Writer: Loong Wai Ting

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Watch this if you liked: "Shaolin Girl" and other anime movies

For a comic adaptation, "Dragonball Evolution" has quite a promising future for sequels. The awesome opening scene gives you this impression, with the right effects and perfect timing.

However, "Dragonball" might not do enough justice to fans of Goku, who blasts out his super saiya power, taking the baddies down. Instead, he is portrayed as a typical teenager, having problems within the school social circle and yet in the end gets the chick without having to break a sweat. His definitive bad hair trademark is also pretty much compromised by Justin Chatwin's good looks.

Apart from Goku, there isn't much about character building in the story. Much is apparent to the "Dragonball" fan but plenty is left out for newcomers who don't know the story. Where do they come from and to whom are they related? Nothing is mentioned about that. Maybe that's director James Wong wanting us to use our imaginative mind to draw a link between these characters, no?

Here, Picollo played by James Marsters looks like his evil twin from Jim Carrey's "The Mask." Again, his background is very much generated from scripts instead of a decent flashback about himself. Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun-Fat plays Master Roshi, the funny and perverted but enlightened character. Despite his age, Chow's persona is still as flawless as his younger "Prison On Fire" days.

"Dragonball" is very much just martial arts and tonnes of effects. Do not expect much artsy-fartsy cinematography or boring two-angle scenes. In "Dragonball," James Wong's effort in experimenting with different kinds of effect can best be noted in some super cool slow motion capture.

Sometimes it is rather annoying watching a non-martial artist performing in a martial arts movie. They look like they're kicking dust. Talent casting should give some emphasis on those who can really kick butt instead of those with just good looks. In today's industry, good looks aren't enough. Besides, there are lots of talents out there waiting to be discovered!

Cinema Online, 10 March 2009