It's Time to do a (New) Dragon Ball Live-action Movie

[majinwarman]

I wouldn't mind if Zack Snyder got a crack at the whip with a Dragon Ball movie. His visual direction is stunning, but he is a fucking terrible storyteller. You would need someone would really need to reign down on him and make sure none of less desirable traits as a director end up spilling into the movie

If there is a director that I would have total faith in taking Dragon Ball and bringing it into live action with most its unique aesthetics intact, it would be Guillermo del Toro. He is a fantastic storyteller and has the wonderfully unique visionary direction skills to retain the quirks of Dragon Ball battles.

I don't really trust Hollywood at all to do Dragon Ball justice. I'm happy with what is happening now.

[Robo4900]

Love him or hate him, Snyder's films always raise discussion that last well past the time they're on a shelf in a Walmart. Nobody gives a shit about the Transformers movies, Bad Boys, Independence Day 2, 2012 etc. Putting Snyder in that class of filmmakers is disrespectful and myopic.

Oh, definitely. I don't like Man Of Steel or Batman V Superman, but I'd much rather have something different and new be a failure than to have something generic that just sort of goes through the motions(Like Transformers or something). I've gained a lot of insight, understanding, and most of all enjoyment, out of analysing what worked and didn't work about those two movies, and while I would have probably had a less harsh opinion on a Transformers-like just meh movie, MoS and BvS have at least inspired some very interesting discussion, and resulted in a lot of fascinating conversations I've had online about it.

So, yes, I will give him that; Snyder's movies at least provoke interesting discussion. And FWIW, I don't think he's a bad filmmaker, I just think he should stick to directing, and be given better material. (80% of my criticisms with BvS and MoS come down to writing)

I wouldn't mind this pick myself, he has a visual style that would fit the material. He actually understands comics and animation.

Plus, I think the improv and style he would encourage would give a vibe very suited to the "Anything goes"/"Make it up as you go along" world of Dragon Ball.

Not that I think Snyder doesn't, his style is very striking in a different way, a way much too dark for Dragon Ball. Maybe he could direct a movie based on the Trunks TV special?

Honestly, he could probably do a pretty great job with the Trunks story, long as the script is good enough.
Though I get the feeling there are other directors who could do an equally good job with it, in a way that'd fit a little better with the other Dragon Ball stuff. Maybe it would be a good idea to have the Trunks thing feel substantially(In fact, almost jarringly) different from the rest, to convey just how hopeless the future era is... But on the other hand, given the point of the movie is that there is hope there, and he ultimately travels into the world of the past and ends up saving the day(Hell, the title in Japanese is quite literally "Defiance in the face of dispair!")... I dunno, I feel like another director could give it more of that "Hope in the face of overwhelming darkness" feel.

Not to knock Snyder, I'm sure he'd do a great job with it, but... Well...

Someone's probably going to get mad at me for mentioning this guy, since he's every internet fanboy's dream director for everything(Unless they're a Snyder fan who's still bitter about Justice League), but I honestly think Joss Whedon would be the right choice for a Trunks movie. He would be able to make it dark as all hell, and make it horrifying on a human level, but at the same time, make these people feel like real people trying to still have lives in this awful scenario. There would be quips, jokes, etc. because that's how a lot of people try to stave off overwhelming darkness and dispair. And ultimately, I feel he's someone with an understanding of human storytelling such that he'd be able to make the story work as a full movie(Remember, the special was 43 minutes, and the original manga chapter was only about 15-20 pages). And of course, he'd be able to pull off the ambiguously hopeful/optimistic ending.

To be clear, because I'm sure someone will call me out in this if I don't say this: Whedon is not a perfect director by any means(No director is. Well... I suppose it deepends on how you feel about Spielberg...), and I don't think he's a perfect fit for all of Dragon Ball(Though honestly, I think he could do a pretty great version of the Piccolo arc, but I don't think he'd do it given what he said about the difficulty of managing the ensemble of Avengers 2), but I think the Trunks story would be an amazing fit for him.

[ABED]

For whatever issues Bay has, his films aren't generic. He has a very identifiable style, one that many try to emulate. While discussions are nice, that never ever has any bearing on my thoughts on a film. I'd rather have a film that I got some enjoyment out of even if it's forgetable than have a film that sticks with me for all the wrong reasons.

I just think he should stick to directing, and be given better material

THe issue is that a director, even if not a writer, is tied to the material as they have to judge whether it works in a film as it works on the page.

[TKA]

While discussions are nice, that never ever has any bearing on my thoughts on a film. I'd rather have a film that I got some enjoyment out of even if it's forgetable than have a film that sticks with me for all the wrong reasons.

That's funny because I've felt the opposite for a long time. The worst thing a film can be for me is forgettable, because then I felt like I wasted my time watching it. This extends to all media I choose to consume. I'd rather watch an aggressively bad show (eg: Akame ga Kill) than a just okay one (eg: Black Clover), for example. I feel like there's something you can take away from something you remember for "the wrong reasons" but there's not much to take away from "It was okay."

To that end, I loathe Dragonball Evolution. I finally got around to watching it in 2016, and it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd been led to believe for almost a decade. It was actually pretty fucking boring lol.

[ABED]

While discussions are nice, that never ever has any bearing on my thoughts on a film. I'd rather have a film that I got some enjoyment out of even if it's forgetable than have a film that sticks with me for all the wrong reasons.

That's funny because I've felt the opposite for a long time. The worst thing a film can be for me is forgettable, because then I felt like I wasted my time watching it. This extends to all media I choose to consume. I'd rather watch an aggressively bad show (eg: Akame ga Kill) than a just okay one (eg: Black Clover), for example. I feel like there's something you can take away from something you remember for "the wrong reasons" but there's not much to take away from "It was okay."

To that end, I loathe Dragonball Evolution. I finally got around to watching it in 2016, and it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd been led to believe for almost a decade. It was actually pretty fucking boring lol.

A true waste of time is a shitty movie that you don't enjoy. If you enjoy it in the moment even if it doesn't stick with you, at least you got some enjoyment. Why would you want to watch something bad for any reason? I don't see what value that could possibly have to anyone. It makes NO sense whatsoever. Being just okay means there was some merit to it. What takeaway from something so terrible could be of such value to you that you would prefer it over a not so awful time at the movies?

There are a ton of movies I've seen that I haven't seen again, but got some entertainment value out of. I'll take that any day over BvS which was SO bad I left the theater in desperate need of a pick me up. I've never felt that sad before, and not in a good way. I've seen dark films before that were much darker, but if they were well made, I didn't come out feeling like I needed lithium. I had to watch the single lightest version of Superman I could find - so I watched Lois and Clark. I'll take Lois and Clark any day over BvS.

DB Evolution is awful and while it doesn't prove definitively that DB has little chance of being done well in live action, I think it does show the lack of desire on Hollywood's part to even try to get it right.

[TKA]

I'll take that any day over BvS which was SO bad I left the theater in desperate need of a pick me up. I've never felt that sad before, and not in a good way. I've seen dark films before that were much darker, but if they were well made, I didn't come out feeling like I needed lithium. I had to watch the single lightest version of Superman I could find - so I watched Lois and Clark. I'll take Lois and Clark any day over BvS.

Sorry you felt that way. It's a movie I've seen 27 times since it was first released. 5 of those times are the comparatively bad theatrical cut, and the other 22 times I saw the substantially better director's cut.

There've only been 2 movies I've ever seen in a theater that broke me and felt painful to get through. Chris Nolan's Dunkirk (fantastic movie, but it was done so well that it triggered my fear of drowning) and The Last Jedi (just a horrendous movie that can't stand up to even the mildest level of critique before falling apart, whether you judge it as a standalone or as part of a franchise).

DB Evolution is awful and while it doesn't prove definitively that DB has little chance of being done well in live action, I think it does show the lack of desire on Hollywood's part to even try to get it right.

DBE was very transparent. They didn't even try to hide that they made that movie just so they could keep the rights. I'm at least assuming that's why it was made because it makes no sense otherwise. That movie was a literal waste of time, talent and money if that wasn't the reason.

[ABED]

The extended cut was not better. It's the same movie, just longer. It's plot is a little clearer, thought still very much the same, and the pacing of an already sluggish story was made butt numbingly worse. The tradeoff wasn't worth it. Snyder is a terrible director and I want him to stay away from comic book movies, especially DB. He can't tell a compelling story to save his life. A nice visual is meaningless since a director's job is to tell a story. Films are about visual STORYTELLING, not VISUAL storytelling.

Wow, our taste in movies is completely different. We are the exact opposite on everything except DBE.

[TKA]

The extended cut was not better. It's the same movie, just longer. It's plot is a little clearer, thought still very much the same, and the pacing of an already sluggish story was made butt numbingly worse. The tradeoff wasn't worth it. Snyder is a terrible director and I want him to stay away from comic book movies, especially DB. He can't tell a compelling story to save his life. A nice visual is meaningless since a director's job is to tell a story. Films are about visual STORYTELLING, not VISUAL storytelling.

Yeah, I vehemently disagree with all of that, but this isn't the thread to get into all that. I've done my best to avoid doing so, lol.

Wow, our taste in movies is completely different.

Everyone's taste is different, but I doubt we don't have many films in common that we like.

We are the exact opposite on everything except DBE.

Well now, I'm sure we both also have a distaste for The Last Airbender, After Earth, Bayformers, and stuff like that—we are nerds on the internet, after all.

[ABED]

As dumb as it was, I enjoyed the first Transformers movie. It's silly fun.

But I don't want either Bay or Snyder touching DB. Bay knows who he is and what kind of filmmaker he is. Snyder is pretentious and lacks the skill to execute his lofty ambitions. If DB was ever made into live action, you'd need a director(s) who can tell a story with good action that blends together a lot of odd elements and genres with its own sense of humor.

[TKA]

As dumb as it was, I enjoyed the first Transformers movie. It's silly fun.

I thought that was good when I first saw it as a pre-teen, but I rewatched it recently and realize it had all the stuff later movies in the franchise did, but to a lesser degree. Was still leagues beyond Revenge of the Fallen (because I know when I think of "Transformers" I think of transformer testicles!).

[Logania]

I'd honestly think Edgar Wright could do an ok adaptation. It's only one movie example, but how he handled Scott Pilgrim being such a faithful movie to the comics and even putting in ideas and moments that the creator put into the comic later.