This is perhaps not so much a review of the film per se, as it is a reflection on the Dragon Ball Evolution phenomenon.
For obvious reasons I have abbreviated the title of the Manga and the film in this review: from now on, Dragon Ball Evolution will be referred to as DBE.
For those DB fans who know their stuff, who understand the origins of the DB adventure tale, who understand where Toriyama delved for inspiration in inventing the character of Son Goku, appreciating the filmed adaptation of what could now be called a mythic franchise might be a smaller ask than for most. You see, DBE is alien to DBZ; it differs in more than its form of media. What the creators of this odd Hollywood production have done -- and this is perhaps worthy of some praise -- is searched at the core and heart of what DB is about. They understood, at least in part, the importance of the themes of initiation and innocence which pervade the early tomes of the DB saga. DBE tries to reflect this atmosphere and open the DB universe to the ignorant public.
It is often interesting to thoroughly study the popular reception of an adaptation of this kind, especially when the subject matter for the film is not already in a linear form. When novels or plays are transposed onto the big screen, the eagerly anticipating fan can expect something specific – he already has an outline of the movie in his mind. I suppose that, in such a situation, the fan's expectations are justified, and his opinion of the final product is based on more than thin air. But as far as DB is concerned, this
excuse is no more. No doubt each fan had his own personal idea and opinion of what the DB film should be. Some people would have envisaged an intricate original plot, others would have imagined their favourite characters acting out in their best light, a few would have hoped for a transposition of cult scenes from the Anime or Manga. Each individual would have, safely and comfortably, established in their own mind a perfect idea of what the ideal adaptation would be, catered to himself. Obviously, no two people can share the exact same ideas. Moreover, no one really has the right to expect anything from such an adaptation; unless someone were to have invented and planned on paper an adaptation of his own, and that his version of DB were to have been met more warmly by an objective public – indeed, unless that person were to have been proved more clever than the whole production crew –, he really has no right to say:
--They made a mess of it!
One could even call it foolish to criticise a film for not following a very personal and intimate ideal or fantasy. To exacerbate this problem, more often than not, most of the childish complaints directed towards the film issue from minds unprepared to present their own examples of the perfect adaptation.
It would be too easy to string out a web of accusations without putting these very views into question. No doubt DBE has its faults, but the mistake would be to selfishly assume that they consist mainly of details that are not in accordance with one's personal ideal.
The Hollywood machine turned DBE into a strange specimen of marketing combined with the influence of the popular DB franchise. What resulted is a kind of crossbred mutant, half Japanese, half American. The directors saw the need to bring it back to home, thus drastically changing the DB universe; Son Goku suddenly resembles a close to ordinary American college student who goes to school every day. In addition, a large portion of the cast is American, including Bulma, although she seems to be hiding behind a strange culture camouflage. It's hard to say what she's supposed to be. In fact, this lack of consistency and logic plagues most areas of the movie. While it primarily concentrates on martial arts and various Asian traits and traditions, the environment and attitudes of most of the characters are strikingly Western. Why is Son Goku Caucasian? Why is Bulma dressed up like a cos-play aficionado? Why is Roshi younger than Son Gohan? Why does he live in the middle of the city for that matter? Many of these questions are hard to justify, but one underlying aspect of DB seems to be neglected whenever such accusations against the film crop up. If one looks back, closely, at the original Manga, the lack of sense and grounding in reality is far more evident. Some characters are Asian, others Caucasian; some are not even human; giants and dinosaurs roam the land; everyone speaks the same language; Goku is 14 yet looks like a baby, etc. Nonetheless, because it is a cartoon, such details are
forgiven. It seems like the directors were slightly carried away when transferring such diverse elements onto the big screen. Unfortunately, they seem to have forgotten that motion pictures demand an extra layer of subtlety.
DBE had to face seemingly insurmountable obstacles, perhaps the same ones that warranted why few people three years ago could have hoped, in their wildest dreams, that a live action feature film could be made. DB is a story that was written and designed to be told through drawings. The film medium simply is not suited for it. The whole
soul, the very identity of DB would have had to be discarded. Well, it seems the producers went half-way in that respect; but the soul is still there. Because, in fact, DBE is an adventure and it carries much of the magic and mystery of the original tale with it.
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