Funnily enough, I actually watched the Cowboy Bebop Movie before I saw the TV show.
It was on a trip with a youth group a few years ago when I first saw it and I remember really enjoying the film.
I did not learn about the show the movie was based on until recently.
So, after reviewing that, I decided that it was only natural to review the movie but I wondered if it would still hold up because it had been a few years since I had seen it.
But I was glad to find that the movie was just as great as I found it be when I first watched it two years ago.
The movie apparently takes place sometime in between episodes 22 and 23 and follows bounty hunters Spike, Jet, Faye and Ed as they hunt down a terrorist with a $300 million bounty on him.
The film is very well animated and acted by its English dub cast (I have not watched the Japanese version yet), but it is the music by Yoko Kanno that really steals the show with both jazzy and haunting use of music.
One of the more interesting elements that the movie introduces is its new characters.
There is Elektra, a soldier tasked with hunting the terrorist and has a personal connection to him, Lee, a nerdy hacker who has always wanted to try being a terrorist and the terrorist himself, Vincent.
I really liked Vincent as a villain because he was really threatening, had a compelling backstory and not to mention the fact that his voice just sends chills down your spine.
Another thing I really liked about the movie was its action sequences.
Even though they were animated they were well choreographed and a joy to watch.
The fights in the show sometimes felt like they should have gone on for longer but could not because of the short run time of each episode so these extended fights were really great to see.
As for negatives, I suppose the one problem I had was that the character of Jet does not really do much fighting.
He just stands around and gives a few speeches, but that is not a huge flaw that overshadows anything.
Overall, The Cowboy Bebop Movie is fantastic.
I think I even enjoyed the movie more than I did the actual show, not to say the show was not great or anything.
I loved The Cowboy Bebop movie just as much as I did two years ago and any fan of the show should watch it.
THE REVIEW MONSTER 