In the Los Angeles Times, Michelle Castillo discusses Dragonball Evolution, which, "for right or wrong, may be the most-hated film of 2009 that hasn't even been released yet." Fans are reportedly furious because of changes made to the storyline and the characters.
Below is a brief quote from Castillo's article:
"At 20th Century Fox, the studio behind the Dragonball film, there must be some executives missing the old days when fans just waited for a movie to be released before deciding its fate. The studio leadership watched in horror in recent days as a stolen, near-finished copy of X-Men Origins: Wolverine became a torrid sensation on file-sharing sites. The FBI has stepped in but, like a man watching his gold coins scatter on a crowded street, the Fox team knows deep down that the damage is already done. (In a twist that will have execs groaning, fans claim that they downloaded illegal copies of X-Men Origins: Wolverine solely to punish Fox for its Dragonball folly.)"
***
Dragonball Evolution is scheduled to open in the United States tomorrow, April 10. The film follows Goku, a young man training in martial arts while searching for seven Dragon Balls that are supposed to make wishes come true.
Directed by James Wong and adapted by Ben Ramsey from Akira Toriyama's novel, the film stars Justin Chatwin, Chow Yun-Fat, Emmy Rossum, Jamie Chung, and James Marsters.
At Screen Rant, Ross Miller sums it up thus: "Dragonball: Evolution is a badly written film with horrible dialogue, lackluster action and a sense of fun that’s nowhere to be found."
DEBAUCHED DESIRES: Four Erotic Masterpieces by Masaru Konuma
Claudia Cardinale Remembers Luchino Visconti
Joan Harrison and Alfred Hitchcock at Movie Morlocks