Cowboy Bebop: The Movie - Mainstream Reviews

[SSJ_Gogeta]

These are the reviews with ratings I found from the MRQE (www.mrqe.com).
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Film Threat http://www.filmthreat.com/Reviews.asp?Id=3550 (1.5 out of 5)

"Good news is that most of the marvelous English dialogue cast from the “Cowboy Bebop” series has returned for the film. The bad news is that the heart and soul of the series hasn’t."

Austin Chronicle http://www.austinchronicle.com/gbase/Guides/Film?Film=oid%3A152877 (3 out of 5)

"Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is a lot of fun for the buck -- although a dollop of what the movie refers to as "imagination enhancers" probably wouldn't hurt things either."

Window To The Movies http://windowtothemovies.com/LV-cowboybeboptm.html (6 out of 10)

"In the end, I asked myself, "Is there anything unique about this movie because it uses the Bebop characters as opposed to average anime heroes?" Sadly, very little, I'd say."

Film Values http://www.filmvalues.com/Review.cfm?RecordID=1377 (4 out of 5)

"Based on one of the most popular TV anime series, the two-hour length of this film allows the filmmakers to explore their complex and ambiguous characters, portray the decaying, visually stunning dystopia of Alba City in loving detail, and accompany it all with an ironic, fascinating jazz score."

Anime Jump! http://www.animejump.com/cgi-bin/go.cgi?go=video/cowboybebopmovie (A)

"... it's completely unsurprising that Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (originally Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door in Japan) is tremendously entertaining, a tight, fast-paced 110-minute thrill ride with all of the same panache and style that the TV series possessed."

Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/entertainment/movies/bebop4_20030404.htm (2 out of 4)

"... just when you're on board, along comes Edward, an androgynous, googly-eyed sprite who spouts baby talk while arms flail wildly. Anime fans will tell you that characters like this are part of the genre's innocent charm; the rest of us may suffer "Pokemon" flashbacks."

TV Guide http://www.tvguide.com/movies/database/ShowMovie.asp?MI=44549 (3 out of 5)

"The brisk, engaging story has a strong undercurrent of BLADE RUNNER-esque, the animation is utterly gorgeous and the action is driven by a characteristically too-cool soundtrack that ranges from neo-rockabilly to world-music fusion and wah-wah pedal-heavy'70s-style instrumentals."

Reel.com http://www.reel.com/movie.asp?MID=137425&Tab=reviews&CID=13#tabs (3 out of 4)

"Despite these shortcomings, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is a visual delight, with animation that often surpasses that of the show. ... With so few chances to see quality anime in theaters this side of the Pacific, Japanimation lovers should definitely catch this jam."

Movie Hole http://www.moviehole.net/reviews.php?reviewid=802 (4 out of 5)

"Cowboy Bebop is an amazing cinematic experience, and an impressive display of the potential of anime. Slick action scenes, a clever plot, and a surprising soundtrack combine with the dazzling animation to thrill newcomers and seasoned Beboppers alike."

Reel Movie Critic http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/movie20033q/id1879.htm (3.5 out of 4)

"From the skillful team of artists led by director Shinichirô Watanabe, this is classic Japanese anime, updated with a complexity and story line for the new millennium."

One Guy's Opinion http://www.oneguysopinion.com/review.asp?ID=928 (B)

"Simply put, while the narrative has some nicely grotesque moments and gruesome twists, in its overall thrust it's a fairly conventional tale that might have served as the basis for an expensive live-action blockbuster. Some of the television scripts, in fact, seem rather more imaginative, and in this case the result is that at nearly two hours the film seems to run on too long. But whatever the blemishes, "Cowboy Bebop" is certainly a worthy followup to the series."

Hollywood.com http://www.hollywood.com/movies/reviews/movie/1712195 (1.5 out of 4)

"No matter how excellent the animation, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie's rote characterizations, unexciting story and way too long runtime will disappoint. Watch the Cartoon Network show instead, it's more fun."

Toronto Star http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?&pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1045094375983&call_pageid=1022183557980&col=1022183560753 (2 out of 5)

"From its Dirty Harry beginning to its Blade Runner-meets-12 Monkeys plot, this is refried beens (as in been-there, done-that), of interest only to the fanboys who thrill to the stylish nihilism of bounty hunter Spike (David Lucas) and spank monkeys to the slutty vision of his sidekick Faye (Wendee Lee)."

National Post http://www.nationalpost.com/artslife/story.html?id=9AFFB1B1-5B7E-4083-884A-2C721E60FF19 (1 out of 4)

"None of these characters is very interesting, so collectively their interactions with each other never rise above the level of *****y bantering....Moreover, as so often in movies aimed at teenage boys, the female characters exist largely to exhibit T&A fantasies....As the Star Wars series proves, there is nothing wrong with bringing anachronistic plot elements together so long as you have an overarching narrative vision....Lacking such a connecting vision, Cowboy Bebop is a clangorous and annoying mess. Rating one"
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The last 2 are very harsh on the movie. Coincidently, they are both from Canada :p.

[Aurochs]

National Post http://www.nationalpost.com/artslife/story.html?id=9AFFB1B1-5B7E-4083-884A-2C721E60FF19 (1 out of 4)

"None of these characters is very interesting, so collectively their interactions with each other never rise above the level of *****y bantering....Moreover, as so often in movies aimed at teenage boys, the female characters exist largely to exhibit T&A fantasies....As the Star Wars series proves, there is nothing wrong with bringing anachronistic plot elements together so long as you have an overarching narrative vision....Lacking such a connecting vision, Cowboy Bebop is a clangorous and annoying mess. Rating one"

I usually try to avoid the opinions of the mainstream movie reviewers, but I just have to strike back at this guy's asinine review. I assume this learned verbose almost pretentious French film critiquing terms like "T&A" and "******" when he went back for his PHD. If you actually did your job and bothered to figure out inspiration for the sources, you'll find that Faye Valentine is based off of Fujiko, which explains her Barbie-esque physical appearances, and if he bothered to actually find out more about the franchises, he'd find out that Faye Valentine actually has a deep well-routed personality, and that every other female character on that show (unlike in many other Japanese cartoons) looks like a real woman. Like I said before, Faye is a tribute to a Japanese popular culture icon. And if this shmuck has actually engaged in pop-culture before this moment, he'd realize that all of the points of inspiration for Cowboy Bebop comes from dozens of popular culture sources before the time of "teenage boys". This review is asinine and poorly written, and doesn't even explain his point of view, it's just childish rantings.

[The Drizzle]

I just got the new issue of Entertainment Weekly (April 25) and it has a review. I'll scan it and post it in a few minutes.

[painaxl]

I usually try to avoid the opinions of the mainstream movie reviewers, but I just have to strike back at this guy's asinine review. I assume this learned verbose almost pretentious French film critiquing terms like "T&A" and "******" when he went back for his PHD. If you actually did your job and bothered to figure out inspiration for the sources, you'll find that Faye Valentine is based off of Fujiko, which explains her Barbie-esque physical appearances, and if he bothered to actually find out more about the franchises, he'd find out that Faye Valentine actually has a deep well-routed personality, and that every other female character on that show (unlike in many other Japanese cartoons) looks like a real woman. Like I said before, Faye is a tribute to a Japanese popular culture icon. And if this shmuck has actually engaged in pop-culture before this moment, he'd realize that all of the points of inspiration for Cowboy Bebop comes from dozens of popular culture sources before the time of "teenage boys". This review is asinine and poorly written, and doesn't even explain his point of view, it's just childish rantings.

I'm not defending the reviewer, and I haven't seen the movie yet, but should he have to watch the series in order to understand the movie? I mean, isn't the movie supposed to be an entity in and of itself (I realize that it's not, but that's mostly what mainstream movies are). I agree, it's definitely not one of the most intelligent reviews that I've read, but remember, these aren't anime people necessarily and since it's a movie, shown publicly (albeit, sparsely), it shouldn't be judged based on the series (whether negatively or positively). Personally, I think the movie should be reviewed on its own merits and I wish someone would review it without researching it at all. It probably give a better opinion of the movie itself.

That's just me anyways...

[The Drizzle]

The Entertainment Weekly review. (http://mywebpage.netscape.com/MAXD2486/BebopReview.jpg)

[randomguy]

Wow, the Entertainment Weekly review is... peculiar. I still can't quite tell what the reviewer means at the end. Don't really care, either.

Anyhow, the reviews I've read thus far have really run the gamut. Animation fans and people who followed the series seem to have enjoyed it, while the reaction of everyone else strikes me as somewhat befuddled. I've been bothered by the tendency of many reviewers to compare it to Spirited Away, a lazy and innappropriate contrast. Oh well.

Funny thing is, all of the reviews (or at least most of them) seem to have one thing in common: they're not very good. Seriously, I have yet to read a really interesting and/or insightful review of the Cowboy Bebop movie, which seems odd to me. Filmthreat has been using the same one since BAAF (dissapointing, because they normally post several reviews of each movie), and we all agreed quite awhile ago, in a thread dedicated to the subject, that it was a poorly written disgrace, with some genuine underlying points. A lot of the reviews since then seem to have followed that pattern.

Funny that the Austin Chronicle (those of you who live in Austin know how poorly written and pretentious this alternative weekly can be) suggests that narcotics might improve the Bebop experience yet fail to make the same claim for the locally filmed Waking Life. I guess Louis Black felt too high and mighty after his cameo in said film to make said obvious observation. I don't think mind-altering substances would enhance Bebop anymore than they would for your average run of the mill action, which is to say, not at all. Narcotics are better suited for Spirited Away, for what it's worth...

[Shnay]

There's one thing I've been wondering about the Bebop movie in relation to reviews: should it be judged as a stand-alone movie, or more of an addition to the series? I haven't seen it yet, so I can't really judge. But, from the sounds of some of the reviews, it sounds like it may be the latter.

Now, these reviews are mostly poorly written and written from a bit of a ignorant perspective (like the comparissons to Spirited Away), so they are probably not a good judge of what the movie is or is not. However, with statements like "None of these characters is very interesting," maybe the movie (and it's characters) can't fairly be judged without first seeing the show. Although, any review that says "...characters is very intersting..." loses some credibility.

So, to those who have seen the movie, can it be judged as a work on it's own, or is it more of an OVA?

Oh, also, reel.com needs to realize that it's no longer 1993, and nobody uses the term "Japanimation" anymore.

[Mynd Hed]

Personally, I think a good review should address BOTH whether the movie will appeal to mainstream viewers AND whether it will appeal to followers of the series. And while they're at it, they can try NOT being totally condescending to anime fans with phrases like, "whatever it is they're getting out of the series" like one review I read. A simple, "Fans of the series will like it, but you don't like the series, the movie won't change your mind" will suffice.

[Aurochs]

I agree with randomguy, although I'm going to be harsher. Their reviews of Cowboy Bebop make them out to be the pretentious culturally illiterate non-cosmopolitans they are. Half of the reviews are vacuous chants about how "the action is awesome! It has some great action" as well as fetishization over the fact that it came from Japan, hence analogies to a completely different movie, and the other half seem to be Japanaphobic cynics that don't even bother to write a good critical review.

Now I haven't seen the Cowboy Bebop movie, so this is just a guess, but my guess is that KOHD is just a 90 minute Cowboy Bebop session, and isn't fit to stand alone as much as any other session does. Yet the American studio is trying to market it as "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie" to the point where they changed the name from "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" to "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie".

[Mynd Hed]

Yet the American studio is trying to market it as "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie" to the point where they changed the name from "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" to "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie".

The title change is not a marketing issue, it's a copyright issue because "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is also the name of a song by Bob Dylan (better known for its Guns 'n Roses cover). They changed it to avoid legal problems, not as a marketing ploy. Other than that, though, your point may be a valid one-- I wouldn't know, I haven't seen the movie yet either.

[randomguy]

The title change is not a marketing issue, it's a copyright issue because "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is also the name of a song by Bob Dylan (better known for its Guns 'n Roses cover). They changed it to avoid legal problems, not as a marketing ploy. Other than that, though, your point may be a valid one-- I wouldn't know, I haven't seen the movie yet either.

I'm pretty sure it's a marketing decision. It wasn't a problem when any of the episodes had song-inspired titles, be it by the Rolling Stones or Aerosmith or Queen. Why would it be such a problem with the movie? Besides, isn't Bob Dylan signed to Sony's label?

And, by the way, KOHD is not better known for the G&R cover. Blasphemy. If anything, it's better known for the Eric Clapton one.


So, to those who have seen the movie, can it be judged as a work on it's own, or is it more of an OVA?

Well, I wouldn't say an OVA is a fair term to use, but it can't really be judged as a standalone film. It's still a film, mind you, but it's a film that's meant to be enjoyed by those who followed and loved the series. If you don't meet that qualification, I sincerely doubt you'd enjoy it much. Spike, Faye, Ed, and Jet come into the movie with baggage that series fans are already familiar with- if you're not aware of their quirks, I doubt you'd enjoy the movie enough to reccomend it. Really, the quality that sells KOHD is the "Hey, I'm watching a Bebop movie on the big screen" feel, and if you don't get that vibe, then this is probably going to bore you.

In the end, it's pretty much the same dynamic as Tenchi Muyo in Love, any of the Lupin movies, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, or any other similiarly-themed TV adaptation.

I might as well mention here what the Austin-American Statesman had to say about it. They gave it three stars the Friday it came out, but subsequent recaps have bumped it down to two. They complemented the artwork and animation, seemed to appreciate the characters, but resented the central plot, which they said was largely too cliche and uninteresting. They also had problems with the pace, finding it too long, meandering, and dull (valid). Their final issues were with some "goofily pretentious" dialogue, a fair criticism that I can agree with (unfortunate, because stupid, pretentious dialogue is one of the anime trademarks that the series so skillfully avoided).

It's clear they weren't familiar with the series, though, because they identified Spike as a kid and Jet as his father figure, seemed to believe it took place "hundreds" of years in the future, and identified the Swordfish as the Bebop. Take that to mean what you will.

[Beat]

I feel for them. Ed is bad.

[Aurochs]

The title change is not a marketing issue, it's a copyright issue because "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is also the name of a song by Bob Dylan (better known for its Guns 'n Roses cover).

That was intentional.

[Neo-Era]

Oh, also, reel.com needs to realize that it's no longer 1993, and nobody uses the term "Japanimation" anymore.

Actually, the Japanese themselves still use the term "Japanimation" occasionally.

[ZorBrak]

When a critic says a movie sucks....it usually rocks, so there ya have it. Critics are retarded. :)

[Mynd Hed]

I'm pretty sure it's a marketing decision. It wasn't a problem when any of the episodes had song-inspired titles, be it by the Rolling Stones or Aerosmith or Queen. Why would it be such a problem with the movie? Besides, isn't Bob Dylan signed to Sony's label?

And, by the way, KOHD is not better known for the G&R cover. Blasphemy. If anything, it's better known for the Eric Clapton one.

Copyright is a thorny thing. There's a difference between episode titles of a show that 99% of copyright lawers will never see or make the connection with, and the title of a movie given a nationwide DVD release which is also the title of a VERY recognizable song. In many ways, copyright law is less about "what is it legal to use?" and more about "what can we get away with?" And for the record, American Pie had to reach an agreement with Don McLean in order to use that name.
Well, either way, it's all speculation-- neither of us really knows what was going through the heads of the folks who made the decision to change the name for the American release. But if it IS marketing, I don't see how "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie" appeals to a Western mainstream audience any more than "Cowboy Bebop: Knocking on Heaven's Door." If anything, I'd think that "CB: The Movie" would send MORE of a message that this is a movie version of something that originated in another form, which to a person who isn't familiar with the Cowboy Bebop series would indicate A.) that this is an adaptation, an of course adaptations can raise their own set of problems and B.) that this is a continuation of characters introduced in another format, meaning that someone already familiar with those characters might enjoy it more.

Oh, and I'm not saying anything about which version of the song is superior. That's for the individual listener to decide. Alls I'm saying is that if you go up to some random guy on the street and say, "Hey, have you heard Knockin' on Heaven's Door?" they'll probably say, "Yeah, I love Guns 'n Roses." That says more about the state of musical knowledge in this country than anything else. (-: