Dragonball: Evolution

Goku (Justin Chatwin) is an ordinary teenage boy. He goes to school every day. He dreams about his crush, a girl named Chi Chi (Jamie Chung). He goes home and practices his martial arts moves with his grandfather.

So, maybe he’s not so ordinary. But his life is about to become extraordinary. For on his birthday, he receives from his grandfather a strange gift—a mysterious orange sphere called a Dragon Ball. When Goku comes home that night from a party, he finds his house destroyed and his grandfather who, near death, tells him as his last words that there are in fact seven Dragon Balls and an evil force has returned to find them.

The evil force is one Piccolo (James Marsters) of an alien race, who was imprisoned hundreds of years ago for trying to use the Dragon Balls to destroy the Earth. Now, he has escaped and is eager as ever to find the Balls to fulfill his mission. With the help of Bulma (Emmy Rossum), a girl who is on the same mission to find the Balls, Goku must seek out Master Roshi (Yung-Fat Chow), who will in turn help him finish his training and find the Dragon Balls before Piccolo does, and so prepare him to face his destiny in battle.

As far as spirituality goes, there isn’t anything Christian about this movie. Goku, Roshi and others rely on the powers of something called the Ki, a mystical force that resides in everything in the universe, but can be used by a focused and skilled warrior as a weapon. The Ki is similar in many ways to The Force in “Star Wars.” This New Age-y spirituality isn’t necessarily the center of the story, but it can be problematic nonetheless. Also, when combined, the powers of the Dragon Balls can be used to summon either the destructive demon Oozaru or Shen Long, a dragon with healing powers.

There is also quite a bit of violence, although none of it is bloody. Several martial arts fights take place, with kicks to the face, and there are several shootouts, particularly involving Bulma, who enters fights usually with two guns blazing. One fight takes place against several nasty-looking alien warriors, who are killed by being thrown into a lava pit (and then used as stepping stones!). Piccolo uses his own blood to give life to these warriors in a frightening scene and later, another character’s transformation into the demon Oozaru is quite scary. Very brief flashbacks show Piccolo annihilating whole cities.

There is also language in the form of mild swearing and misuse of God’s name. A few female characters also show some cleavage and mild innuendo is scattered throughout the dialogue. Two characters kiss passionately.

“Dragonball Evolution” is based on a popular Japanese anime series of which I know little, so I cannot say if the spirituality and/or violence present are consistent with the animated show. I will say that, as a film, “…Evolution” fails in the areas of character development, acting, and screenplay, but succeeds with some impressive action and special effects, and it does give us characters that are noble, self-sacrificial, and courageous. As a movie marketed towards families, unless the kids are familiar with the animated series and the movie is similar enough, there is too much martial arts and mixed New Age spirituality to warrant a recommendation.

Violence: Moderate / Profanity: Minor / Sex/Nudity: Minor

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.