Soundtrack Review: Dragonball Evolution (2009)
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This is a review of the motion picture score for Dragonball Evolution by Brian Tyler.
“It’s another big notch on Brian Tyler’s belt of great scores. It’s not Harry Potter, but it’s something everyone should listen to and enjoy.”
Was I the only one who almost fell out of the chair when Brian Tyler said that this score would be like action rendition of Harry Potter? I mean, Harry Potter and Brian Tyler!? It couldn’t possibly work. Still as the CD was finally with me, I couldn’t care less. I knew it was Brian Tyler’s latest score and that was enough to get me excited. This is of course the first live action movie version of the anime/manga series Dragon Ball. It’s being cursed by the true Dragonball fans. Me? I have barely read the manga, so I am open to the idea of the movie. Without further ado, let’s see what Tyler has in store for us.
Track List
- The Legend (*****)
- Dragonball Evolution (*****)
- Fulums (****)
- Kaiou Samma (****)
- Goku (*****)
- Gohan’s Special Gift (***)
- Master Roshi (*****)
- The Journey Begins (****)
- Lighting The Torches (****)
- Vengeance (*****)
- Chasing Dragonballs (*****)
- Lord Piccolo (***)
- Mai Vs Chi Chi (*****)
- A Higher Calling (***)
- Body Work (*****)
- I Dream Of Chi Chi (***)
- Grime Vinyl (*****)
- Unwelcome Strangers (****)
- Bulma And Yamcha (***)
- Things To Come (***)
- Battle (*****)
- End Game (****)
- Dragonball Evolution Main Titles (*****)
Pushing Buttons
Brian Tyler knows how to push those buttons, the emotional buttons that is. It’s hard to explain exactly what he does so well as taste is very subjective. For me he brings somewthing to the table. It’s like the cool neighbor kid who brings over the cool DVD movie to watch or an awesome PS3 game. Yes I was really curious about this score. I was wondering if it sounded like any earlier Brian Tyler scores or if it was something brand new. I wasn’t too surprised to find out that it was a little of both and that’s a very good thing. When I want Brian Tyler, I need Brian Tyler and he certainly delivers that, but there’s also elements of something I haven’t heard much in recent Tyler scores.
Already in the cue ‘The Legend’ I got a little taste of ‘Huh, really Mr. Tyler?”. It does actually sound a little Harry Potter-ish, but more grand and more adventurous. In the second ‘Dragonball Evolution’ cue you get a little bigger piece of the puzzle with more adventurous sound and also a taste of pure Brian Tyler action scoring. I have to tell you that this score sounds more orchestral than for example Eagle Eye and Bangkok Dangerous. It’s orchestral level is perhaps unusually high for Brian Tyler, and I like it a lot. In ‘Dragonball Evolution‘ we also hear the main theme which is a 8 tone motif that sounds a little doomsday-ish to me, and it’s very nice.¨
Bangkok Dangerous
Brian Tyler does something a lot of people don’t like with the cue ‘Goku‘. He takes the sound of Bangkok Dangerous and put it in here like he has no shame. Don’t be ashamed Mr. Tyler! If it works, it works, and it certainly works here. Anyway it’s only for the beginning of this cue which is a great action cue. ‘Master Roshi‘ is another great cue. It’s actually 2 cues in one. The first 2 minutes and 34 seconds are just a great ambient sounding theme which plays off the main theme. At 2 minutes and 35 seconds in it’s suddenly a different cue with some rock percussion and a rock guitar playing as the main instrument. It lasts for a little while and it all ends in an adventurous action theme. There’s certainly enough material here to make adventure score lovers happy and also the fans of Brian Tyler style scoring. ‘Vengeance‘ for example mixes adventure with action in a great way.
Mostly Orchestral
I mentioned earlier that it is mostly orchestral music, but there are a couple of noteable exceptions. ‘Chasing Dragonballs’, ‘Body Work’ and ‘Grime Vinyl’ are definitely not orchestral, but rather a mix of rock and hip hop mixed together. It’s 3 great cues which breaks up the score quite nicely. I would say it’s perfect timing. It sounds great and perhaps strangely doesn’t feel too out of place.
The signature cue on Dragonball Evolution has to be ‘Battle‘ which is a 6 minutes and 20 seconds long cue that has it all. It’s mostly an action cue, but there is real depth here. I would say it’s 6 minutes well spent as it has the main theme, great action pieces in here that sounds very Jerry Goldsmith-ish at times by the way. Then there’s the adventure parts as well. All in all, the best cue on the score. It all ends in great fashion with the action cue ‘Dragonball Evolution Main Titles’
Conclusion
What can I say? It’s another big notch on Brian Tyler’s belt of great scores. It’s not Harry Potter, but it’s something everyone should listen to and enjoy. It has great action scoring, great adventure scoring and even has a few great rock and hip hop sounding cues. It is not Tyler’s best, but it’s another great score!
Listen to Dragonball Evolution by Brian Tyler below:
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Comments
I like this score. The action is up to Tyler’s normally good standards. However, there’s a few problems in my book. First, it lacks a true identity. All of Tyler’s action works of yesteryear had those, whether Rambo’s brutality, Bangkok Dangerous’s retro cool, or Eagle Eye’s rampaging energy. That wasn’t here. Second, one of its heroic themes (prominently heard in “The Journey Begins”) owes a huge debt of gratitude to the main theme from Children of Dune. Third, the rock tracks are jarring the first time you listen to it. They aren’t necessarily poor, but they don’t mesh with the rest of the material. These cues could’ve worked better in, say, Bangkok Dangerous or Tokyo Drift where the style was more suited for them. They probably work fine in whatever scene they’re placed in, but they disrupt the album’s cohesion. Still, a good listen.
7/10
PS The star rating system isn’t operational on this review.
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
March 30th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Star system is back. thanks for notifying me! There’s problems alright, that’s why it didn’t get top score. Like you said, a good listen and in my case a very good listen.
I haven’t yet seen the movie, but I honestly think they should have used a sound similar to the animated series. Although, they are not using the same storyline. It would probably have the DBZ nerds (me & my hubby & others) entranced. Because it’s familiar. Or maybe just powering it up with electric guitar, synthesizer, and a kick a$$ bass line would be more efficient.
“This is of course the live action movie version of the anime by the same name.”
The above statement is wrong.
The animes/mangas are named Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT and not Dragonball Evolution.
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
May 15th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
semantics, but you are technically correct. There is no Anime with that exact name so I’ve changed it a bit.
Thanks!
Soundtrack Seek
Honestly I wasn’t so impressed by this one and I skipped it, to me it sounds like a Rambo and AVP and Eagle Eye combined together
I think F&F pieces are more interesting and promising, Brian is really good in trancey techno beats, but with the orchestra he uses all the same: build-ups, really basic brass strings and loud percussion. Maybe it’s good for the movie, but is very dull apart.
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