Sunday, December 14, 2008

Dragonball Evolution: Chatwin's Hair FTW


Dragonball Evolution: Trailer 1 @ Official Site

Dragonball Evolution: Trailer @ FirstShowing.net

Dragonball Evolution is the long awaited adaptation of the Japanese comic/cartoon/video game/everything series that revolves around the quest of super humans to find and gain control over a bunch of mystical, orange dragon...balls. Dirty thoughts aside, the original series has a large fanbase in both Japan and America which makes it surprising that it took so long to finally bring the adaptation to the big screen.

Watching the trailer, however, makes you believe that perhaps the Dragonball franchise was better off staying in its original territory. The 'Evolution' title is appropriate though as the movie looks like some kind of super hybrid of a WB show and the Sci-Fi channel movie of the week. Surely having the advantageous genes of both the WB (pretty young people) and Sci-Fi (explosions and aliens) will make the offspring better at finding food, seeking mates, and attracting a wider mass audience.

Sadly natural selection doesn't really function in Hollywood and this movie will probably find its way to maturity and spawning other offspring. The CG work is horribly blended with a blaring (not in an acidy trip Speed Racer kind of way, but in a Joel Schumacher kind of way) color palette to boot. Lighting and costume design looks to be a solid step above Mighty Morphin Power Rangers level so you should brace yourself for some rubbery looking villains and good guys. Let's not go into the little 'acting' that was left in there, i've hurt you enough already. Frankly I just feel sorry for Chow Yun Fat having to be involved with this, if only he had told someone he was so desperate for work we could have done something. Anything. Now it's too late.

Critics who actually have to watch and review this will want to put on a look something like Justin Chatwin as Goku. And that would be like you're in the process of passing a kidney stone the size of a golf ball. This trailer actually made my brain hurt.

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