful adaptation. It’s a bloated, unfocused mess that wastes a premise with real potential.
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