'DRAGONBALL: EVOLUTION' Review

Dragonball may or may not appeal to fans of the Japanese fantasy franchise it is based on, but aficionados of apocalyptic teenybopper kung fu extravaganzas are in for a real treat.
Directed by James Wong from a script by Ben Ramsey that takes itself exactly as seriously as it should — which is to say, not at all — “Dragonball” has been perfectly designed to blow the mind of a 10-year-old boy.

Justin Chatwin stars as Goku, the grandson of a wizened martial arts guru (Randall Duk Kim) who bequeaths him one of seven glittery orbs necessary to fend off the diabolical schemes of Lord Piccolo (James Marsters), an ancient supervillain with a supercheap makeup job.

As Goku quests to unite the seven Dragonballs with the help of a heavily armed hottie (Emmy Rossum) and one highly amused Chow Yun-Fat as the bumbling Master Roshi, the movie takes great pleasure in completely reinventing itself every five minutes or so. There’s the bit at the kung fu tournament, the challenge at the volcano, the doppelgänger catfight, the visit to the crypto-Tibetan monastery, the struggle with the intergalactic werewolf.

Second-rate special effects double the pleasure of these goofball shenanigans, which show the touch of the producer, Stephen Chow, master of the happy action flick (“Kung Fu Hustle”). Here’s hoping he guides the sequel, shamelessly promised at the climax of this unabashed lark.
“Dragonball: Evolution” is rated PG (Parental guidance suggested) for totally awesome fantasy violence.

DRAGONBALL Evolution

Opened on Friday nationwide.

Directed by James Wong; written by Ben Ramsey, based on the graphic-novel series “Dragonball” by Akira Toriyama, published by Shonen Jump; director of photography, Robert McLachlan; edited by Matthew Friedman and Chris Willingham; music by Brian Tyler; production designer, Bruton Jones; produced by Stephen Chow; released by 20th Century Fox. Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes.

WITH: Justin Chatwin (Goku), Chow Yun-Fat (Roshi), Emmy Rossum (Bulma), Jamie Chung (Chi Chi), James Marsters (Lord Piccolo), Joon Park (Yamcha), Eriko (Mai), Randall Duk Kim (Gohan) and Ernie Hudson (Sifu Norris) .