If, like me, you saw “Dragonball Evolution” in the cinema and you have survived, you had to feel the need to relieve your conscience. This is why I offer you a return to this painful experience.
On April 1, 2009, Dragonball Evolution landed in the cinema, and it was unfortunately not an April Fool. At the time, I was already extremely skeptical, wondering about the management taken by production. How to adapt this saga of absolute richness in live action, but difficult to conceive in a work in real shots?
One of the worst sessions of my life
Accompanied by a friend also very fan of the Dragon Ball franchise, I entered a Parisian, febrile, almost trembling cinema, at the idea of discovering this adaptation. After all, we cannot criticize before we saw the work in question. It is therefore with a sort of suspicious naivety that I agree to give Dragonball Evolution a chance.
The story begins with a voice-over explaining to us that in ancient times, the earth almost was destroyed by evil forces. To protect it, 7 wise men created the crystal balls: the dragonballs. Decided to take their revenge, the forces of evil are now back, and only one exceptional warrior is capable of preventing the worst.
The young Son Goku will then discover the day of his 18th birthday that his destiny is very far from what he had imagined. After the accidental death of his grandfather, he met Maître Roshi, an expert in martial arts who will reveal the secret and the power of the dragonballs.
When we grew up with Dragon Ball and Club Dorothée, we can only be mortified when we see the one who embodies Son Goku appear on the screen. Emblematic character of the license, he is interpreted here by Justin Chatwin, an actor without scale devoid of charisma. His mere fact of a weapon: to have played Tom Cruise's son in the War of Worlds in 2005 and it was already a slaps.
Fox
1h30 that make your eyes bleed
From the start, I knew that we were going to spend a dirty quarter of an hour by watching this film which should never have been made. The characters are absolutely not respected, Goku first! In this version, he became a banal high school student harassed by the brutes of the school. In an absolutely ridiculous first combat scene, he manages to get out of it by surfing a car with his hair thanks to his concrete fixing frost …
At that precise moment, I thought I was going to turn my eye so I was mortified. At the beginning of Dragon Ball, Goku is pure and naive, it is not an arrogant teenager concerned about his popularity, it is really the opposite. The hero of the saga is extremely powerful but he does not measure it yet and that is what makes all the salt of the first episodes of Dragon Ball.
I thought I could console myself a little with the character of Muten Roshi (brilliant turtle), here embodied by the brilliant Chow Yun-Fat. I quickly disillusioned. The training is sloppy, the wisdom lessons are flat and the character is badly written, more serious than wacky. The humor and the oddity that made the charm of a brilliant turtle are missing.
Here, the director James Wong and the screenwriter Ben Ramsey seem to have never watched an episode of the anime nor read a single volume of the manga. Ramsey also apologized in 2016, responding to Derek Padula, author of several books on the Dragon Ball phenomenon.
Fox Piccolo and Goku Wish version
“Dragonball Evolution has left a very painful mark in my creative life. Having my signature on something so badly received is heartbreaking. Having received so many letters of hatred broke my heart”, said Ben Ramsey.
“I spent so many years trying to put the fault on others, but in the end everything is based on the words I wrote and I fully assume to have disappointed so many fans. I did the best I have been but in the end I dropped the Balls dragons”he admitted.
I spent so many years trying to put the fault on others, but in the end everything is based on the words I wrote and I fully assume that I have disappointed so many fans.
“I embarked on the project because I was attracted to the big check to the key, I was not a fan of the license but a businessman who was on a contract. I learned that you cannot provide a big creative effort without a minimum of passion, otherwise you will get only a semi-optimal result, or even something just good to throw”he courageously confessed.
“So I don't blame anyone other than me for Dragonball. As a fan boy of other series, I know what you feel when you expect something you love and that you are disappointed with the result. I apologize sincere to all Dragon Ball fans”concluded the screenwriter.
The Dragon Ball fan in me can only salute this lucidity on the part of Ben Ramsey, who is thus honorable. And again, if it was enough to apologize to atone for this spit in the face of one of the most adored sagas in the world …
An insult to the world of Toriyama
Indeed, all its story is a real insult to the universe created by Akira Toriyama, which had to twist ashamed by seeing the final result. Some sequences are absolutely abject, in total contradiction with the world of DB.
For example, the transformation into Ozaru (the giant monkey) is a key moment in the Dragon Ball universe. Here it is reduced to a rapid, poorly explained, and visually hideous metamorphosis. The design of Ozaru is ridiculous, more like a series B monster than to the formidable giant manga monkey. Worse: In the film, Goku is transformed because of an eclipse, not from the full moon, which contradicts the logic of the original universe.
We can also cite the final fight against Piccolo, with frightening weakness. It is short, without intensity, poorly choreographed and without emotional issues. The effect of Kamehameha is laughable and the staging is flat to die.
Fox Goku Tecktonic dancer
Kamehameha of shame
At the time, we made fun of this choreography because it recalled the movements of the horrible Tecktonik mode. In addition, Goku uses Kamehameha to… revive someone. This is not at all the purpose of this iconic attack! This illustrates how the production did not understand the basics of the Dragon Ball universe.
In addition, Piccolo, yet a major antagonist in the original universe, is built as a cartoon villain, without development or charisma. I wanted to vomit as soon as I came out of the projection by seeing such an disrespectful visual porridge. And I'm not even talking about Bulma and Chi Chi, here reduced to simple caricatures, a thousand leagues from strong, touching and funny women that they are in manga and anime.
Coming out of this session, I prayed to the sky so that fans boycotted this filthy thing that one cannot even qualify as a film. Fortunately, the feature film made a monumental flop, collecting only $ 55 million worldwide for a budget of 30 million.
In France, Dragonball Evolution attracted only 320,000 curious people who had to bleed eyes and ears, just like me. On Allociné, the spectators granted him the stratospheric note of … 0.8 out of 5! And you are right! That said, if you want to see or review the extent of the disaster, the film is available on Disney+.
