In one of the worst ideas in recent years, we see firsthand how not to make a film adapted from a popular animated television series. Dragonball Evolution is a film so bad that not only did it tank at the box office, but fans who pirated the movie early online spearheaded a campaign to try and get the studio, FOX, to not release the film for general audiences. Of course, this ham-fisted, poorly organized plan failed and the film was released -- but the damage was done. The word of mouth on this big-budget action film (rumored to be north of $100 million) was so bad that it raked in an astoundingly low $9 million domestically and only took in $57 million worldwide. Now it's on DVD for all to finally check out and see just how bad it is.

Unlike FOX's other poorly conceived action adaptation from earlier this year, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li, this isn't so bad that it is funny. It's just boring with spots that occasionally annoy you. The action is lifeless, the backgrounds and world bizarre (but not in an interesting way), and the dialogue is painfully dreadful. It is everything a movie like this shouldn't be. And it perfectly illustrates how not to adapt a television series, animated or otherwise. There are characters here that have no reason to be here -- except that they were in the show -- but the writers couldn't figure out how to include them or make them essential to the story. Meanwhile, they try to condense the entirety of a season of television into 90 minutes, which is kind of like trying to cram 50 pounds of Jell-O into a sock; there's only so much that is going to go in there and what does isn't going to be worth all the effort.

The film is hollow, strange, and ultimately a failure on all counts. Only the film's romance carries any weight at all, fueled by the efforts and charisma of actors Justin Chatwin and Jamie Chung; but even then the romance isn't given the time or writing to devlop it properly. And only Chow Yun Phat is allowed to be interesting and occasionally gets a moment or two that is bearable -- when he's not given a mouthful of awkward dialogue to spit out.

The DVD has plenty of special features, but none of them all that worthwhile. There's a senseless gag reel of moments mostly effected with bells, chimes, and slide whistle sounds, 10 more minutes of movie (none of it good) in the deleted scenes, a music video, and a workout video that teaches kids how to perform several of the stunts, kicks, and punches from the film. Just what every parent wants their kids to practice with ... on their siblings. The only useful special features are an episode of a FOX-made television show in which film students interview Chatwin (who comes off very well), and then a fairly interesting 10-minute short that shows how they filmed the movie's fight scene that involved a character fighting himself. If this disc somehow falls into your hands, it is about 35 minutes that won't be wasted.

All in all the movie and disc are pretty much a bust. Dragonball Evolution is available now from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

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