Culture news These 5 films prove that Dragon Ball Z can be adapted into live-action today, enough to make you forget Dragon Ball Evolution

Culture news These 5 films prove that Dragon Ball Z can be adapted into live-action today, enough to make you forget Dragon Ball Evolution

#01 – Man of Steel (2013)

• Original title :
• Duration : 2h23
• Director: Zack Snyder
• Scriptwriter : David S. Goyer
• Director of Photography : Amir Mokri
• Music : Hans Zimmer
• Actors / Actresses: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Laurence Fishburne…
• Oscars : None

We start this list with a fairly obvious reference with Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel in 2013. As its name suggests, it is a film about Superman, namely the superhero that we surely have the most compared to Son Goku in terms of physical abilities. In his feature film, the 57-year-old director had a real thought on how to film a superhuman being and convey this feeling of power to spectators. We can say that it is a successful job since Superman has rarely looked so strong. This involves interesting ideas, such as a very particular way of staging aerial combat, but also in the execution of blows and their impacts to make people feel that these characters are not human. The result is a dynamic staging which succeeds in showing the power of the protagonists, while presenting legible action. On its own, at present, Man of Steel remains probably the closest blockbuster to what a live-action DBZ film could look like.

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#02 – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 (2023)

• Original title : Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
• Duration : 2h30
• Director: James Gunn
• Scriptwriter : James Gunn
• Director of Photography :
• Music : Henry Braham
• Actors / Actresses: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper…
• Oscars : None

The choice to put Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 in this list may be surprising at first. However, this decision is justified by the presence of an element in the casting: Adam Warlock. Teased at the end of the second part, he is a super-powered character like Superman, but in the Marvel universe. In the feature film, the latter undermines the Guardians using his abilities, but it is a sequence in particular which explains the film’s place in this ranking. On the planet of the Master of Evolution, when it is about to be destroyed, the latter begins to fly at full speed to save his mother. This sequence is interesting because James Gunn has a very particular way of filming him in action to make the spectators understand all his power. We see him slaloming between the elements, which gives a real feeling of speed. A good idea to make the flight of Dragon Ball credible.

#03 – Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

• Original title : Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
• Duration : 2h12
• Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
• Scriptwriter : Dave Callaham, Destin Daniel Cretton, Andrew Lanham
• Director of Photography :
• Music : Joel P. West
• Actors / Actresses: Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh, Tony Leung, Ben Kingsley, Benedict Wong, Meng’er Zhang, Fala Chen, Florian Munteanu, Yuen Wah…
• Oscars : None

Well, you probably saw this one coming because upon its release, many people made the connection between Shang-Chi and Dragon Ball. It must be said that the final fight between Shang-Chi and his father Xu Wenwu has everything of a confrontation taken from the work of Akira Toriyama, whether in the choreography, the impact of the blows or even certain techniques which reminiscent of Kamehameha. With all that, there is already an excellent basis which just needs to go further by featuring supermen to make a live-action adaptation of Dragon Ball worthy of the name. In addition, there is a dragon inspired by Chinese mythology, exactly like Shenron, which proves that Shang-Chi has something to give hope to any DBZ fan.

#04 – The Eternals (2021)

• Original title : Eternals
• Duration : 2h36
• Director: Chloe Zhao
• Scriptwriter : Chloé Zhao, Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo, Kaz Firpo
• Director of Photography :
• Music : Ben Davis
• Actors / Actresses: Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Barry Keoghan, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie

Kumail Nanjiani…

If The Eternals is present in this selection, it is not for Ikaris who is very reminiscent of Superman in his powers, and therefore a little of Son Goku. No, here, we wanted to talk about Chloé Zhao’s film for the character of Makkari. If this name doesn’t mean anything to you, we’ll remind you that it’s the Eternal One who has super-speed and that’s precisely what will interest us. In the feature film, Makkari ends up confronting Ikari and the display of his abilities and this is where we can find a connection with Dragon Ball. Super-speed is a complicated element to stage, as proven by The Flash film. But in The Eternals, Chloé Zhao does very well thanks to thoughtful staging and well-thought-out shots which make this superspeed credible and above all visually impressive and clear. Very good inspiration

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#05 – Captain Marvel (2019)

• Original title : Captain Marvel
• Duration : 2:04
• Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
• Scriptwriter : Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, Geneva Robertson-Dworet
• Director of Photography : Ben Davis
• Music : Pinar Toprak
• Actors / Actresses: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Gemma Chan, Annette Bening, Clark Gregg, Jude Law…
• Oscars : None

We finish this list of films which prove that a live-action DBZ feature film would be possible with Captain Marvel. However, it is not so much for the representation of the heroine’s powers that we recommend it, but rather for a specific point: the aura. In Dragon Ball, the aura that surrounds a character is a simple, but effective way of materializing power. For Captain Marvel, the latter often has an energy aura that gravitates around her when she uses these powers. If the film did not convince everyone, this precise point is successful enough to be a good inspiration for a DBZ film. Enough to make you feel the power of the characters, but this time in real life, with real actors.