It would be impossible to attempt to write a decent, unbiased review of this film because I grew up with the show it is based on and I am very attached to it. It would, on the other hand, also be near impossible to write a coherent, biased review of this film because my rage would distort it beyond understanding. Therefore, I shall simply point out all of the mistakes and offer my suggestion for how to make the sequel (yes, the ending set up for a sequel) better. I understand the movie makers wanted to suggest a new spin on the series (hence the word "evolution" in the title), but it was went about in such a way that can only be described as "wrong." Tackling the daunting task of suggesting ways they could have both changed the series a bit and made the movie good is far too overwhelming for me right now, so I will simply point out mistakes.
WARNING: SPOILERS GALORE ARE COMING! But, seriously, don't see this movie.
First up, the plot: I'm assuming that this film based itself on "Dragon Ball" (not "Dragonball," guys), which is the first series, and not "Dragon Ball Z," which is the second and, frankly, the more well known to Western audiences. That being said, it turned out to be a bastardized combination of the time before the series began (Gohan, Goku's grandfather, is still alive for almost the first third of the film) and the final saga of the series, which involved Piccolo Daimao (the first/old one, not the one in "Z"). Honestly, I think it's great they based it on "Dragon Ball" because that one was a little more realistic. However, they seemed to try to make it too realistic by placing Goku and Chi-Chi in high school. Oh, and they look like this:
They're to the right. To the left is Bulma and some mystery girl in red that is never identified (more on them in the characters section). Here are the problems in the plot:
1) Gohan is alive but is killed by Piccolo - Fans of the series know that it was Goku in his Ōzaru form that destroyed his house and killed Gohan. I kind of like how Gohan is still alive, but his death by Goku's hands is very important for a number of reasons, particularly the realization that Goku was the giant monster that killed Gohan and he is, in fact, a Saiyan. This leads to...
2) Goku is Ōzaru, but Ōzaru isn't a Saiyan - Let me explain: Ōzaru is portrayed as a servant of Piccolo and not what a Saiyan transforms into when spying a full moon. Goku is Ōzaru and was sent to Earth to destroy it when the blood moon eclipses the sun. That's when Ōzaru will be awakened. I could go on further, but this is better explained in the characters section.
3) The elements taken from "Journey to the West" have been taken out - Toriyama Akira, creator of the series, based it on the famous Chinese legend. While this is really dominant only in the first saga (with Emperor Pilaf), the elements featured are important later on. These elements include the extending pole (Gohan has a pole in the film but it doesn't extend and simply disappears after he's killed), Goku's tail and transformation (Goku hasn't a tail but does transform), the Nimbus Cloud (this is completely removed), and shape-shifting (Oolong and Puar aren't even in the movie), to name a few. This is very tragic because while the anime was a humorous take on an old legend, the movie was a bastardization that didn't retain any of the charm.
4) The absence of Kami and Piccolo Jr. - Piccolo is the evil half of Kami that was expelled from his body and contained in a rice cooker. He was released by Pilaf and used the Dragon Balls to restore his youth, but was killed by Goku. Before dying, Piccolo spits an egg across the world and it hatches into Piccolo Jr. (the one in "Z"). Jr. fights Goku in the Tenkaichi Budokai tournament but loses and retreats. Now, most fans already know that, but I wrote it all to state that none of it is true in the movie. The only part that comes close is his containment, but that was done by a group of monks and not Roshi's master Mutaito (side-note: Roshi's master in the movie is a black guy named Sifu Norris...huh?).
5) A Tenkaichi Budokai-esque tournament is shown, but is not elaborated on - Piccolo's mystery girl ("Mai" according to Wikipedia, more on her in the characters section) enters a tournament that Chi-Chi was entered in (oh yeah, she's a fighter now) to obtain her blood and make a disguise so she can steal the Dragon Balls. Apparently, when Roshi takes Goku to a "secluded place" to train him, it's now a training ground with a tournament...? That was never clear. Only one scene of the tournament is shown, making it important only for "Mai" to obtain the blood. It's hardly explained why it exists and getting the blood could have been achieved without the tournament altogether. Plus, where's the blonde announcer? This problem was just dumb.
6) In the end, Piccolo is not sealed or killed but nursed back to health by some poor village woman that "Mai" almost killed while looking for a Dragon Ball - Yep, that about explains it. That's the sequel set-up. No Piccolo Jr., but some villager who's never identified helping someone who ordered her village to be destroyed. Fair enough.
Those are all the major gripes. The whole older characters and high school setting aren't very bad, but the stories of Goku and Piccolo should have been more by-the-book. Part two will be up soon, but for now, here's some memories:
Those were the days...
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