Dragonball Evolution
2009; directed by James Wong

I'm not a fan of Dragonball, or even anime in general, but since the live-action adaptation of the series, Evolution, was produced by Stephen Chow and has Chow Yun-Fat as one of the stars, I figured I'd give it a shot. And you know what? It's actually not all that bad, if you know what you're getting into, lower your expectations accordingly, and perhaps arm yourself with a couple of tasty beverages before you head into the theatre.

For those of you without little kids in the house and aren't familiar with the basic story, the Dragonball series centers on Goku (Justin Chatwin), a young man charged with trying to stop the evil Piccolo (James Marsters) from finding all seven of the magic Dragon Balls, so that he can use their power to destroy the world. Along with his crazy master, Roshi (Chow Yun-Fat), and a couple of sidekicks, Goku sets out on a quest to get all of the Dragon Balls.

Dragonball Evolution, by and large, is a kids movie, and will probably be well-enjoyed by the wee ones. There's lots of flashy special effects, big battles, and at only eighty-four minutes, it should be short enough for even the most ADD-afflicted tots. Older viewers will probably bristle at some of the acting, especially Park Joon, who seems to have studied at the Keanu Reeves "brah" school of thespianism. But director James Wong keeps things moving along at a fast enough clip so that you don't have to dwell on the headache-inducing bits for too long.

This may not say much, but Dragonball Evolution is at least a better adaptation than recent efforts like the insufferable The Legend of Chun Li. I'm sure die-hard fans of the series will find a lot to nitpick here, but as someone not all that familiar with the original source material, it was easy to take Dragonball Evolution for what it is: disposable entertainment perfect for killing about a hour and a half on a nice spring day when you don't really have anything better to do.

RATING: 5