If you know Namek’s have antennae, then fall into a temporary amnesia to maximize your enjoyment of the movie. You can forget Goku’s personality, Dragonball lore, and characters like Krillin, Tien Shinhan, Oolong, and many others.  


Ben Ramsey, who wrote the film adaption, (and paid $500,000 for his work) portrays Goku as an eighteen year old, sexually frustrated boy. It is quite the departure from the innocent and humble Goku in the animated series. 


The plot line can be outlined in one sentence:

Goku, Bulma, Yamcha, and Master Roshi go on an adventure to collect dragon balls through a random selection of venues until the gang reaches a climatic battle and someone makes a wish with the dragon balls. 


During this adventure... The actors are corny and lack passion. As a comparison, I believed Natalie Portman (as Padme) and Hayden Christensen (as Annie) in Star Wars had no chemistry. However that was before watching Dragonball. Jamie Chung (Chichi) and Justin Chatwin (Chibi Goku) are incompatible and their on stage courting appears forced. Chichi suddenly became much too hot for Goku. 


Though I felt a sense of nostalgia for the Dragonball series, it runs only skin deep. The fight scenes, though not spectacular, are entertaining and may allow fans to reminisce. There are subtly hints of the Dragonball universe that I did appreciate i.e. Bulma finds a dirty magazine in Master Roshi's stash. 

I cannot help but feel robbed as a fan. I wish that Ben Ramsey chose to expand upon Saiyan lore or some other area/time of the Dragonball universe if he wished to create an entirely new story line. Dragonball is an excellent series and it deserved a better and epic adaptation. Why not adapt the history of Bardock for film? 

4/10 overall