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Dragonball: Evolution

Play trailer Poster for Dragonball: Evolution PG 2009 1h 26m Action Adventure Fantasy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
14% Tomatometer 63 Reviews 19% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
On his 18th birthday, Goku receives a mystical Dragonball as a gift from his grandfather. There are only six others like it in the whole world, and legend has it that whoever possesses all seven will be granted one perfect wish. When the arrival of a dark force triggers a tragedy, Goku and his companions are propelled into an epic quest to collect the seven Dragonballs and save the Earth from destruction.
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Dragonball: Evolution

Dragonball: Evolution

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Critics Consensus

Executed with little panache or invention, Dragonball Evolution lacks the magic that made the books upon which it was based a cult sensation.

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Critics Reviews

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Chris Stuckmann ChrisStuckmann.com Feb 3, 2016
Dragonball: Evolution is my least-favorite film of all time. I hate it with every fiber of my being. If you were ever curious about the show Dragon Ball or the manga... please, avoid this cinematic disaster at all costs. Go to Full Review
Anthony Quinn Independent (UK) Apr 17, 2009
1/5
A rather tame live-action sci-fi flick. Go to Full Review
London Evening Standard Apr 17, 2009
1/5
The producer, Stephen Chow, made the funny and original Kung Fu Hustle, but here he and director James Wong get into a terrible mess. Go to Full Review
Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Dec 1, 2023
1/4
It’s a hyperactive, eye-rolling affair. Go to Full Review
Justin Brown Medium Popcorn Dec 12, 2020
1/5
They clearly didn't know what they were doing, terrible. But hey, they made their money back? ... and I do like the movies, this was just really really dumb... Go to Full Review
Charlie Jane Anders io9.com May 21, 2018
There are balls of lint smarter than Dragonball Evolution. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Muad S @RT81357509 1 day ago it made me have a relationship with a minor(jk) See more Brian H @Raptor2213 2 days ago In Stargate SG-1, for the episode "200", they meet a producer who talks about making younger, edgier versions of the cast, and we get to see a clip of what that would be like. This movie is like that, only worse. It's like they took the cast of DBA, made younger and edgier versions of them, and then just ripped random keywords out of the rest of it with a shitty LLM to use for everyone else - and yes, I know this predates LLMs, so that means that an actual human being who wrote this was dumber than an early-gen LLM. Hell, they made a character up out of thin air that was really just the alternate, transformed state of the main character's race. See more Charles Atticus S @RT40140024 Aug 10, 2026 Listen. It's not bad but not good. Kamehameha. See more diogo13 T @Tua_mera Jul 12, 2026 An unbelievable abomination that completely destroys the Dragon Ball legacy with a ridiculous plot, terrible acting, and embarrassing visual effects. And why is he in an American school? See more Nui T @Namui Jul 8, 2026 It's a joke. They don't understand that the uniqueness of Dragonball is what makes it earn top status in the manga world globally. See more Dexter E @Dexter007 May 29, 2026 A live action adaptation that misses the essence of its source material and feels disconnected from what fans expected. The storytelling is rushed, with weak character depth and uninspired dialogue throughout. Despite its big ambition, it ends up feeling forgettable and poorly executed. See more Read all reviews
Dragonball: Evolution

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Movie Info

Synopsis On his 18th birthday, Goku receives a mystical Dragonball as a gift from his grandfather. There are only six others like it in the whole world, and legend has it that whoever possesses all seven will be granted one perfect wish. When the arrival of a dark force triggers a tragedy, Goku and his companions are propelled into an epic quest to collect the seven Dragonballs and save the Earth from destruction.
Director
James Wong
Producer
Stephen Chow
Screenwriter
Ben Ramsey
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Star Overseas
Rating
PG (Intense Sequences of Action|Brief Mild Language|Intense Sequences of Violence)
Genre
Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 10, 2009, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 12, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$9.4M
Runtime
1h 26m
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