![]() Here we have a man so detached from reality as to be unable to discern between it and dreaming. Thankfully, what we get is far more low-key and understated. With Vincent, the portrayal of his insanity could have easily been mishandled with hammy antics. Of the various new characters featured, the ones who matter are Vincent (the above-mentioned ex-soldier) and Electra (one of Vincent’s former squad mates who works security at the pharmaceutical company). In particular, scenes like the one where Jet meets with his police contact Bob are far less superficial than my memory had painted them. There are a couple of iffy moments, such as how Spike’s legwork montage comes across as something of a handwave for the sake of advancing the plot. ![]() Watching it again, it holds together a lot better than I recall. As the crew digs deeper, they find themselves mixing with a sketchy pharmaceutical company, the nanotech weapon they’ve developed, and a mentally unstable ex-soldier who has gotten ahold of it and intends to release it on Halloween for a particularly nasty trick. To encourage the apprehension of the culprit, the government offers an unprecedented three hundred million woolong bounty, an amount that might put a dent in Faye’s crippling gambling debts. An opportunity to improve their fortunes occurs when a tanker truck in the city where they’re currently docked explodes and spreads what appears to be an unidentified biological agent. There also isn’t much need here for complex backstory, meaning it’s unnecessary to shovel on massive gobs of awkward exposition to get the newbies up to speed.Īs per usual, the crew of the Bebop are low on cash and subsisting on instant ramen. As I noted earlier, Cowboy Bebop is at its best doing standalones. Along with a following scene in which the twosome are playing shogi, it firmly establishes in an unobtrusive way that Spike is the Martin Riggs to Jet’s Roger Murtaugh.įrom this point, it plays out rather like an episode of the show, though with higher stakes. In this respect, the movie gets off to a good start by introducing bounty hunters Spike Spiegel and Jet Black as they collar some hoodlums during the prologue. However, the chief drawback is that viewers know the core characters will never be in genuine peril. The obvious advantage is that it can appeal to both the established fanbase and newbies, especially if the exposition is handled in a deft fashion. ![]() But probably the most common are the sidequest movies, which take place at some point in the show’s narrative. There are the ones that serve as an epilogue to the series, as Conqueror of Shamballa did for Fullmetal Alchemist. There are those that completely reimagine the storyline of the series, like that Gawdawful Escaflowne movie. There are the prequels featuring events from before the series proper, such as the first four movies in the Slayers franchise. These sorts of adaptations come in four broad categories. However, before you go off and binge away, let’s look back at the theatrical release film from 2001.īut before we get into that, a little primer on TV anime in movie form. So I guess it would be inevitable that the showrunners would zero in on that aspect. But in today’s streaming television landscape, multi-episode narratives have become the norm. The ones that delved into Spike’s past with Vicious and Julia had some of the most tedious and cliché storytelling. In my experience, Cowboy Bebop was at its best in the standalone episodes. Though I enjoyed the original series, this reimagining gives the impression that it’ll focus on the Spike/Vicious/Julia background. Sitting Duck’s review: Some of you may have heard that a live action version of Cowboy Bebop is scheduled to premiere on Netflix this month. Sitting Duck’s rating: Two-and-a-half out of four space cowboys. “Man shouldn’t have to live on carbohydrates alone, complex or otherwise.” ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |