Cowboy Bebop Spoiler Free Review

Cowboy Bebop Spoiler Free Review:

This is my review for Netflix’s Live-Action Adaptation of Cowboy Bebop based on the beloved and popular anime. Which I also think is the representation of how to make a good Neo Noir Narrative. Now, this will be my spoiler-free review and as for *Spoilers* I may or may not do a review with that version coming up after I’ve done this review.

Story:

First, let’s talk about the story. The story is like the original anime, except instead of it being 26 episodes, its story is told in 10 episodes, with the run time being an hour each. The characters do indeed go after bounties, however, though it's only done so that each episode is connected and has something to do, which is going forward with the episodes. When the showrunner had mentioned that the Live Action won’t be a 1-to-1 remake but instead more adding things like canon, I then saw and understood what he meant by that. They tried to expand things so that plot is explained even more, which I thought it wasn’t necessary. It does give out the theme and symbolism of what cowboy bebop is. In a Neo-Noir western set in the future, there is a lot of galactic stuff. However though, I thought there were times, it felt like a copy and paste in a way, which in some episodes was exactly how it was. While in others it felt like the showrunner decided to expand things that were never explained in the anime. Which, was explained but through implications of flashbacks with the characters. I was also hoping that they would go really deep as the anime did with an exploration of the past and what they’re all running from it so that it would all connect.

Cinematography:

Looking at the cinematography, I couldn’t help it, but it reminded me a lot of the Speed Racer movie from 2007, the show does this thing where it mixes things and it makes it feel like it's some sort of 70s cinematography with specific colors like purple or blue. And although at times it felt cheap and low budget, I somehow got the anime vibe anyways. It also gave out this campy feel, there is no way to explain it. But that’s what I got from it.

Choreography: In the original anime, the fight sequences were so smooth. The way it would simply just focus on the characters fighting with no cuts/quick cuts. In the live-action, there are times when this felt like some early 2000’s show where the cameraman would be having a seizure all the time. There are great camera movement moments though. However, for instance, there’s a scene where the camera would spin around or there would be a one-shot fight scene but only for less than a minute. In one of the last couple of episodes, there’s a fight scene with one of the main characters where it’s all one shot, like in the film Old Boy where the camera would only focus on one scene while the character would fight off enemies. Now another thing I will say is, as an anime watcher and someone who loves cowboy bebop so much, there is one fight sequence I thought was accurate to a specific episode, I won’t get into detail on which episode it is exactly, but I’m sure you all will understand what I mean by that.

Characters:

The characters in the show are of course portrayed by the actors John Cho as Spike Spiegel, Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine, and Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black. Alongside Alex Hassel as Vicious and Elena Saltine as Julia.

Let’s firstly talk about John Cho as Spike Spiegel:

I thought John Cho nailed Spike Spiegel very well in terms of how it was written for him through the Live Action form. He walks, acts, and has the movement like Spike does in the anime. A badass cowboy who is Laid Back and doesn’t have any problems, except for his past. It was in the first episode of the Live action adaptation I was able to say to myself “Wow, this is Spike in real life”. But it wasn’t until maybe after 2-3 episodes, he felt out of place. Although I have no problem with the casting of John Cho as the character, the thing that the adaption to serve justice for Spike Spiegel was suffering from dialogue and script writing. It felt stiff, and awkward at times and it stayed there throughout the episodes. There are memorable moments with John Cho’s portrayal of Spike, and I must admit it wasn’t bad. It was just simply decent.

Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine:

This was something I was afraid of when it comes to portraying the character. In the anime, to me Faye is ready to tackle anything, doing everything in her power to survive. She’s strong, finds her way to get under people’s necks to get what she wants, etc. I’ve always seen her as if she’s like the sibling of the spike but her personality is different but somehow on the same scale and that’s something I don’t have any problem with but in the Live Action Adaption, it was like as if the writers decided to make her someone who isn’t exactly close to being so mature but clumsy and her being annoying. The actress did a fine job in that role, but it was the script and the way the character was written for her. It felt more like she was the little sister to both Spike and Jet, wanting to be involved and making sure she doesn’t feel left out rather than being mature and just going off to do her own thing or be there with them. But I hope there is room for her to develop and become the character we know from the anime with a better direction of script and writing.

Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black:

was by far one of the greatest choices ever. He does such a great job and most of the time my eye was always on him. Whenever he was on screen, I could simply hear the same Jet Black from the Anime. The movement, the grunts, mannerisms. And as mentioned, although the script and dialogue for this show needed work, Mustafa just shatters expectations. Yes, there are slight changes, but that doesn’t change the fact that he did a great job. There is one episode In the series that fans of the anime will recognize and it’s all centered on jet black and the way it was directed, it reminded me so much of 70’s Noir mystery, all grounded and just back to basics where it would make you question stuff.

Alex Hassel as Vicious:

I honestly don’t know what to say other than knowing that they did Vicious so dirty. Vicious in the anime is so scary, his appearance and presence almost make you feel scared for your life. I’ve always seen vicious as this opposite figure to spike, strong, ruthless, scary, etc. in the live-action adaption they just do him so differently. It's sort of the same thing on why he dislikes spike, but they’ve added things onto that as if it wasn’t implied already in the anime on why he does certain things. No hate to Alex Hassel as Vicious, I felt like it was spot-on casting. But the portrayal of character wasn’t done right. We do get the fan-favorite moment between Spike and Vicious, but it doesn’t save the acting from Alex’s portrayal. I also think he would’ve been fine with an American accent, using the normal British accent felt out of place.

Elena Saltine as Julia: She was cringe af and there was no need for her to have a role extended.

If you thought that was the end of me speaking about the characters, you’re completely wrong. There is one last character that appears. The actor is perfect and spot on casting. But the way they were introduced, it could’ve been slightly different and similar to the anime rather than leaving it in a place wanting more.

Final Thoughts

To end my review, ill be going through the pros and Cons list along with my rating of the show and if everyone should check It out or not:

Final rating:

6.7/10.

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