Genres: Action, Animation, Comedy, Crime, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Director: Shinichiro Watanabe
MPAA Rating: R
Runtime: 115 min
Reviewer Ranking 8.5/10
Movie Review by: John Ormson
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie had huge expectations to live up to after the near-perfect finale of the TV show Cowboy Bebop. Yet, director Shinichiro Watanabe (Samurai Champloo) made the correct decision by placing the movie in the middle of the show’s timeline and avoiding any chance of tainting the finale’s image. While this does create very little character development for the main group, it does make for a wonderful, action-packed roller coaster of a movie for fans of the show. Those who don’t know the material would do themselves a favor by watching the whole series (only 26 episodes long) and then watching the movie.
For me, the movie had a lot to live up to because Cowboy Bebop is my favorite TV show of all time. And it managed to for the most part. It doesn’t screw with any of the show’s major plot points and acts more like an extended episode. Spike Spiegel (Steven Blum, The Spectacular Spiderman) is the main character, along with his partner Jet Black (Beau Billingslea, Just Jordan). Faye Valentine (Wendee Lee, Twice as Dead) is the short-fused female, and Edward (Melissa Fahn, Invader ZIM) is the eccentric computer hacker. The four bounty hunters of the spaceship “BeBop” chase after the bio-terrorist Vincent Volaju (voice actor Daran Norris, The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack), who just created a catastrophe in a big city on Mars. Along the way, they run into Electra (Jennifer Hale, The Grim Advenutures of Billy and Mandy) who is mysteriously involved with Vincent and the company that created Vincent’s explosive.
The story of Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is very straight-forward and feels much like a typical episode of the show. The crew members learn of a criminal with a giant reward for his capture, they follow up and solve the mystery, and end with an action scene to capture the bad guy. The movie doesn’t change much, but includes a lot more action to give the movie the feel of a summer blockbuster (which it was trying to be, released in August of 2002). However, whenever deep messages are trying to be delivered to the audience, they fall flat unlike the show which handled the deeper meaning with extreme care. There are also moments that will please Cowboy Bebop fans, but would confuse and turn off any new viewers.
Another very important aspect of the show is the soundtrack. Composed by Yoko Kanno (Ghost in the Shell 3) and her band “The Seatbelts,” they create a terrific score of funky jazz music. Kanno and “The Seatbelts” return for the movie, but depart from the jazzy sounds of the show and give the movie a heavier soundtrack with more guitar and electro beats, which works perfectly with the increased amount of action scenes in the movie. The opening credits song “Ask DNA” stands out as the definitive track during the movie.
Finally, the action scenes must be discussed. They may take up a majority of the movie, but they never feel overdone or annoying. Each one is very unique and has its own style and feel. The aerial dogfight is absolutely stunning, the missile trails have great lighting, and the whole fight has the beautiful backdrop of Mars’ surface. There’s also a great monorail scene as Spike and Electra have to avoid innocent casualties as they pursue Vincent. But the stand-out action scene is between Electra and Spike, as Spike infiltrates the pharmaceutical company as a janitor. After catching Electra’s eye, the two break out into a fight full of kick-ass choreography and cheesy one-liners such as “I love a girl who can kick my ass.” The action scenes in this movie feel great and, all-in-all, make the movie a more enjoyable experience.
With the wonderful score and great action scenes, accompanied by an accomplished voice acting crew, this movie is a solid expansion to the Cowboy Bebop universe. Yet it’s hard to recommend this movie to someone who doesn’t enjoy anime because it’s such an acquired taste even though this movie is among the top anime films and really deserves the recognition. So, if you enjoy anime, or are willing to try it, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is a great film to watch.
