COWBOY BEBOP The movie: ‘Knockin’ On The Heaven’s Door’

Big screen required big story, big plot and big bounty. It’s all there.
So futile hunt for some desperado on some moon aroud some planet won’t do this time. It’s the capital of Mars, 2071 AD where big game is being played. All those big things required big production. Notice the masterful potrayal of Moroccan quarter – you can not do it that well unless you actually have been to Morocco. And production team really was. A bit of a culture shock for Japanese, don’t you think?

All the rest is simply Cowboy Bebop. There was absolutely no need for any changes : Keiko Nobumoto wrote script and Shiniciro Watanabe directed the film. Classic. Grace, noirish melancholy, humour, action. Plus some vitamines:
I have never seen, in any episodes of CB series, martial art fighting longer than seconds. Always someone pulls out a gun. But in the film, you will experience a couple of superfast Hong Kong action scenes. Not that I complain…

What else is different? Not their clothes, not their lack of ‘wulongs’… opening scene is very unCowboy Bebop. But it served the purpose of introducing our heros to the unenlightened… Also, Ed is a bit crazier than usual and there is no Vicious… Why? Don’t ask me… Also don’t ask me how they survived all events that happened… I have decided not to unravel anything about the plot and it’s development.
Here’s just an introduction: there’s a different bounty (rediculously high), there’s another ultra beautiful/deadly female character. The whole world is on the line and there’s a some sort of a happy-ending. Well, maybe…
Although I am alergic to Hollywood production, I survived “Knockin’ On The Heaven’s Door” without hazardous complications to my health. As I am an ultra-fan of the series, I was hoping for hardcore CB transferred to big screen. Well, it is not.

For all of you who are just getting acquainted to the world of bounty hunters, I dedicate next line or two:
Spike Spiegel and Jet Black are bounty-hunters. Joined by Faye Valentine in unlikely cooperation they pretty much always fail to collect the reward. Edward is totally whacked hacker. A girl also. Ein is a dog. Special kind of dog, cybernetic and smart. Liking each character is easy, liking them together – simple. And liking the story with all of it’s occasional wierdness ( unusual Faye’s encounters, Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV ‘s language, Jet’s cooking) and tastes of Spike’s melancholic heroism made the series highly acclaimed and successful. If you dig the sensibility of Cowboy Bebop after watching the film, find the series as well – it is better. More Cowboy Bebop.

For all of you old fans – change is not drastic, so even hardcore followers will not be offended by attempts to bring characters (and series) closer to wider audience. I even enjoyed gooood fights. And length and format, of course. Everything seemed so big…