Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins (1991)

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Blistering performances.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

I just watched the unofficial Dragon Ball movie and I have to say that it is one of the best movies I have ever seen. Don't get me wrong it sucks but I would watch it a thousand times over. I am not a Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, or Dragon Ball GT but I think of this movie as a way to introduce myself to the series and to point it out to my friend how is a fan of it. I liked all the main supporting characters except of Goku (Monkey boy? Is he going to be king of the pirates?) and that girl whose village died and was brought back to life. I love these types of movies because I can sit back and laugh.By the way: Dancing Roshi = WIN!

Live action version of Dragonball via Taiwan.Evil lord comes to earth to get the seven magic dragon balls...er pearls which when brought together will cause a dragon to appear and grant your wish. Lots of action and bad comedy ensue.What can I say that "the best way to watch this film is with lots of drunk but witty friends" doesn't? I don't know. This is a really bad but funny in the way that really bad movies can be. Come on this is one of the few martial arts films I've ever seen where you actually see the wires. Its a live action cartoon and not so far removed from what I've seen of the show that it makes me fearful for the big budget American version now filming.If you have some drunk friends and feel like picking on a movie see this film. If you're going to see it sober (like me) avoid it.

Mr. Brento wonders if this movie was produced by the same who produced the Dragonball Z TV series. Of course not.This is a Hong Kong real action movie based on the first episodes of the Japanese original cartoon (which was also based on a comic book series). And I really don't know if it was produced under the license of the Dragonball creators...However, the story of the monkey-boy with special powers is an ancient tale known all over Asia (in Japan, the name of the boy in the tale is Songoku; in China, it is Sunwukong; in Korea it is Sonogong; etc) and the story in Dragonball has much to do with that tale.By the way, as I said, this movie is based on the first episodes of the Dragonball series (which was followed by Dragonball Z, although I think the US version had a different airing order). And all the scenes related to sexuality were also contained in the original cartoon series (without so much overacting and so much insistence on it!), but because of your comments I may suppose they were completely removed in the American dubbing.Anyway, I agree with you about the overacting in the film and about how poor this adaptation of the original cartoon is. But maybe because of that nobody can forget it after watching it...

Live action take on the enormously popular Japanese cartoon series, Dragonball. Many of the original characters are present, including Gokou, Kame-sennin (Master Roshi), Yamu-cha, Bulma, and Oolong, although they are given different names. The story more or less follows the original introduction to the characters in the series (ie. meeting each other by chance while searching for the Dragon Balls/Pearls). Low budget (at least after spending so much on explosions), but enjoyable if you like cartoonish kung fu movies and Dragonball!