An evil Lord is set to lay hands on a mystical dragon ball, one that will grant him the power to invade the world. Teenage Goku has one of this balls and he must do everything to stop Piccolo from achieving his plot.
The film is crammed with treats for old-school Dragonball fans. For everyone else, this amounts to another seen-it-before, probably-willing-to-see-it-again distraction, a passable collection of 'splosions and special effects for a slow film weekend.
Dragonball: Evolution is my least-favorite film of all time. I hate it with every fiber of my being. If you were ever curious about the show Dragon Ball or the manga... please, avoid this cinematic disaster at all costs.
There are a few entertaining fight scenes. But there is also uneven CGI, bad dialogue and a host of clichéd moments that make Dragonball Evolution just another disappointing matinee movie.
Moviedex
August 02, 2009
More concerned with recruiting the testosterone troubled boys of today than it is rewarding fans of yesteryear.
Boxoffice Magazine
April 10, 2009
It's hard to muster up fear for the end of the civilization when the whole production looks like an hour of network filler.
Cinefantastique
September 24, 2009
This film offers further proof, as if any were needed, that Western filmmakers cannot do justice to their Eastern counterparts when it comes to retooling anime and/or Fant-Asia for Occidental consumption.
Fans of the best-selling Dragonball comics (and cartoons, and videogames...) might have a shot at untangling the knotty dream-logic that strangles Dragonball: Evolution's live-action adaptation.
The giddy, anything-goes spirit of Japanese manga comics and Hong Kong martial arts flicks animates Dragonball Evolution. Not enough to make it a good movie, mind you, but enough so you won't hate yourself if you sit through it with the kids.
