Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
3.5/4
Starring (voices): Steve Blum, Beau Billinslea, Wendee Lee, Melissa Fahn, Jennifer Hale, Daran Norris
Rated R for Some Violent Images
For the longest time, I was extremely anti-anime. I hated it as much as I hated Wes Anderson. With crappy animation, lame stories and cringe-inducing dialogue and voice acting, stuff like "Dragonball Z" was not something I enjoyed. That all changed in high school, when one of my friends got tired of me associating real anime with the crap on Cartoon Network (which, by the way, he hated just as much as I did) and dragged me to his Japanese Pop Culture club at school. There, I saw the TV show "InuYasha," and my eyes were opened. I'm not a die hard, but I'm just as willing to see anime movies as any other kind. I was fortunate that my friend did this for me; if he hadn't, I wouldn't have discovered Hayao Miyazaki or this under-the-radar gem.
Unlike most movies mad from TV shows, "Cowboy Bebop" the movie is separate from its source. It's a stand-alone movie that fits in-between two episodes of the show (episodes 22 and 23 to be exact). But you don't have to be a fan of the show to enjoy this movie. I wasn't before I saw the movie, and I still haven't seen the show.
"Cowboy Bebop" details the exploits of four bounty hunters about 250 years from now. They are: Spike (Blum), an instinctive and impulsive layabout who takes nothing seriously, Jet (Billingslea) a "strategist" ex-cop, Faye (Lee), the busty girl who doesn't care about anyone except herself, and Ed (Fahn) the loopy little girl with a savant-like ability for computers.
When Faye is tracking down a minor mark, a computer hacker by the name of Lee Sampson (Dave Wittenburg), a truck explodes on the freeway, killing dozens and unleashing a mysterious toxin. With a record bounty being offered, the four are on the case. It isn't long before they get tangled into something that involves corporate conspiracy, terrorism and high level cover-ups.
The voice acting is solid, although Miyazaki's movies do this a lot better (to be fair, they use big stars with bigger budgets). Steve Blum nails the part of carefree Spike. He's a low-key free spirit, and Blum understands the concept of comic timing. Wendee Lee is amusing the superficial Faye; there are a few jokes at her expense, and they're pretty funny. And Melissa Fahn is delightful as the odd-duck Edward. The character could have been irritating, but Fahn is good enough that the character never becomes grating. The weak link is Beau Billingslea. He's one of those generic anime voices where even when he talks softly, he seems to be screaming.
The story is also intelligent. It contains a few nice philosophical ruminations on the nature of life and death, that while intriguing, never let the film descend into arthouse psychobabble. This is great entertainment at its best.
It also has a great villain. I'm not going to say who it is, because discovering that is part of the fun (although it's not really a twist), but I will say that he is creepy. He's a conscienceless monster with a sad past, and is intent on taking the whole world down with him.
The action scenes are great (although I'm kind of surprised at the R rating...it should be a hard PG-13), and the film is well-paced. Not entirely immune from plotholes, but it is a great ride. Oh, and the soundtrack rocks.
Starring (voices): Steve Blum, Beau Billinslea, Wendee Lee, Melissa Fahn, Jennifer Hale, Daran Norris
Rated R for Some Violent Images
For the longest time, I was extremely anti-anime. I hated it as much as I hated Wes Anderson. With crappy animation, lame stories and cringe-inducing dialogue and voice acting, stuff like "Dragonball Z" was not something I enjoyed. That all changed in high school, when one of my friends got tired of me associating real anime with the crap on Cartoon Network (which, by the way, he hated just as much as I did) and dragged me to his Japanese Pop Culture club at school. There, I saw the TV show "InuYasha," and my eyes were opened. I'm not a die hard, but I'm just as willing to see anime movies as any other kind. I was fortunate that my friend did this for me; if he hadn't, I wouldn't have discovered Hayao Miyazaki or this under-the-radar gem.
Unlike most movies mad from TV shows, "Cowboy Bebop" the movie is separate from its source. It's a stand-alone movie that fits in-between two episodes of the show (episodes 22 and 23 to be exact). But you don't have to be a fan of the show to enjoy this movie. I wasn't before I saw the movie, and I still haven't seen the show.
"Cowboy Bebop" details the exploits of four bounty hunters about 250 years from now. They are: Spike (Blum), an instinctive and impulsive layabout who takes nothing seriously, Jet (Billingslea) a "strategist" ex-cop, Faye (Lee), the busty girl who doesn't care about anyone except herself, and Ed (Fahn) the loopy little girl with a savant-like ability for computers.
When Faye is tracking down a minor mark, a computer hacker by the name of Lee Sampson (Dave Wittenburg), a truck explodes on the freeway, killing dozens and unleashing a mysterious toxin. With a record bounty being offered, the four are on the case. It isn't long before they get tangled into something that involves corporate conspiracy, terrorism and high level cover-ups.
The voice acting is solid, although Miyazaki's movies do this a lot better (to be fair, they use big stars with bigger budgets). Steve Blum nails the part of carefree Spike. He's a low-key free spirit, and Blum understands the concept of comic timing. Wendee Lee is amusing the superficial Faye; there are a few jokes at her expense, and they're pretty funny. And Melissa Fahn is delightful as the odd-duck Edward. The character could have been irritating, but Fahn is good enough that the character never becomes grating. The weak link is Beau Billingslea. He's one of those generic anime voices where even when he talks softly, he seems to be screaming.
The story is also intelligent. It contains a few nice philosophical ruminations on the nature of life and death, that while intriguing, never let the film descend into arthouse psychobabble. This is great entertainment at its best.
It also has a great villain. I'm not going to say who it is, because discovering that is part of the fun (although it's not really a twist), but I will say that he is creepy. He's a conscienceless monster with a sad past, and is intent on taking the whole world down with him.
The action scenes are great (although I'm kind of surprised at the R rating...it should be a hard PG-13), and the film is well-paced. Not entirely immune from plotholes, but it is a great ride. Oh, and the soundtrack rocks.
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