Finally got around to watching this.
Let me preface this by saying that if you liked this, I'm glad for you. It most definitely is entertaining, and I can see why this would appeal to folks. I'll say that it's... a Cowboy Bebop that fits the time we're in. This isn't Dragonball Evolution levels of trash and that's a blessing. Ultimately, I can appreciate this for what it is. It's another mediocre live action adaptation of an anime.
But it's adapting Cowboy Bebop. So
of course this will get scrutiny, and rightfully so.
Aside from the dated fight choreography, poor special effects and just overall low-budget feel it carries (which is ironically the only thing that makes it feel appropriately dated to the era it's source material comes from), there's a very real... change that I think is rightfully pointed out, because it's apparent. This is a poor emulation of the story, that I feel cynically juxtaposes these 1:1 parallels to the anime with a very obvious pivot from the original tone that the anime carried. Nothing wrong with being different,
but just be different.
And be good but lol that's not always gonna happen now is it?
First off, if you're going to go for a 1:1 parallel to an incredibly stylistic anime like Cowboy Bebop, you better be damn sure your budget can meet that level of incredible style and visual appeal. There's only so much you can do in live action to meet that threshold without
incredible use of CGI, proper cinematography, directing, and vision. Which this adaption lacks. Recreating shots like the anime in live film isn't going to automatically translate that style properly; it's going to come off cheap and frankly, anachronistic. Like the 90s when film was trying to figure out how to adapt video games, comic books, and cartoons onto live action film. It's hilarious that everyone at the beginning was freaking out about the main cast which is really the least problematic issue in this series. They're good. And the adaption captures the music, certain scenes, certain conversations, and the setting of the anime but the problem is the quality. The fidelity. And how it juxtaposes these elements with additions of just... attempts of irreverent, forced, and cringey humor that simply isn't necessary.
It's called bathos, and our pop culture is
fucking saturated with it. I find it exhausting and I would argue it's become one of the fastest and most corrupting cliches I've seen in media. Fuck, Joss Whedon, lolol. And thanks to the runaway success of Marvel Disney, it's like the go-to bandaid or remedy a work will attempt to try and distract from it's weaknesses. Or maybe it's so ubiquitous and repeated by successful works, that other writers/filmmakers/etc simply don't know any better and just follow the trend. But quippy, irreverent and subversive humor in high doses, kills the mood and isn't something that should be used lightly in a work unless it's a straight comedy or parody. Eventually, it undercuts the story to the point an audience falls out of the narrative.
Cowboy Bebop certainly had comedy, and it was hilarious. But it's hilarity came from a place of authenticity. It was organic, and of course reflective of the medium it came from. Anime. It never undercut it's tone. But here?
I feel this live action adaptation tries to distract from it's obvious low budget and patchwork feel with this bathos type humor and it only just hurts it. Like, it's just so bizarre.
Not gonna comment on the other shit, because it's just so obvious. Vicious
looks like shit. And it's unforgivable. I don't know what they were thinking in his casting and new characterization but they've fucked him up. Someone as iconic and stylistic like Vicious requires the utmost care in terms of casting, characterization and writing. He's iconic and badass because of the perfect mix of badass, horror, and lethality. He's intimidating and menacing. Fuck that up and it's like a house of cards that just falls in on itself.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for giving dramatic and iconic villains more agency and screentime
*wistfully stares at Sephiroth in FFVII-R*. When it's done well. The original Vicious was a phantom. He was a menacing and horrific shark that appeared near the end and became an overwhelming force that emerged as Spike's past came back to haunt him. Now, he comes off whiny and try-hard. His new backstory just feels melodramatic and facile for who he was before. It's terrible. Not sure what they're doing with Julia. I get they're expanding these characters but, they really picked the wrong direction.
Anyways, this will appeal to some, and that's fine. I didn't expect a masterpiece. And I figured it already had an extremely high bar to try and meet given it's direction and attempt to parallel the anime. So I was willing to cut it some slack. But,
man. I really don't know
what they're trying to go for. At times it's faithful to a fault. It overreaches itself to the detriment of the overall presentation as an independent work with it's limited budget. And at other times its cringy with it's humor in a flat way. So it's like... What the fuck? Really don't know what the hell they were trying for here. No wonder it was skewered so hard. But hey, it must've done something right. And it's not all bad.
Why would anime fans not do the same, following this kind of marketing that is aimed at luring them in? This is not just homage or using the same song or referencing a scene, this is actually marketing the show as, "look, we recreated [x]".
Bring on season 2!