Terrorists blow up a tanker truck on a crowded city highway, spreading a deadly bio-weapon...and that's just their warm-up. Don't worry--this isn't breaking news, it's just the movie version of the anime import TV series that airs on the Cartoon Network. The "cowboys" are a band of bounty hunters--seemingly the only effective law enforcement on urban Mars in 2071, where corporate interests rule even the cops--and the large reward posted for the capture of the terrorists entices Spike Spiegel (the voice of Steven Jay Blum) and Faye Valentine (the voice of Wendee Lee) and their forever-broke gang to join the hunt. Not that I quite grasped all that from the movie itself--this is a bewildering introduction to the world of CB, particularly for an anime neophyte like myself, but an enjoyable one nevertheless. Studiously ignoring Faye's absurd Barbie-esque figure and highly impractical wardrobe, as well as Spike's noirishly portentous voiceovers, I just relaxed and enjoyed the clever animation (the "old Western" at the drive-in was particularly amusing) and the intriguing world of Alba City: a little Paris, a little London, a lot Hong Kong, a lot New York. Director Shinichirô Watanabe and his animators so brilliantly capture the chaos and the urgency of city life that I can forgive the outta-nowhere Star Wars air-combat scene toward the end. But I still have to ask: Why is that genius computer hacker girl named "Edward"? Optional. [Note: DVD extras include six featurettes on topics such as the adaptation from small to big screen, international appeal, and four main characters (each about five to seven minutes in length), storyboard comparisons for four scenes, text bios/profiles of five characters, five conceptual art galleries (on characters, aircrafts, automobiles, monorail, and accessories), the music videos “Ask DNA” and “Gotta Knock a Little Harder,” and trailers. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a solid anime.] (M. Johanson)
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
Columbia TriStar, 114 min., in English and Japanese w/English subtitles, R, DVD: $26.95, June 24 Volume 18, Issue 4
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
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As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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