I think for the budget and everything in general they did a great job putting it together. I know it's no easy task to get something off the ground so I commend them for making this.
My opinion, I think it's still a bit cheesy. It comes off to me as nothing more than a high level, cosplay fan film. Again not trying to say it's bad, but I don't see this going much beyond this trailer.
An example is that Mortal Kombat short that lead to the director being able to get a web mini-series. What was interesting about the Mortal Kombat short is the director really put his own twist on it. He presented a vision of how the game could be told in live action, and it really captured people's interest. It was different, and wasn't just a rehash of things we've seen.
This trailer is more just a direct translation to live action. It doesn't really feel like we're getting that original vision that could take it to the next level. Sure the costumes are great quality, but they still feel like costumes.
Also another example is the acting. Ask anyone who doesn't know much about the show and they'll probably tell you that Dragonball for the most part is just people fighting each other and shooting energy blasts and yelling. And really that's what they gave with this trailer. I think some people will say, "well that's what the fans want to see" but I don't think that's true. Yes, fans want to see all that stuff, but they also want a good story.
Fans have seen this story and to make an exact copy into a live action movie is dumb to me. (Yes I know this trailer isn't actually for a movie I'm just generalizing here).
I think you follow the idea and maybe a basic outline, but a live action Dragonball Z movie has to be so much more than flashy effects if it's going to succeed. So I think that if you want to make a great DBZ movie you gotta start by rebuilding the characters. But not by putting Goku in high school.
Movie executives are looking at something like DBZ as a potential cash cow if done right. It honestly could be the next Harry Potter like franchise. But Dragonball: Evolution was a miserable failure, because they tried making a movie with the flashy effects and saying oh well lets put some character development in Goku by making him an angsty teenager. That's not the way to go with it though. You have to figure out that balance and the flaws in these characters (since they don't really have them in the series) without crossing the line of extreme and making them out to be something they never were. A movie with Goku as a kid, may or may not work, but when he's an adult you have more to work with. He embraces his powers, but perhaps his goal of fighting the best and always getting better, and how it effects his relationship with his family could be explored more.
Vegeta and Piccolo are hands down is the most interesting characters in Dragonball. People will argue how Goku is the hero and better and all that. But it's Vegeta that had the real change in his story arch. He went from a cold hearted beast filled with pride who cared only for fulfilling his self defined destiny, to a man who sacrificed his life to save his wife and son. That's the kind of stuff that needs to be put in to Goku, while maintaining that balance I mentioned earlier.
Here is an interesting thought. As the series went on Vegeta became a better father and cared less about power and competition and more about his family, but Goku went the opposite way and pretty much abandoned his family most the time.
Anyway, just my thoughts. Like I said I still think they did a great job so check out the trailer, judge for yourself. You don't have to agree with me. I just wouldn't hold your breath for a dbz live action feature stemming from this any time soon. But hey I could be wrong? Either way there's always the new animated one coming!!
