Dragonball Evolution Composed by Brian Tyler
Varese Sarabande Records (2009)
Rating:
8/10
“As with so many of
(Brian) Tyler's projects, DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION transcends the film
it is attached to with its memorable thematic material,
adrenaline-filled action and unexpected inventiveness.”
Great Balls of Fire
Review by Christopher Coleman
"You
have to get into a mindset that this is the greatest
“fill-in-the-blank”-type of movie ever made, and treat it that way.
Otherwise you're just going to blow it, and there can't be any
phone-ins because your name is on it forever.."
I'm rather amazed that it took so long for the DRAGONBALL franchise to be
made into a live action movie. I suppose the studios have had plenty to do
pillaging the 60s and 70s for all their worth. While those decades
are still being ransacked, Twentieth Century Fox decided to bring some
80s/90s nostalgia to the big screen as well. The genesis of DRAGONBALL goes all
the way back to a simple, Japanese, manga-series of 1984, which has since
evolved into a mega-franchise including: several animated series, trading
card games, and video games. Actually, DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION is the second,
live-action movie, but it's 1989 predecessor, DRAGONBALL: THE MAGIC BEGINS
was a Taiwanese production that saw no theatrical release outside of
China. Perhaps only the heartiest of DRAGONBALL fans even recall this film
some 20 years later. Since the first glimpses of DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION hit
the internet, it's safe to say that expectations, by mainstream audiences,
were unsurprisingly low. Just as video-game-to-feature-film adaptations
fall into the 80/20 failure rule, so it seems to be with manga/anime-to-feature-films.
If the 1989 Dragonball film wasn't evidence enough , then we only need look
to efforts like DETROIT METAL CITY, FIST OF THE NORTH STAR, or DEVILMAN as
convincing additional evidence. Unfortunately, DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION
doesn't manage to avoid a couple of the standard pitfalls of its
predecessors such as: poor writing, second-rate production value, and the
like, but it does turn up two surprises. The special effects are leagues
ahead of what one might be expecting and
BRIAN TYLER's heroic, symphonic score delivers some much needed emotional
weight to the otherwise flimsy film.
DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION sadly missed the mark, being received by the hard-core Dragonball fans as a "spoof" more than an adaptation, and being
a bit too confusing
for those not familiar with the vast world of Dragonball. What element
that certainly doesn't miss is composer BRIAN TYLER's score. Coming off of
one of his busiest twelve months of his career, which
included: RAMBO, BANGKOK DANGEROUS, EAGLE EYE, FAST AND FURIOUS, I didn't
have much faith that Tyler would have enough left in the tank for DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION. I had braced myself for a fireball of
electronically synthesized music that would only yield one or two moments
of real interest as a stand-alone listening experience.
Thankfully, I couldn't have been more wrong as BRIAN TYLER delivers much more for our ears to
enjoy. Grounding his original score for DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION is a solid
title theme, which is established in the very first
track. In "The Legend" (1) this bold and brassy theme builds with
dreamlike strings and chorus helping to provide its lift, finally
resulting in a wonderful crescendo that James Horner, Don Davis, or Jerry
Goldsmith would be proud of. The main segment of this theme is memorable
6-note motif which goes on to make numerous appearances throughout the
score. In track 2, "Dragonball Evolution" we find another important and
musically-dominant theme. Following a variation of the first motif; Tyler
launches us into an epic piece fully utilizing the Hollywood Symphony
Orchestra's talents. It's pulsating tension and adrenaline laced percussion are
qualities that consistently mark BRIAN TYLER's more memorable
efforts...and there is no shortage of either here. The shock of this not
being wall-to-wall high-energy electronica is replaced by the shock of
hearing the degree of symphonic depth here. And yet, Tyler does not
simply rest on this, but goes on to carve a few more facets to this work.
BRIAN TYLER has long proven himself much more versatile than just an
action-cue dispenser with efforts like
PARTITION and more recently with THE LAZARUS PROJECT. Thumbs up to
director James Wong for giving Tyler the room to express some of those talents
in this film. Even within "Dragonball Evolution," (2) where Tyler's gift
for action is on display, we find a softly pleasing variation of a 9 note motif, which,
itself, finds more aggressive peformances in the score. While the
heroic element of characters Goku and Master Roshi are well represented by
the material mentioned above, we also find a dark and menacing theme for
our villain, "Lord Piccolo" (12), a romantic thread in "I Dream of Chi
Chi" (16) and "Bulma and Yamcha" (19). And yes, Tyler does actually
provide a few pieces that met my original expectations for this score. "Chasing Dragonballs" (11) and it's variation-cousin, "Body Work" (15) with their
full-frontal-synth personalities would easily fit in a video game
environment, while "Grime Vinyl" features a great dance-like hook,
samples, and hip-hop rhythm. Having strongly established this score
with his main thematic material performed by full orchestra, Tyler keeps
our interest with his short diversions into the romantic, comedic and
electronic.
Those who found his work for TIMELINE, EAGLE EYE, or BANGKOK DANGEROUS
appealing will likely find DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION at least, equally
appealing and likely moreso. Varese Sarabande delivers a good sized
helping of the score at just under 61 minutes, to boot. While the hardcore fans of DRAGONBALL
have reacted somewhat coolly to the the film, composer BRIAN TYLER, a
self-professed fan himself, clearly allowed his own appreciation for the
franchise' legacy to help fuel his creativity and effort. As with
so many of Tyler's projects, DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION transcends the film it
is attached to with its memorable thematic material, adrenaline-filled
action and unexpected inventiveness. DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION is as an early
surprise in 2009; one you should treat yourself to.
