"Live Action Dragon Ball Z Movie"

[Kid Buu]

Fake Namek was a better plot twist than Shutter Islands ending.

[sangofe]

Dozens of live action adaptions of manga and anime have been made in Japan in the last ten years.

Hollywood is not the end-all-be-all, y'all!

And if you go back further than just the last ten years, you'll find plenty of live action anime and manga adaptations (both from Japan and even a few here or there made in the West) that are actually pretty damn great. Movies like Lady Snowblood, Lone Wolf and Cub, Female Prisoner Scorpion 701 (which I mentioned in the thread about Kikuchi's passing), and so on are not simply live action manga adaptations, they're also undisputed stone cold legit cinematic classics. Like actual great films with respected pedigree among actual serious filmmakers, not just great adaptations of manga.

However, recognizing and understanding that such movies exist within the realm of live action anime/manga adaptations would require people here needing to leave the comfort zone of A) children's movies, B) super recent movies, and C) Hollywood tentpole summer blockbuster movies.

Heaven forbid, I know.

Wow! I didn't realize Martin Scorsese frequents Dragon Ball forums!

I'd be interested in checking out different adaptations. Would you mind listing the series name and the movie next to it?

[Peach]

Keep Zack Snyder away from comic book adaptations.

I would trust Stephen Chow. The Wachowskis. MAYBE Quinton Tarantino or the John Wick director. Zack Snyder though? He's not someone I think is capable making a fun, colorful, comedic kung fu movie. His 'style' is thematically incompatible with Dragon Ball.

[MasenkoHA]

He's not someone I think is capable making a fun, colorful, comedic kung fu movie. His 'style' is thematically incompatible with Dragon Ball.

The colors would be drab and dreary. A lot of action would be slooooow mo. Goku’s Super Saiyan ascension will probably be played up by him dying and then coming back to life as a Super Saiyan and ascending to the sky in the crucifix position.

[Anonymous Friend]

Keep Zack Snyder away from comic book adaptations.

I would trust Stephen Chow. The Wachowskis. MAYBE Quinton Tarantino or the John Wick director. Zack Snyder though? He's not someone I think is capable making a fun, colorful, comedic kung fu movie. His 'style' is thematically incompatible with Dragon Ball.

Stephen Chow worked one DBE. The Wachowskis already made an anime movie. QT is retired and anime is no where near his style. The John Wick director is a stuntman who was allowed to make a movie for stuntmen.

Check out the live action My Hero vid floating around.

[Peach]

He's not someone I think is capable making a fun, colorful, comedic kung fu movie. His 'style' is thematically incompatible with Dragon Ball.

The colors would be drab and dreary. A lot of action would be slooooow mo. Goku’s Super Saiyan ascension will probably be played up by him dying and then coming back to life as a Super Saiyan and ascending to the sky in the crucifix position.

No thank you.

I've always had this mental image in my head of a Dragon Ball movie similar to Kung Fu Hustle or Kill Bill. Where Goku is just beating the ever loving SHIT out of dozens of Red Ribbon Army soldiers. A wilhelm scream. Bowling ball sound effect when he whacks a bunch of them down with the power pole. ....Then one of the Red Ribbon Army Commanders steps out to challenge Goku. And it's just a fun kung fu fight.

[Peach]

Keep Zack Snyder away from comic book adaptations.

I would trust Stephen Chow. The Wachowskis. MAYBE Quinton Tarantino or the John Wick director. Zack Snyder though? He's not someone I think is capable making a fun, colorful, comedic kung fu movie. His 'style' is thematically incompatible with Dragon Ball.

Stephen Chow worked one DBE. The Wachowskis already made an anime movie. QT is retired and anime is no where near his style. The John Wick director is a stuntman who was allowed to make a movie for stuntmen.

Check out the live action My Hero vid floating around.

From what i understand, Stephen Chow disavowed Dragonball Evolution and said he was attached in name only. They didn't use any of the notes he contributed.

[jjgp1112]

Stephen Chow's credit was kind of an artifact from when he was initially involved way back in 2003.

[Yuli Ban]

I remember in the 90s a magazine had a potential cast for a live action movie with DiCaprio as Trunks, Antonio Banderas as Goku (!!!), Sharon Stone as Bulma, Courtney Cox as Chichi, Gary Oldman as Vegeta, Cameron Diaz as 18, Day Lewis as Yamcha (lol), Jet Li as Krilin, Kevin Spacey as Piccolo (lol), Van Damme as Tenshinhan and Ben Affleck as Gohan.

Damn.

Really goes to show you how centered on whiteness these discussions would be.

Speaking as a black man, the focus on whiteness is the literal LEAST of my issues with that list (though it does tie into my main issue in a roundabout way). Not that whitewashing is acceptable in modern times, but goddamn.

Jet Li is the only martial artist mentioned. And this was apparently in the 90s? So we wouldn't even have the bare minimum of explosive CGI action to cover up the utterly droll fighting; it'd be Hollywood-tier wire effects and early computer graphics "complementing" some really nasty amateur martial arts, likely with horrendous attempts at comedy that would make Pocket Ninjas look like Monty Python.

It goes to show just how ATROCIOUSLY divorced the Western fandom is from what DB is supposed to be.

[Majin Buu]

I’d also argue that his version of JL ironically has more heart to it than the theatrical version.

I'm saying this as someone who liked the Snyder Cut, but that's really not saying much; the bar was extremely low due to the theatrical version being complete shit. I stand by liking Snyder's version, but I'm admittedly grading it on a curve.

[WittyUsername]

I’d also argue that his version of JL ironically has more heart to it than the theatrical version.

I'm saying this as someone who liked the Snyder Cut, but that's really not saying much; the bar was extremely low due to the theatrical version being complete shit. I stand by liking Snyder's version, but I'm admittedly grading it on a curve.

I was speaking more in terms of being hopeful and optimistic. The theatrical version of JL ironically does come across as a bit cynical and mean-spirited at times. Just to give an example, the Justice League seem to get along pretty well in Snyder’s version, but in the theatrical version, they argue and bicker quite a bit.

Anyway, if there was to be another live action Dragon Ball film, maybe a director with a background in Kung Fu movies would be the best fit.

[Hellspawn28]

Zack Synder only has like one or two good movies under his belt. His Dawn of the Dead remake is overrated and I hate the cultural impact that it created. It started the fast running zombie trope that I'm sick of. 300, Sucker Punch, Man of Steel, and Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole are aright in my opinion. His director's cut of Justice League was a home run for him, and he was lucky to get his version to be released on HBO Max.

He is not the right person for Dragon Ball at all and people only want him to direct a DB movie because of Man of Steel. I would rather trust the Wachowski Sisters with DB than him.

[Majin Buu]

I was speaking more in terms of being hopeful and optimistic. The theatrical version of JL ironically does come across as a bit cynical and mean-spirited at times. Just to give an example, the Justice League seem to get along pretty well in Snyder’s version, but in the theatrical version, they argue and bicker quite a bit.

Much of that was Joss Wheadon bringing his toxic personality and Age of Ultron baggage onto the project when he took over, so naturally the Snyder Cut became more optimistic and hopeful once Wheadon was out of the picture. The bar was low for Snyder to produce a film that's better in every respect.

[eledoremassis02]

Stephen Chow would very much capture what Dragon Ball used to be, and his understanding of Chinese (action) cinima and Journey to the West (and comedy) really makes him the best man for the job. In fact, his last jump into a journey to the west got Toriyama's seal of approval.

The mightiest fun in the galaxy,
far surpassing the walls of expectations and common sense!!

This is the first perfect popcorn-movie I’ve seen in a long time!

Intense energy that makes you not care about the trivial details! Masterful allocation of seriousness and comedy! Shamelessly cheap-looking staging! Calculated story developments! This is the pinnacle of my ideal in popcorn-movies! I have nothing to gain through this flattery, so it’s 100% no exaggeration, no nothing.

Due to the nature of my profession, I have a bad habit where when I watch a movie, I always end up thinking about subsequent plot developments, but in spite of this movie having the motif of the famous Journey to the West, I couldn’t predict where it was going at all. Not even stupid established concepts like film theory or rules hold true. As a result of this wonderful betrayal, it is a properly magnificent, new Journey to the West that only its birthplace could deliver, and I’m positively moved at how it’s punctuated by the director’s usual themes of “love” and “little gags”.

It really comes across on the screen that the director was able to complete the movie exactly according to his passion and vision. When we’re inundated with big blockbuster movies that are all long on visuals but short on ambition or individuality, pandering to audiences for the sake of box-office earnings, how thrilled I would have been at its delightfulness for this fact alone! It was just the greatest Journey to the West, so much so that I don’t even know how to express it!!

Incidentally, the characters’ individual traits and the casting of the actors were also wonderful, and I was especially impressed at the acting skill of the person who played Sun Wukong, who at first could seem like an unexpected choice, appearance-wise.

–Akira Toriyama

Now, unfortunately, that's not really what Dragon Ball Z is here in the U.S. I think Snyder could do what a lot of those live-action fan movies try to do. I think this scene would pretty much be what his DBZ movie would be. Just swap Superman with Goku and Zod with Vegeta
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIyW_YUNYAE

I think Chow would do great in Asia but would make or break here in the U.S....Snyder...I would say the same lol (ZS: Justice League is doing well in China for instance).

In terms of casting, the lack of martial arts is no surprise, that's something that has plagued action movies to this date (Keanu vs. Mark Dacascos/the guys from The Raid come to mind). It's gotten better but you can still tell.

[Jackal puFF]

Sure is a lot of hate for Zack Snyder here. I can't really think of anyone else who would be capable of making a live action dragonball movie. Visual wise, he would nail the look of dragonball. The amount of detail he goes into making a universe is unheard of. The whole story he put into Army of the Dead is insane for a zombie movie. You could get someone like Destin Daniel Cretton who's the director of Shang Chi or Chloé Zhao director of Eternals. Hell I'll take Taika Waititi who can definitely bring the color to life. He can balance seriousness and humor very well from watching Flight Of The Conchords and Jojo Rabbit. Even for a fan film, Light of Hope was pretty good by Robotunderdog. They really nailed that super saiyan look.

[MasenkoHA]

Sure is a lot of hate for Zack Snyder here. I can't really think of anyone else who would be capable of making a live action dragonball movie.

There are plenty of directors with experience directing kung fu movies.

Visual wise, he would nail the look of dragonball.

I’ve seen nothing of his past work that indicates he would get the look of Dragon Ball. He can’t even get Superman right.

[ABED]

The amount of detail he goes into making a universe is unheard of.

Lord of the Rings trilogy was a more impressive and detailed world. Zack's work isn't anything all that great. DB is a colorful quirky world that typically doesn't take itself too seriously. The thing that allows us to buy into the darker and serious moments is because it has a sense of humor and it's self aware. Zack's approach is to suck all the fun and joy out of things because to him that undercuts the seriousness of it. The irony is that by sucking the humor out of it, it's unintentionally funny, but not in the good way.

[Peach]

Stephen Chow would very much capture what Dragon Ball used to be, and his understanding of Chinese (action) cinima and Journey to the West (and comedy) really makes him the best man for the job. In fact, his last jump into a journey to the west got Toriyama's seal of approval.

The mightiest fun in the galaxy,
far surpassing the walls of expectations and common sense!!

This is the first perfect popcorn-movie I’ve seen in a long time!

Intense energy that makes you not care about the trivial details! Masterful allocation of seriousness and comedy! Shamelessly cheap-looking staging! Calculated story developments! This is the pinnacle of my ideal in popcorn-movies! I have nothing to gain through this flattery, so it’s 100% no exaggeration, no nothing.

Due to the nature of my profession, I have a bad habit where when I watch a movie, I always end up thinking about subsequent plot developments, but in spite of this movie having the motif of the famous Journey to the West, I couldn’t predict where it was going at all. Not even stupid established concepts like film theory or rules hold true. As a result of this wonderful betrayal, it is a properly magnificent, new Journey to the West that only its birthplace could deliver, and I’m positively moved at how it’s punctuated by the director’s usual themes of “love” and “little gags”.

It really comes across on the screen that the director was able to complete the movie exactly according to his passion and vision. When we’re inundated with big blockbuster movies that are all long on visuals but short on ambition or individuality, pandering to audiences for the sake of box-office earnings, how thrilled I would have been at its delightfulness for this fact alone! It was just the greatest Journey to the West, so much so that I don’t even know how to express it!!

Incidentally, the characters’ individual traits and the casting of the actors were also wonderful, and I was especially impressed at the acting skill of the person who played Sun Wukong, who at first could seem like an unexpected choice, appearance-wise.

–Akira Toriyama

Now, unfortunately, that's not really what Dragon Ball Z is here in the U.S. I think Snyder could do what a lot of those live-action fan movies try to do. I think this scene would pretty much be what his DBZ movie would be. Just swap Superman with Goku and Zod with Vegeta
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIyW_YUNYAE

I think Chow would do great in Asia but would make or break here in the U.S....Snyder...I would say the same lol (ZS: Justice League is doing well in China for instance).

In terms of casting, the lack of martial arts is no surprise, that's something that has plagued action movies to this date (Keanu vs. Mark Dacascos/the guys from The Raid come to mind). It's gotten better but you can still tell.

I agree. Stephen Chow would be great. And would NAIL the spirit of Dragon Ball (pre-Z).

Just imagine a Dragon Ball movie about Goku fighting the Red Ribbon Army, directed by Stephen Chow. The idea oozes charm. Or a movie based off Goku & Krillin training under Roshi and fighting at the world martial arts tournament.

I would love to see Goku fight like 50 Red Ribbon Army guys at once, like the guy in Kung Fu Hustle.

[jjgp1112]

I agree. Stephen Chow would be great. And would NAIL the spirit of Dragon Ball (pre-Z).

Just imagine a Dragon Ball movie about Goku fighting the Red Ribbon Army, directed by Stephen Chow. The idea oozes charm. Or a movie based off Goku & Krillin training under Roshi and fighting at the world martial arts tournament.

I would love to see Goku fight like 50 Red Ribbon Army guys at once, like the guy in Kung Fu Hustle.

What exactly would impede him fro tackling the Saiyans and beyond?

[Super Sonic]

If given the right people, it could work. Just sometimes that doesn't always happen with movies. Can have some big names, or not so known ones, if it's the right person could work with directing or acting. Perhaps that kunzait guy should audition if one were to be made. He might make a good Goku.