Dragonball Evolution - SPOILERS Thread

[Saiyan-Professor]

Spider-Man 3 is at least the worst movie ever due to a complete lack of pacing, reasoning, and things happen "just because". The "emo" bits were actually the GOOD parts of the movie, because the effect on Peter is actually fairly similar to what it's supposed to be, and it was one of the few times you actually saw that Peter actually is a GEEK(beyond the first, what, ten minutes of the first movie?).

It's a horrible film. While maybe not the worst of all time, it's pretty low. I can't imagine Evolution being worse than Spider-Man 3.

Spider-Man 3
Theatrical Performance
Total US Gross $336,530,303
International Gross $554,341,323
Worldwide Gross $890,871,626
Home Market Performance
US DVD Sales: $123,868,139

DB:E wishes it can be half as "horrible" as Spider-Man 3.

Look the film has not even come out in the states yet, we will see how it does and most of these arguments will cool down by then. I just want this film to make so I can see Vegeta hopefully in the sequel. Boy I wish they would get Jet-Li to portray him, yeah he is a little old but he could play a hardcore Vegeta.

[Kingdom Heartless]

Look the film has not even come out in the states yet, we will see how it does and most of these arguments will cool down by then. I just want this film to make so I can see Vegeta hopefully in the sequel. Boy I wish they would get Jet-Li to portray him, yeah he is a little old but he could play a hardcore Vegeta.

No thanks. I wouldn't want to see Chatwin beating Jet Li in a fight, even if the movie was brilliant.

[Saiyan-Professor]

Look the film has not even come out in the states yet, we will see how it does and most of these arguments will cool down by then. I just want this film to make so I can see Vegeta hopefully in the sequel. Boy I wish they would get Jet-Li to portray him, yeah he is a little old but he could play a hardcore Vegeta.

No thanks. I wouldn't want to see Chatwin beating Jet Li in a fight, even if the movie was brilliant.

Who knows maybe my wish would come true and Vegeta becomes the star…too much to wish for I know.

[Chuquita]

With what I've seen of Chatwin's performance so far I would welcome a movie starring Vegeta instead. (Provided they could find an actor who could accurately portray him and a director and writer who could keep him in character. )

[Herms]

DB:E wishes it can be half as "horrible" as Spider-Man 3.

It's not like box office performance necessarily have anything to do with how good a movie is. Plenty of lousy movies have made lots of money.

[The Time Traveller]

I just watched it... (On YouTube)

As a movie lover, I'd have to give it a 1 out of 5, just because of the wooden acting, shoddy messed up plot and unexplained moments of "What the fuck was that?!"

But as a Dragon Ball fan, I.... LIKED IT! It was cool... sure, some of the characters were messed up, but not that much, Bulma is still Bulma, Roshi is still the PICHIPICHIGAL Roshi we all loved, I even squealed when he was wearing Sunglasses.

But the story was lacking, so much, I can't explain it right now...

What Mike said on the Podcast about the Kamehame-Ha being used to heal Goku in the Junior novel happens here too, except Roshi shoots it like 5 inches away from Goku's stomach, right into him!

So it appears twice, once as a wake up call, and again as a final blow, which came WAY too early, the fight was just getting good, then suddenly, Piccolo's dead!

Chichi was actually pretty Chichi like in the movie, she was adventurous, sexy and bossy, so she wasn't TOTALLY ruined...

The high school stuff fading away was pretty weird but for the best, I definitely didn't want to hear "Master Roshi's back... Piccolo's dead... and the world is saved... but... OH NO! We're late for the prom!" right at the fucking end! Instead, we got Goku and Chichi settling something in the ring, and we don't even see the fight, it just ends!


Oh yeah, Goku in Vegetto's colours at the VERY end of the movie.





Pretty cool, no?


But now, I'm gonna either continue re-watching Lost Season 1 or Watch Path to Power to make me not want to kill myself.



EDIT: Oh yeah, about the pronunciations, They get everything right...

Oozaru is done properly, but I'm not sure about Saiyan EVER coming up, there was a tiny bit of Dialogue from Piccolo about Goku's origins (Oh yeah, Goku even had his craaazy hair as a baby, just like in the manga), I think it came out as "Sigh-yan", but I couldn't hear what he was saying properly...

There's no word on Planet Vegeta, or ANYTHING like that, Goku was just really Oozaru the Destroyer in a shell. And once Goku becomes human again, his hair is more Goku like, the bangs and the back instead of the douche-doo he has most of the movie...

[Bussani]

One thing I don't understand. If the kamehameha is airbending, how does it revive someone?

[The Time Traveller]

One thing I don't understand. If the kamehameha is airbending, how does it revive someone?

I think he does it to wake him up, which seems a bit excessive since he could just punch him in the stomach rather than shoot a final attack right at him...

[MisterFlashdude]

I've come to rain spoilers down upon the spoilers thread. It may go without saying but you shouldn't read without expecting... y'kno, spoilers...
I just wanted to clarify some of our misconceptions and changes from the junior novel.

* There is no old/young Piccolo and his appearance doesn't change through out the movie. He's as green at his introduction as he is at the end of the movie.
* Piccolo also doesn't have the sword he was shown with in promotional images.
* The seven mystics are said to have "banded together" to capture Piccolo with the Mafuba, and I don't believe it was mentioned that they created the Dragonballs. Sifu Norris and the ring of monks shown in the trailer aren't those seven mystics.
* Roshi's Mafuba fails due to Piccolo blasting Roshi with a fireball before he can finish.
* Yamcha kills Mai by shooting her in the back with one of Bulma's pistols.
* The word "Saiya-jin" or any variation of it isn't mentioned in the movie, only "Oozaru the Destroyer".
* Different characters use both the "Shenron" and "Shenlong" pronunciations.
* "Nameks" are only mentioned once, with that pronunciation.
* Nyoibo is never named and, as I mentioned in the other thread, doesn't extend and isn't used in the final battle. In fact, I can't remember Goku himself using at all...
* Kamehameha, Mafuba, and the "Shadow Crane Strike" are the only signature attacks in the movie. Shadow Crane Strike is described as the most basic form of "airbending", and Kamehameha is described as "the final level of airbending technique".

[Bussani]

It really does sound like you'd be completely lost by a lot of this if you weren't already a fan.

[The Time Traveller]

I can't remember if they mentioned the Dragon Balls ever having a creator...

[Herms]

I wonder if all this talk of "airbending" was put in to appeal to Avatar fans.

[The Time Traveller]

I wonder if all this talk of "airbending" was put in to appeal to Avatar fans.

I'm kinda an Avatar fan, and I thought it was fucking stupid as hell...

I was surprised Roshi didn't give Goku his father's Lightsaber and tell him he needs to go Back to the Future.




C'mon People! Goku in Vegetto's outfit, how cool is it?! Lame, yeah...

[Bussani]

I wonder if all this talk of "airbending" was put in to appeal to Avatar fans.

I dunno...but calling it 'airbending' when the term itself is from Avatar is quite weird.

[Tanooki Kuribo]

I dunno...but calling it 'air bending' when the term itself is from Avatar is quite weird.

Yea, I thought it was kind of odd to. It's not something I like but eh, I guess I can see what they did there.

But something crossed my mind, when the Avatar movie comes out will people associate "Avatar: The Last Air bender" with DragonBall? Will there be some confusion? Are Avatar fans mad? Will I stop asking all these questions?

[KaiserNeko]

Alright, I saw the movie. It's...

Hey, listen, if you can see this for free? Do so. If you can see it with a bunch of friends for free? Do so. If you can also be drunk while doing this? Very much do so.

But please, do not pay for this movie. It does not make you a true fan if you snub it, it doesn't make you a true fan if you do see it, but it's utterly bad.

Like, bad in a way where you really, truly want to see everyone involved in it, minus the people who were just doing their jobs, punished for making such a terrible movie for a whole 100 million. If this makes it's money back, then... Lord, help us.

[Bussani]

Alright, I saw the movie. It's...

Hey, listen, if you can see this for free? Do so. If you can see it with a bunch of friends for free? Do so. If you can also be drunk while doing this? Very much do so.

But please, do not pay for this movie. It does not make you a true fan if you snub it, it doesn't make you a true fan if you do see it, but it's utterly bad.

Like, bad in a way where you really, truly want to see everyone involved in it, minus the people who were just doing their jobs, punished for making such a terrible movie for a whole 100 million. If this makes it's money back, then... Lord, help us.

Well, it sounds like it isn't doing that well in Japan according to godofchaos, so...no worries there, maybe?

Sorry, but I'm going to pay to see it with my friend. Going to the cinema itself is a fun experience for me, no matter what I'm watching. And I mean...even if it's only Dragon Ball in name alone, I want to be able to say I saw it on the big screen.

[Innagadadavida]

But please, do not pay for this movie. It does not make you a true fan if you snub it, it doesn't make you a true fan if you do see it, but it's utterly bad.

Drop in the bucket. It doesn't matter if you or I pay to see it, amongst the millions of uninformed or casual fans our 10 won't matter much.

I'm going to see it.

[Saiyan-Professor]

The following is my review or rather observations of Dragonball Evolution. Yet, I feel compelled to say the following.

I have just watched the movie and I have no earthly idea what everyone on this forum is talking about!



I found the movie quite enjoyable and this is a version of Goku I like (this is the only time I will use the character’s earth name). He is still naive but less annoying. He actually showed emotion instead of acting like a “clown”. This Goku does not go through life with a cavalier attitude. It was good to see him in normal clothes instead him running around in a loud orange dogi all the time and he finds motivation in something other than food. Goku actually likes women (Chi-Chi) in this movie like any normal teenage male. Bulma, Chi-Chi and Mai are hot as hell. It is interesting how a scientific name for the Dragonballs (promethium orbs) is presented to bring the concept closer to reality.

In addition, Bulma’s PhD impressed me and that she wants to use her scientific knowledge towards something positive that benefits all instead of something vain and trivial as in the original series. She wants to use the Dragonballs to create an alternate means of generating energy for the world. Later in the movie, she admits to Yamcha that she also desired fame but this should not distract from how her actions would profit all humanity and the recognition she would receive would be an added bonus. The writers acknowledge the current desire to achieve a clean inexpensive source of energy. This Bulma actually proves somewhat useful to the team instead of depicting the image of the lowly yet beautiful helpless female that is always in need of saving by the hero. The Capsule Corp., Spyder Capsule Bike was a good touch as well.

An interesting thing I noticed was that Muten/Master Roshi reminds me more of Jiraiya from Naruto fame then the ancient master from the Dragonball series. In my opinion this is a good thing because I am rather found of Naruto’s “pervy sage” sensei. There is also a nod to the manner in which Muten Roshi trained Goku in the original story. In the film, “Son Goku” (the full name is actually used) has to carry and run with all the supplies on his back while Roshi and Bulma travel in luxury on the Spyder. At the training grounds, it is implied that the fate of the earth is not only left to the capable hands of Goku but there are many others that are training as well, Chi-Chi being one them.

The movies rendition of Yamcha the desert bandit is reminiscent of the Funimation’s representation of him yet he is more confident and livelier than the one we were originally introduced to in manga and anime. Piccolo Daimaô’s blood siphoning chair was impressive in addition to the fact that his minions the “Fulum Assassins” are created from his blood. Their design is grotesque yet they appear to fulfill their role. While Piccolo’s progeny in the manga and anime was far more appealing to the eye this was a contemporary twist on his reproductive abilities. Instead of him spewing an egg out of his mouth, we have a interweaving of science and magic. Just like their counterparts in the original telling (a form of Namekian), the Fulum have inherited the ability to regenerate severed body parts.

Mai’s powers seemed to be seeped in science and magic as well for she can only take on the appearance of someone if she can attain a sample of their DNA. Mai faces Chi-Chi in a tournament where she scratches Chi-Chi in order to get a genetic sample. Later she appears in Chi-Chi’s form in order to steal the Dragonballs thus indicating she had all that she required from that one sample in order to disguise herself as Chi-Chi.

Si-fu Norris the aged wise master of Roshi who provides him with the Mafuba Jar is a welcomed addition to the crew. I am overjoyed to see a black man associated with Dragonball that is not a ridiculous caricature. If only Akira Toriyama could have had such insight. Later when Roshi is training Goku in the courtyard to help him control his Ki/Chi, their movements is very suggestive of the Chinese form of martial arts called Tai chi chuan ("supreme ultimate fist"). Which is very appropriate because this form of martial arts emphasize the development of one’s Chi/Ki or “"breath energy" by means of breathing exercises called “ch'i kung” thus in the movie any attacks that involve this energy is called “air bending”. Later when Goku is shot by Mai disguised as Chi-Chi and rendered in an unconscious death-like state Muten Roshi uses his Ki in the form of a Kamehameha to metaphorically “breathe” the breath of life back into Goku or revive him with his Ki or life energy.

When the team goes to face Piccolo Yamcha reveals his flying SUV that is another nod to the original series. It was quite impressive and not too far-fetched. The most disappointing part of the film was the writer’s conception of the Ôzaru. Honestly, I believe more thought should have been put into its design. The fight scene between Goku and Piccolo reminds one of something from the two television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel except with a bigger budget, which was two, shows that James Marsters who portrayed Piccolo was a co-star. It did not cause me any uncomforting feelings but to others it may have not appeal to them. The calling forth of Shenlong was rather weak, it could have been handled in a far less dramatic manner, but Shenlong’s appearance, and exit was eye-catching. The editing of the movie was badly done for everything seemed to move at a pace that was unrealistic. However, one must keep in mind that this was a copy of the film that was released to a foreign market thus the North American edition may have all the pacing problems solved.

[Bussani]

Review

While I won't agree or disagree with all your points (haven't seen it for myself yet), I find it really funny that a lot of the things you like and say are good are things lots of other people will say they hate about it (like "I like this character more cause they changed them"). Especially comparing something from it to Naruto.

Again, not agreeing or disagreeing in any way.