The Movie
I think Dragonball: Evolution is based on a cartoon. Or a Japanese comic book. Or maybe the fevered conversation between a couple of teenagers in a Tokyo videogame arcade. At any rate, it's the not-exactly-intellectually-stimulating tale of a bunch of disparate characters--each obnoxious in his or her own way--banding together to locate seven magic "Dragonballs." Once collected, they will grant one perfect wish, but should they fall into the hands of a green-faced warlord recently returned from a 2,000-year exile, the fate of Earth will be even worse than Al Gore predicted. Be prepared for a lot of self-empowerment Hallmark Card philosophy on the way to a digital effects-strewn final showdown.
Fox is calling this the "Z Edition," which leads me to wonder why they didn't let us review Editions A thru Y.
The Picture
The 2.35 image is clean but not spectacular, compromised by a slight but frequent softness that is not representative of what the Blu-ray format can achieve. What could be potentially impressive detail is often marred by noise, as are the shadows and fog. The colors are routinely strong however, and the picture improves as the movie progresses, with a few lovely shots by the end.
The Sound
Here again, the quality of DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track varies throughout the course of the movie. Considering the over-the-top nature of this story--an entire house comes crashing down upon a character in Act I--the audio is not as aggressive as expected. Early on there are occasional low-end beats but too often the mix is front-heavy and lacking real involvement. Surround activity eventually becomes more pronounced, with enjoyable directional effects for the action scenes and mystical energy bolts.
The Extras
The Goku's Quest Game is an interactive movie mode that allows us to collect the seven Dragonballs hidden within the film and ultimately earn a reward, making smart use of Blu-ray technology. The eight deleted scenes run a total of eleven minutes, the five-minute "Goku's Workout" is a semi-serious martial arts lesson with the fight choreographers, the two-minute gag reel is fun, and the three-minute Brian Anthony "Worked Up" music video will surely entertain his fans. All of the above are in HD.
Fox Movie Channel Presents: Making a Scene (nine-and-a-half minutes) breaks down the Chi Chi vs. Chi Chi fight, and Fox Movie Channel also Presents: Life After Film School with Justin Chatwin (25 minutes) where the game young actor is interviewed by a trio of giddy directing and screenwriting students. Both FMC segments are in standard definition. Disc Two is a DVD with a Digital Copy of Dragonball: Evolution for iTunes and Windows Media.
Final Thoughts
If you're a Dragonball aficionado (that means "fan," kids) you might want to check out this big-screen take and poke around the disc extras.
Where to Buy:
Product Details
- Actors: Justin Chatwin, Emmy Rossum, Yun-Fat Chow. Jamie Chung, James Marsters, Joon Park, Eriko Tamura, Randall Duk Kim, Ernie Hudson, Texas Battle
- Director: James Wong
- Audio Format/Languages: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital 5.1 (French, Spanish, Portuguese)
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, Portuguese, Cantonese, Mandarin
- Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
- Number of discs: 2
- Rating: PG
- Studio: Fox
- Release Date: July 28, 2009
- Run Time: 85 minutes
- List Price: $39.99
- Extras:
- Goku's Quest Game
- Deleted Scenes
- "Goku's Workout"
- Brian Anthony "Worked Up" music video
- Gag Reel
- Fox Movie Channel Presents: Making a Scene
- Fox Movie Channel Presents: Life After Film School with Justin Chatwin
- Digital Copy
