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Dragonball Evolution

Dragonball Evolution

2009
Sci-fi
Fantasy
1h 25m
After training with the great Master Roshi (Yun-Fat Chow), powerful warrior Goku (Justin Chatwin) fights to protect the planet from the evil Lord Piccolo (James Marsters), who is determined to conquer the universe by collecting the seven mystical Dragon Balls. Based on the hugely popular anime series, James Wong's live-action film follows Goku's thrilling adventures and incredible battles against dangerous alien adversaries. netflix.com
Your probable score
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Dragonball Evolution

2009
Sci-fi
Fantasy
1h 25m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 9.08% from 975 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(975)
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Rated 19 Apr 2009
0
5th
Someone strapped two giant hams to thier arms to pound out the script, but that was after burning the source material to make sure none of it accidently made it into the movie.
Rated 11 Nov 2017
0
1st
Dreck 'n fail, see? lol
Rated 01 May 2009
15
18th
Hilarious. Everyone in the movietheater was laughing because it was so stupid. I'm not even kidding
Rated 23 Jul 2009
5
3rd
As an adaptation, this movie is a complete disaster. Just the same names are there, but the spirit is totally another. Even looking like an alternative version of Dragonball, as a movie is lame, running fast, without a development acceptable. Do not lose time watching this crap.
Rated 15 Sep 2009
0
0th
It does not deserve to call itself Dragonball. Horribly cliched. Any fan of the series will be enraged at the idiotic changes to the story of Dragonball and non-fans will think it's just plain idiotic. The effects didn't even look very good and the last fight was especially disappointing.
Rated 14 Apr 2009
80
52nd
Screw the haters. I think it captures the over-the-top action and silliness of the anime. Chatwin makes a pretty likable Goku from the first few scenes. I had a problem with the performances of Bulma and Yamcha at times, but Chow Yun Fat successfully channels the essence of Stephen Chow that I was hoping would be present in the film. A fun film that succeeds in its goal but has its flaws, which is much better than a movie that fails but has its moments. Can't wait for the Zequel.
Rated 10 Aug 2009
30
1st
I knew it was going to be bad, but there's always the trash factor and maybe some amusing references to the anime, right? Well, no, there's not, and the movie even dares to take itself seriously. It's not even bad enough to laugh about it, so there's really nothing there to make it worth your while.
Rated 02 Aug 2010
0
0th
THIS IS THE ONLY MOVIE THAT I WILL RATE AT ABSOLUTE 0. WHY?! BECAUSE IT TOOK MY CHILDHOOD'S HOPES AND DREAMS AND CRUSHED THEM IN ITS DESPICABLE HANDS! YOU KNOW WHEN THE DIRECTOR TELLS THE WRITER OF THE ORIGINAL MANGA AND TELEVISION SHOW THAT THEY CAN'T WORK ON THE MOVIE, THAT THE MOVIE WILL BE ABSOLUTE SHIT. IT TRUMPED ALL OF MY MOST HORRIBLE FEARS! I SAY YOU TAKE EVERYONE INVOLVED IN MAKING THIS BLASPHEMY AND PUT THEM ON THE RECEIVING END OF A KAMEHAMEHA WAVE. assholes.
Rated 11 Apr 2009
3
5th
Destroys the legacy and influential incantation of the long-running series miserably. Everything looks downright derisory and farcial, especially the revolting and disgraceful make-up design. Plus, I hated Justin Chatwin's guts from the start of his career so this didn't help at all. This is about all I'm going to state. Just god awful.
Rated 23 Jan 2014
30
17th
Dragonball Evolution is a pretty awful movie, even if some of the action is moderately successful and watchable. The best part of the film is that it's only 84 minutes in length, although that winds up being to its detriment because all of the world-building and character development got lopped off to keep the running time down. The actors are terrible, the plot is confusing and yet somehow too simplistic and silly, and it all adds up to a film you don't very much want to experience.
Rated 23 May 2016
1
4th
Has absolutely nothing in common with the source material but even when judged on its own merits it still fails on pretty much every level. Everyone already knew it was going to be a disaster and yet it still managed to disappoint, it really is that bad. Dragon Ball fans might enjoy it in an ironic/MST3K kind of way just to see how badly the clueless marketing execs at hollywood, who more than likely never once saw the anime butchered it, but there's otherwise no reason anyone should watch this.
Rated 18 Mar 2015
5
2nd
It's not Dragonball. Like, duh. But its greatest sin is being so fucking boring that Yamcha was one of the more interesting characters. They should have used the Dragon Balls to wish for better careers.
Rated 05 Jan 2014
0
0th
Let's see 1) has 100 of comic book issues, 100 novels, and over hundreds episodes of a television show and only use 10% of that source material 2) while borrowing material from: Star Wars, matrix, lord of the rings, last air bender, bulletproof monk and twilight This results in a studios steamy dump on a large fan base
Rated 31 Aug 2009
0
0th
So badly executed that I honestly think that my mind has automatically blanked half of what I saw out to save myself from the horror of it all. I have no idea what the source material is like, but surely it can't be quite as incomprehensible as this. After the first five minutes it becomes apparent that Chatwin is a prat. After the first half an hour the likeable Master Roshi turns up as a slightly redeeming aspect. By the end you're wondering what the hell just happened. Also, dragon testicles.
Rated 03 Nov 2010
13
5th
I want 2 hours of my life back.
Rated 05 Nov 2010
9
0th
I'm a huge anime geek, and this movie was embarrassing to watch alone, behind a locked door, on YouTube. If I can't make it through this film without skipping ahead, hoping it improves, I doubt anyone else will be able to either. This movie might be enjoyable if you were a seven year old retarded boy.
Rated 14 May 2009
7
3rd
Just as absurd and stupid at the television show. In fact I'd say it's a little better because, at least with this, there's always something going on besides people grunting for 10-30 minutes straight (sometimes more). The plot is embarrassing, the acting feels just like a stereotypical anime (stupidly over-the-top) and the action is just a testament to what a moron would consider "awesome." This movie is a shameful example of an action film and should only be viewed to laugh at.
Rated 04 Oct 2009
0
0th
WHY? why why why? This is a despicable treatment of a great original franchise that shows utter disregard (and dare I say hatred?) for the source material. A highschool drama? Are you fucking shitting me?
Rated 11 Jun 2011
20
1st
It's not the worst film I've seen by a long shot, but it's something more insidious, a lazy and quickly made cash cow that has barely anything to do with the original source material I grew up with (although I grew up with Dragonball Evolution, not the original version this is probably based on). Chow Yun-Fat is the only thing that makes it bearable, showing the same charisma he showed in his Hong Kong films, but he is not enough to waste 80 minutes of your life on this.
Rated 01 Sep 2011
19
0th
Now that I'm not 12 anymore, I can safely say that the source material isn't that great. But even with that, this may be one of the worst movies that I've seen. Everything is terrible from the screenplay, to the acting, all the way through the effects and the fighting (which, if everything was correct, would be the strengths). There's just no point in making a movie as terrible as this one, it pleases literally no one (aside from people who *really* hate Dragonball). AVOID.
Rated 27 Jan 2010
0
0th
Insults its own fanbase by just existing. Who exactly did they make this movie for? Nobody. Not the fans, not the general public, nobody. Perhaps it could be used as a torture device... I'm very surprised that Uwe Boll had nothing to do with this.
Rated 28 Jul 2009
10
6th
when i heard this movie was being made i was pumped because the cartoon was great but once again other movie made into live action and it sucks!
Rated 28 Jan 2010
0
0th
NO
Rated 19 Aug 2011
20
3rd
An overall sloppy movie which focused more on the special effects than the story. Could have been better if different names would used. Emphasis on 'could'.
Rated 03 May 2010
40
3rd
This would have been a huge hit in 1993, released along side the likes of 3 Ninjas, Surf Ninjas, and Teenage Mutant Ninjas Turtles....but as it stands now, it was clearly made for foreign (Asian) markets. It has a delightful sense of irony-free, self-aware, silly (Asian), action humor...no doubt in thanks to producer Stephen Chow, but that's really all it has going for it. Everything else plays out like a high(er) budget 90's kids WB Saturday morning TV show.
Rated 30 Aug 2014
10
0th
It's really, really bad. As an adaptation, it's an absolute travesty. They take only small parts from the story, and suck out all the charm. The plot is very weak, making little to no sense. The main character is nothing like his anime counterpart. Chatwin isn't a very strong actor, either. There are some good actors in the rest of the cast, but they're completely lost in the sea of awful dialogue & bad visual effects. It's definitely one of the worst big-budget movies I've seen. Lame cash-grab.
Rated 16 Jul 2023
0
4th
did not finish
Rated 01 Apr 2023
54
13th
Knowing nothing of the source material, this hits as a passable if fairly bland piece of YA action, with some reliably enjoyable work from Yun-Fat propping up a likable but undistinguished cast, though an Ernie Hudson spotting is always most welcome! Flat, cheap looking set and character design is a minus, but it ultimately emerges as no better or worse than any other AVENGERS wannabe.
Rated 18 May 2010
26
8th
based on the cartoon which i never liked so I feel as if i wasted an hour and half of my life.
Rated 23 Jun 2014
15
0th
Oh wow, this was absolutely terrible. I have no idea what the writer or director were thinking, but "making a good movie" couldn't have possibly been a part of it. I don't know who looked at those dailies and thought, "Yep, this is what we're going for." James Marsters turns in a decent performance as Piccolo, but c'mon man, you're better than this.
Rated 15 Oct 2015
0
1st
It is wildly insulting that this cynical, desperate cash-grab would even share the name with its source material. There was no attempt by anybody involved to make A) a Dragonball Z adaptation B) something that DBZ fans would enjoy or C) something that anybody in the world might enjoy. This feels like a cruel $30m practical joke pulled on DBZ fans. The script is derivative and unfunny. The direction is pathetic. The costuming is unimaginatively bad. Everything is terrible. Shame on the crew.
Rated 01 Oct 2010
84
22nd
good
Rated 13 Dec 2016
1
2nd
Push-up bra Evolution. Goku transforming into ?zaru is how I look after contracting food poisoning. Piccolo looks like a frozen pea on steroids. How to ruin your childhood 101.
Rated 15 Jun 2020
0
0th
Excrement would be disgusted by touching this movie.
Rated 16 Nov 2009
10
0th
An utter disappointment. Someone must have remembered to pick up a great franchise like Dragon Ball and then change the whole plot into a kind high school romance with fantasy. The story is weak, the character are badly conveyed and the whole depiction of Dragon Ball world is a failure.
Rated 13 Oct 2022
20
1st
audiovisual 30 acting 10 overall feeling 20 avg 20
Rated 07 Dec 2020
5
2nd
It's kind of interesting and hilarious to see how they interpret points from the source material to come up with...whatever this was.
Rated 19 Jul 2010
0
0th
An abomination..... truly horrible... they got countless details wrong in the series.... then again it would have sucked even if they got everything right.... but THIS... WOW
Rated 24 Aug 2009
4
1st
A couple of cool looking fights are not nearly worth the absurdity and badness of the rest.
Rated 04 Dec 2009
12
7th
Håbløs amerikanisering af et ellers morsomt univers...
Rated 30 Oct 2009
5
0th
Two truly horrible movies for the price of one - a painful highschool drama followed by a nightmarish kung fu... epic? AVOID.
Rated 02 Aug 2021
13
2nd
Still the most entertaining Dragonball IP
Rated 14 Aug 2021
25
14th
It is extremely odd to take Goku, one of the most simple and straightforward action heroes of all time, and decide, you know what, this would work better if we made him Peter Parker, but more '00s. Nothing in this movie is original, but it's unoriginal in such strange and confusing ways; a mashup of this many genres and stories *should* be interesting just for the contrast, but the unifying aesthetic is boredom. The bad parts could be worse, but there are no good parts. (Chow Yun Fat aside.)
Rated 05 Mar 2016
31
7th
What the heck was this? I didn't care for the original show, but they even took what would have been the better elements of it and just took them right out. Bad all around.
Rated 01 Feb 2010
37
14th
Not as bad as some people say, but defenitely bad. Acting and emotions are just non-existing (can be said about the story too actually), and the characters remind me in nothing of the characters I liked in the anime series.
Rated 25 Sep 2010
5
1st
Watching this in theatres was actually pretty fun, despite how awful it.
Rated 06 Jul 2021
0
3rd
Real god damn poo
Rated 10 May 2012
2
1st
Yup...it's bad.
Rated 05 Jan 2023
0
0th
One of the worst movies ever made in both concept and execution and one of the few that have ever caused me to walk out of the theater.
Rated 01 Nov 2010
0
10th
goku is white? what?
Rated 01 Nov 2010
58
41st
Not great, but it gets more hate than it deserves from the "ruined my childhood" crowd. I used to watch the cartoon too, guys. It wasn't any better than this.
Rated 17 Jun 2012
50
18th
Made me laugh a lot
Rated 09 Apr 2012
0
11th
Oh sweet mother of god was this painful to watch. Bad acting, bad effects, just plain terribad. Chow Yun Fat, you used to be cool, why are you in this movie??? I'm not even a fan of Dragonball (more of a Fist of the North Star guy) and even I felt raped. Best part is the scene where the love interest of Goku fights a copy of herself. Oh boy was that hot.
Rated 17 Oct 2015
3
0th
Funny for the wrong reasons
Rated 23 Oct 2015
0
4th
Where the fuck was Krillin?! This movie ate my ass in a bad way.
Rated 24 Jul 2009
55
6th
Big LOL. Only watch it for the hot girl that plays Bulma.
Rated 11 Apr 2009
2
14th
A childish and stupid anime is miraculously converted into an even more childish and stupid feature film.
Rated 13 Jul 2010
0
0th
If there were negative scores, this would get it. Terrible, terrible movie.
Rated 13 Nov 2010
15
5th
Vader: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Rated 09 Sep 2009
8
34th
Grandpa Gohan is alive, Goku is Caucasian, and there's ZERO point to the existence of Yamcha and Master Roshi. Failed in retelling the story, by trying hard to be a crowd pleaser. The only storyline within the movie which was valued would be that between Chichi (Jamie Chung) and Goku (Justin Chatwin) and even that was forced as we knew not the basis of why she liked him.
Rated 02 Oct 2012
4
2nd
I could not focus on this movie it was so bad. Most stories have a natural....logic behind them, this has negative logic. Also the acting is silly and putting Goku in high school was the worst idea since trusting Hitler wouldn't take Poland
Rated 31 May 2009
33
35th
I think anybody could be dragonball, it's not like it's magic
Rated 19 Sep 2015
18
3rd
Watched this in an attempt to relive some of my childhood memories of Dragonball Z, but despite the animation being crappy, this film managed to still fuck it up.
Rated 27 Jul 2013
10
12th
Stupid badly-acted characters, nonsensical plot, terrible action sequences. Completely lacking in appeal to anyone who isn't 10 years old or a giant manbaby. In those respects it captures the essence of anime. For adults it's just as insultingly bad as pretty much all anime or anime adaptations.
Rated 19 Apr 2009
3
40th
"A zippy, well executed action movie for PG-certified kids, not a tacky hybrid of Street Fighter and Dungeons And Dragons (as most adults would have feared)."
Rated 24 Oct 2010
20
2nd
The first thing that comes to my mind as I saw it, was that whit the only fact of seeing it, I was disrespecting the best anime of all time, and, at the same time, destroying the foundations of my childhood. I can forgive that Roshi doesn't use a turtle shield, I can forgive the fact that Bulma doesn't have blue hair, and I can forgive even the fact that Goku is already grown up... I even like the capsule... but beside that details, the complete movie sucks as hell. I'll stay with my memories.
Rated 28 Jun 2011
34
0th
Una de las mejores series destruida por esta pelicula que solo tienen el nombre... la odio.. una desilución total.
Rated 24 Sep 2012
10
2nd
Dragonball Puberty: The Vampire Slayer more like. Pretty much 90% off the mark from start to finish.
Rated 02 Dec 2010
10
9th
"A more accurately descriptive moniker would have been Dragonball Stagnation." - Rob Humanick
Rated 06 Jun 2011
30
5th
Extremely silly. Little to like but even less to get particularly peeved at. Just a cash-in on a series of little enough merit to begin with.
Rated 05 Jul 2009
70
26th
I enjoy the fact that this film lampooned (perhaps unwittingly) a series that was so utterly terrible it needed to be remade into a feature film. It was actually kind of fun, despite all expectations.
Rated 24 Jul 2009
59
18th
It is better to look at it as to a new movie rather than a remake of the series
Rated 28 May 2020
8
1st
Much worse than the worst episode of the anime.
Rated 04 Nov 2013
1
0th
why
Rated 16 May 2009
14
2nd
Unfortunately pic relies on martial arts action and uneven, unimpressive CGI. Only saved by a few entertaining fight scenes, which basically relegate it to a not-so-good video game. A complete waste of Hong Kong legend Chow Yun Fat's talent with horrible dialogue and enough cliches to choke a dragon.
Rated 20 Oct 2009
60
49th
Wow, I didn't think I would be in such a small minority of users that actually liked this. Sure its corny and over the top, has a white Goku and nonexistent acting and devoid of human emotion, but we knew all of this even before the film came out. I liked this for the same reason I liked other live-action films such as Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter and Super Mario Bros., its fun and entertaining :).
Rated 28 Apr 2011
5
2nd
It's lucky to even get that high a score. Perhaps the biggest insult a fan of Dragonball young or old could possibly receive. Terrible effects, painful acting, putrid dialogue, bafflingly conceived action sequences- I'd go on, but my inner child is too busy puking his guts out.
Rated 04 Sep 2010
0
0th
An insult to the human race. Terrible, just terrible.
Rated 16 Dec 2021
35
12th
Largely incoherent, intermittently visually arresting, but unnecessarily different from the massively popular tv series.
Rated 19 Feb 2018
10
0th
Likely the worst adaptation of a franchise ever made. So awful that it transcends the so bad it's good category.
Rated 20 Apr 2022
30
34th
Just the kids browsing through the Disney+ app and stumbling across something Dragonball. I think not knowing anything about Dragonball enhanced the Dragonball Evolution (2009) experience for me. The ignorance of just reading how much they butchered it instead knowing from experience was by all means a blessing when watching this cheap feeling action-adventure film....
Rated 18 Aug 2009
40
5th
nice for nostalgia
Rated 15 Jun 2015
1
0th
Failing both on its own merits as a movie and especially as an adaptation of Toriyama's beloved manga, 'Dragonball Evolution' is an embarrassing display on literally every level of filmmaking--even with the action scenes.
Rated 18 Apr 2011
0
0th
OMFG what a hideous despicable disgrace of Dragonball. Not only is it a devastatingly abhorrent travesty to Dragonball, the manga, and actual anime, and even to real original DragonBall Z! But it is even a horrifying disgrace of the much worser 4kids edited version that most people have seen. This should be called something else, have different names and call the dragonballs magic balls or something instead, and then no one would even correlate it with Dragonball at all Nothing else is the sa

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