70
Village Voice
Far more entertaining than it deserves to be, unless you're a 10-year-old boy, in which case it's only the greatest movie ever made.
Dragonball Evolution
Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
- United States
- 2009
- · 85m
Director
James Wong
Cast
Justin Chatwin,
Chow Yun-Fat,
Joon Park,
Jamie Chung,
Emmy Rossum,
James Marsters,
Randall Duk Kim,
Ernie Hudson,
Texas Battle,
Shavon Kirksey
Genre
Action,
Adventure,
Fantasy,
Science Fiction,
Thriller
On his 18th birthday, Goku receives a mystical Dragonball as a gift from his grandfather. There are only six others like it in the whole world, and legend has it that whoever possesses all seven will be granted one perfect wish. When the arrival of a dark force triggers a tragedy, Goku and his companions are propelled into an epic quest to collect the seven Dragonballs and save the Earth from destruction.
Stream Dragonball Evolution
What are critics saying?
70
The New York Times by Nathan Lee
May or may not appeal to fans of the Japanese fantasy franchise it is based on, but aficionados of apocalyptic teenybopper kung fu extravaganzas are in for a real treat.
70
Village Voice by Aaron Hillis
Far more entertaining than it deserves to be, unless you're a 10-year-old boy, in which case it's only the greatest movie ever made.
50
Boston Globe
Nearly all the actors seem to be having a good time, and the action moves so fast that you don't mind when something nuts happens.
50
Entertainment Weekly
Marvel at the fact that something this trippy made it to our local multiplex.
50
Variety
A popular Japanese manga series gets a pleasing if paint-by-numbers live-action makeover in Dragonball Evolution, which half-heartedly tries to keep the faith for its pubescent male fanbase.
50
Boston Globe by Joel Brown
Nearly all the actors seem to be having a good time, and the action moves so fast that you don't mind when something nuts happens.
50
Entertainment Weekly by Adam Markovitz
Marvel at the fact that something this trippy made it to our local multiplex.
50
Variety by Russell Edwards
A popular Japanese manga series gets a pleasing if paint-by-numbers live-action makeover in Dragonball Evolution, which half-heartedly tries to keep the faith for its pubescent male fanbase.
42
The A.V. Club by Tasha Robinson
The film is crammed with treats for old-school "Dragonball" fans, from the inclusion of all these characters (who don't actually do much) to the moment when spiky-haired Goku dons his orange gi. For everyone else, this amounts to another seen-it-before, probably-willing-to-see-it-again distraction.
40
Los Angeles Times
Director James Wong ("Final Destination") and writer Ben Ramsey are utterly blasé in their approach to the series' mythology and structure, cobbling together an 84-minute movie that seems to exist only to rile up fanboys. On that count -- and that count alone -- Dragonball Evolution triumphs.
40
Austin Chronicle by Marc Savlov
Bottom line: costumed Goku and Chi Chi cosplayers may argue the finer points of this adaptation, but it is fairly dazzling it its own overextended, futurist-teenpulp fashion, and Chow makes a vastly more entertaining Roshi than he did a King.
40
Los Angeles Times by Glenn Whipp
Director James Wong ("Final Destination") and writer Ben Ramsey are utterly blasé in their approach to the series' mythology and structure, cobbling together an 84-minute movie that seems to exist only to rile up fanboys. On that count -- and that count alone -- Dragonball Evolution triumphs.
38
TV Guide Magazine
Just know there's a whole lot more great stuff out there than just what Evolution has in store for you -- namely, the anime that it was based on.
38
TV Guide Magazine by Jeremy Wheeler
Just know there's a whole lot more great stuff out there than just what Evolution has in store for you -- namely, the anime that it was based on.
20
The Hollywood Reporter by Frank Scheck
Completely lacking in visual, narrative or stylistic coherence, the film also suffers from cheap-looking visual effects and poorly staged and edited action sequences that will not exactly please the fanboys.
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