Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001)


Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001)

Director: Shinichiro Watanabe, Hiroyuki Okiura, Tensai Okamura

My exploration of anime films continues and this time I tackle Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, an anime film that always pops up as the ones that “you gotta see” so I decided to finally give it a spin. The trailers for this film called it “Today’s hottest kind of cool” and a “gritty futuristic thrill ride that definitely delivers the goods” so of course my curiosity was sparked. My only concern was that I had never seen the series that the film is based on, so I was sort of going into this movie naked, not knowing anything about what the world of Cowboy Bebop was all about. But then I learned that the film was designed so that newbies like me and fans of the show could enjoy the film alike. I’m sure I’ll enjoy this film a bit more after I’ve seen the entire show, but I like watching anime films perse, so I decided to watch it even though I have not seen the show. Still, just in case you’re interested, this film takes place between episodes 22 and 23 of the show. So, how was my first dip into the world of Cowboy Bebop?


The story for this film is fairly simple, a terrorist named Vincent wants to destroy the world via a virus he wants to set lose upon the world on Halloween Night. The government puts a hefty bounty on the head of the terrorist, so of course, Spike and his crew of bounty hunters decide to go after the guy, so they can cash in all those millions. Problem is that Vincent has gone into hiding, and Halloween night just keeps getting ever so close! How will they stop the terrorist attack from ever happening? As you can see, the story is nothing complex, a weakness of this film in my opinion, I was expecting a bit more. Thankfully, the visuals are top notch as is the animation. 


Now taking in consideration that I knew nothing of the concept behind Cowboy Bebop save for the fact that it was a beloved series, I’d say that I grasped the concept behind the whole thing pretty quickly. The idea is that these are a group of Bounty Hunters who are always looking for new bounties in order to make money, the idea being that they are only in it for the money. They aren’t cops or detectives or anything of the sort, they just do these missions for the money, hence the tag line for the film “They are going to save the world, but not for free!” Spike Spiegel is the leader, he’s you’re a-typical “cool dude” always posing, saying cool things, smoking his cigs. Oh and he’s good at martial arts at well! Then we have Jet Black, the aged tough guy/father figure who owns the spaceship they fly called ‘The Bebop’. Faye Valentine, the sexy chick who used to be a bounty but now forms part of the group, Ed who is a computer whiz and is always getting them all the info they need during their missions and finally, Ein a dog with human intelligence who’s also a genius at chess. 


But of course, me being a Cowboy Bebop rookie, some elements of the story flew right by me, for example, I didn’t exactly grasp the idea that the whole film takes place in Mars because humanity had to flee from earth. Humanity has spread itself throughout different planets because of this. The year wasn’t clear either. In fact, to me the movie simply takes place in a strange amalgamation between New York City, France and the Middle East. So of course, not having seen the show will put you at a small disadvantage, but not enough of a disadvantage that you won’t be able to enjoy the film. The whole film starts like you are walking into the middle of a film already in progress; I actually liked the fact that the film wasn’t spelling things out for the viewers. You have to sort of figure things out on your own and get on the bandwagon and I liked that about this film. From what I hear the show is structured in the same way. So the film doesn’t treet its viewers like idiots, a cool thing. Also, this is an animated film that’s rated ‘R’, so it has profanity, nudity, guns, violence, the works. So cool, an anime film entirely directed towards adults.


So with all these cool things going for it, why did I end up feeling underwhelmed? Not saying that it’s a bad film, it has some great things about it, and actually, I feel that I need to watch it a few more times to truly grasp the thing, but at first glance I felt the film was in need of a bit more action. As it is, the film has some cool action scenes, like for example the one that takes place on a train, which was awesome. There’s also a climactic spaceship chase sequence that I enjoyed, but in my opinion it needed a bit more than that. I think the big draw of the film is more the chemistry between the characters, but for a show with emphasis on gun play and fights, the film might have needed a bit more of that, or maybe editing a bit of the melodrama to make the pacing a little quicker. But I will say that when the action starts, it’s pretty cool. The animation, the angles chosen by the director and animators, I loved all that stuff because that’s what I love seeing in animation, things that aren’t done often in live action films. I was kind of saddened to hear that the show has a lot more space adventure in it, because sadly characters do not go into space on this film. I love sci-fi films that take place in space, so that would have added a whole other level of cool, but alas, that never came to be, a missed opportunity in my book. Still, we do get cool spaceships and I always enjoy those, even if they aren’t flying around in space. Actually, Spike has this whole scene that’s a chase as he drives this cool little spaceship (called The Swordfish II) which was pretty cool stuff, love the design work on this film.


Hollywood has shown interest in making a Cowboy Bebop live action film but its taking a while to lift off.  Shinichiro Watanabe, the creator of Cowboy Bebop assures us that its happening, but that it’s all very secret and hush-hush. At one point Keanu Reeves was going to play the role of Spike, sadly the project has been in development hell for so long that Keanu now feels that he is “too old” to play Spike, so he turned down the project. While it’s true that Keanu at one point would’ve been perfect for it, he actually looks a bit like Spike, I agree, too much time has elapsed and maybe the film would benefit from having a younger actor play the role of Spike. Keanu also stated that the film would cost a fortune to make, so maybe that's holding it back a bit as well, similar to how the live action Akira film is being held back for the same reason. But one thing’s for sure, I would love to see a live action Cowboy Bebop movie. In the meanwhile, you got the show (which I hear is better than the actual film) and this film to quench your thirst for Cowboy Bebops special brand of “Jazzy” action, just remember that its manufactured for fans of the show, newbies might feel just a little bit lost, still there’s fun to be had if you decide to take the plunge.

Rating:  3 out of 5 


     

8 comments:

Richard of DM said...

While I really enjoy the movie, I highly recommend you give the show a spin. It's a lot of fun.

Franco Macabro said...

I will! The film really sparked my interest in checking out the series, it looks like a lot of fun. I did enjoy the film, but for some reason thought it was going to be more spectacular somehow. Still, it has its moments that are awesome, and I liked the villain and the fact that the last moments took place during Halloween. Interesting how the films release was delayed in the states because of Sept. 11 and the films terrorism themes.

Sergei Kolobashkin said...

I haven't seen the show on the original run. My friend was a big fan and recommended me to start with the movie. To be honest, I dropped it in the middle and wasn't really interested in watching it again, until I saw the show. I bought a UMD with a handful of episodes in the airport and watched it during the flight I took from Paris to Moscow. I gotta say, that the show blew me away. Unfortunately it was almost impossible to find other episodes in Russia even on DVD, so I ordered a premium box set from eBay. Since then Cowboy Bebop became my favorite anime. I watched the series many times and every time it feels fresh. I envy people, that haven't seen the show yet. When I came back to the movie after watching the show several times, I wasn't impressed. The story was okay, but not like the stories from the show. The drama was forced and the characters seemed to be a bleached versions of their former selves. I highly recommend you to watch the show. It's only 5-6 hours long, but awesome as hell.

Franco Macabro said...

Thanks for the recommendation Sergei, I will certainly be purchasing it! The movie was a tough watch for me, I stopped watching it a few times, I finished seeing it because i wanted to see what the big deal was all about. A lot of people, even fans where underwhelmed by the film, it's well made and has good production values, but it needed a little more. Looking forward to seeing that show!

SFF said...

Fran

I think your overall score for this film is spot on. I didn't love it. I think it looks terrific. I think the animation for both the film and the series is exceptional overall.

Cowboy Bebop is one of those TV Series that is perennially considered one of the best, perhaps even Top 10. It's not for me.

I actually viewed and covered the series myself on my site some time ago Fran and to be honest I liked the show, which included some outstanding episodes, but I did not love it. It may be more up your alley.

I think your review of the film genuinely captures my own assessment. It could have been better. I even think Sergei's comments are quite fair and true as well.

I've thought about giving it another go soon since it was released on Blu-Ray in 2014. It will likely look amazing when you watch it. But, overall the series was a little uneven for me. It's not among my favorites.

I'm also coming at this comment having seen the TV series first followed by the film. The film didn't change my overall opinion of the series, but I can certainly see where it would have a good many fans and deservedly so.

Cheers
sff

Franco Macabro said...

Actually, I remember reading your review for the movie a couple of years ago! It got me excited to see it, cause honestly, I'd always been really curious about Cowboy Bebop. Well, the time has finally come to know all about this series.

I think the film could have done a better job of introducing the whole world of Cowboy Bebop to the masses, they say its made for everyone, but I felt like it was made more for the fans who are already familiar with the series. When making a film which will be introduced to a bigger audience, you have to introduce the characters and the world to the people who've never seen it, or else they will feel slightly lost.

I'd love to see that live action movie happen, the entire concept of the series lends itself for a cool sci-fi action/adventure, lets see if it ever gets made.

SFF said...

I couldn't agree more Fran. I think a live action adaptation would be very cool to see.

I also agree that the series is worth your time and absolutely delves into the characters much better than the film has time to do.

I do want to watch it again. So much anime so little time.

Franco Macabro said...

Agree, the world of anime is vast and wondrous!

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