• --
  • B-
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie | 13430__cowboy_l
QUEEN 'BEBOP' Valentine gets the point

Credits

Limited Release: Apr 04, 2003; Rated: R; Length: 116 Minutes; Genres: Action/Adventure, Animation, Sci-fi; With: Beau Billingslea and Steven Jay Blum
B-

The threat of biological and chemical terrorism is timely in Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, director Shinichiro Watanabe's big-screen translation of the popular Japanese comic books (or manga) and animated TV show, seen in the U.S. on the Cartoon Network. But the setting is Mars 2071, in an appropriately chilling, futuristic city of ultramodern technology beset by the timeless problems of a dehumanizing urban environment. In this sprawling metropolis, the ''Bebop'' crew -- three sulky, freelance bounty hunters tired of eating noodles, a weird kid, and a dog -- are lured by big reward money into the hunt for a suspect after a freeway tanker explosion kills hundreds of people.

The movie honors the affectless beauty of the original anime art and maintains the outlaw boppiness of the series concept, with its renegade protagonists who do good in spite of themselves. (Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Faye Valentine, the girl called Ed, and the dog called Ein all possess obsessively intricate back stories.) Of course, I can't say whether scholars will accept the film's inevitable ramping up of typical action-thriller showdowns to fill nearly two hours of screen time. But as a nonscholar, I appreciate all action busyness, however simplistic, because when ''Bebop'''s anime characters stand still, chirping their strangely stilted, dubbed talk and not moving their strangely blank faces, I feel lost on Mars myself.


  • Print
  • Del.icio.us
  • Google
  • StumbleUpon
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • More
 

Add Your Comments

The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject or we might delete your comment. If you see inappropriate language, e-mail us. You must have javascript enabled to submit a comment.
--
Change/Edit your grade
characters remaining