The Japanese science fiction anime “Cowboy Bebop” is a 1998 twenty-six episode television series which takes place on Mars in the year 2071. Highly acclaimed and popular in the West, it's about the adventures of a bunch of bounty hunters who fly around in the spaceship named “Bebop”. The aspect of connecting with one's past, loneliness and lost is a reoccurring theme through the series. Furthermore, thanks to the amazing jazz soundtrack and action sequences, this is a memorable production indeed.
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In 2001, “Cowboy Bebop: Knockin on Heaven's Door” hits the big screen with more action and a bigger budget, however, it's internationally known as “Cowboy Bebop: the Movie”, a full length feature film set near the end of the original series concerning a terrorist releasing a deadly virus on Mars. The reward for capturing him in is too tempting for our favorite bounty hunters to refuse and thus the hunt begins in another high adventure presented in glorious widescreen.
A convenience store shootout starts the movie off nicely ,as we get to see Spike Spiegel (voice by Koichi Yamadera) and Jet Black (Unsho Ishizuka) casually apprehending the robbers in style. Elsewhere, Faye Valentine (Megumi Hayashibara) is on the tail on a hacker and all of them are just bounty hunters doing their jobs. Edward Wong (Aoi Tada) is a fun, happy go lucky computer genius who talks in such a way as if he's singing. All of these characters are loners with background they rather forget but they somehow form a unique family unit and care for each other. Nevertheless, it's not necessarily a must to watch the television series first as the story here is self-contained.
New addition Vincent Volaju (Tsutomu Isobe) is a victim of a medical experiment, a sad human without a past, but a character with depth. He's also highly trained in combat; after escaping from Titan, he now harbors the evil motivations of blowing up and infects Mars and causing genocide with his stolen bio weapon. He's certainly a great antagonist for the Bebop crew to interact with. The carnage he brings is apocalyptic in proportion not seen in the anime series; then again everything in this movie is much larger in scale, as the action that seems more stark and brutal.
Electra Ovilo (Ai Kobayashi) works for the Cherious Medical which has connection to terrorist Vincent whom she shares a bit of history with and besides, it seems they both are immune to the virus that he's releasing. During his investigation, Spike runs into Electra and they get into a brawl which turns out to be one of the movie's action highlights. Featuring Spike using a broom against her bare hand attacks, it's so well-choreographed that I'm sure Jackie Chan would approve. Another great action set-piece is the tense shootout between Spike and Vincent in a monorail.
Anyone who has seen the “Cowboy Bebop” TV series will remember the amazing soundtrack, which is an excellent blend of jazz and blues composed by the renowned Yoko Kanno. Well, she's back with her band “Seatbelts” to give us more of her epic repertoire and catchy tunes. This is definitely a highlight, a character itself and a memorable experience for all viewers.
Thanks to the highly detailed animation from Toshihiro Kawamoto and his team, colonized Mars looks amazing and breathing with life. Its bustling city streets, ghettos, markets and even the industrial wastes all look remarkable.
Populate with fun characters, “Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door” is a must-see even if one is not familiar with the original series. The soundtrack will certainly get your foot tapping; the action sets are excellent, furthermore, the visuals will take your breath away. Chances are, after watching this incredible space adventure masterpiece, viewers will want more and be motivated to check out the TV series. Yes it's that good.
