Anime Eiga Review: Cowboy Bebop - Knockin' on Heaven's Door

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door. Reader discretion is advised.***

Film Synopsis

The bounty hunter ship Bebop is on the trail of its latest job. As always, the unlikely crew of Spike Spiegel (voiced by Koichi Yamadera), Jet Black (Unsho Ishizuka), Faye Valentine (voiced by Megumi Hayashibara), Ed Wong (voiced by Aoi Tada), and Ein will get the job done. One way or another.

Their next bounty appears simple enough. A quick cash in and everyone can eat a decent meal for once. Right as they planned to make contact, someone they didn’t expect showed up.

Rather than some two-bit criminal, a man in black appears. Before the crew has a chance to figure out what’s going on, a massive explosion erupts. Many people lose their lives and the mysterious man disappears.

Following the incident, the government issues an unprecedented bounty for the perpetrator. With their interest peaked, the Bebop jumps into action.

Little do they realize they have entered a crisis unlike any they have ever been in. The person at large isn't looking for money or power. Should they achieve their goal, it could result in the death of every single person on the planet.

Film Positives

Pop quiz. For my long, long, long time readers, did I recommend Cowboy Bebop? What was it, review number ten? For those newer to the site, you can try too.

Spike

If you’re still thinking, stop. Of course, I did. If this were a class, Cowboy Bebop would be required material. I say that while acknowledging it took me awhile to sit down and watch it myself.

Almost everything about this series was amazing. The story, the characters, the dialogue. Great action. Great humor. Great drama. What’s not to love? A true to form Western which happened to take place in the future. In space.

Jet

Needless to say, a movie version of that has a lot to live up to. So, did Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door manage? Well, let me put it this way.

Faye

This was a longer episode of the show. Only with movie budget animation. It wasn’t the series at its best. But it wasn’t its weakest either. It was, in this mindset, standard. Considering we’re talking about Cowboy Bebop, that still means it’s better than most. And again, this was very well animated.

There was one constant between series and film. It’s kind of amazing if you happen to notice it. But you may never and that’s even more exciting. At some point, Cowboy Bebop knows how to hook you. You become engrossed into whatever’s happening. Before you know it, ten, twenty, a full movie’s worth of time has passed.

Ed

Few can do that. And none can do it quite like Cowboy Bebop.

The First Half

The first half of Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door was fantastic. It was every reason why the series was so good. The thrill of the hunt.

Watching the crew of the Bebop gather information was, like always, a lot of fun. Each member’s personality had a chance to come out.

Spike took to the streets. Relying on hunches and gut feelings, he would go to where the info was. The back allies. The small shops. The areas where everyone knew everyone. He wasn’t flashy and he could blend in with this type of environment.

Spike was quick on his feet but had a plan. As well as several backups, just in case. Despite him seeming to rely on unpredictability.

Jet relied on his experience. His cop tendencies would come out. He was more behind the scenes. He would turn to his old friends on the force for leads and tips. Where others would need days’ worth of investigating, Jet needed an afternoon.

Unlike his crewmates, Jet didn’t like going in guns a blazing. He much preferred to be several steps ahead of his opponents. Though he was often physically stronger.

Faye was lazy. Even more so than Spike. Yet she was fast to pick up a trail. When her target was in sight, she would do what was necessary. Thus, she was the most aggressive of the group. She had no qualms about opening fire in public. When push came to shove, she was someone you’d rather have on your side.

Plus, Faye was well aware of the way she looked and used it to her fullest advantage. Before others would realize it, she would find the upper hand.

Ed is still my favorite. Where Spike came off as unpredictable, Ed was. It was hard to tell what she was going to do. Her goals were simple, but her methods were a mystery.

Ed has a genius level intellect mixed with the mannerisms of a child. If a task had her attention, it would get done. But if you expected her to keep at it for more than ten minutes, you made a mistake.

Why mention all this? I had to have talked about it in the original series review. I do so because Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door did a good job of implementing it in movie form.

It was structured, sure. You could tell what the film was doing. The transition between one character to the next, a blind man could see. What made it worth watching, each path was interesting. The crew used their different styles. At first, they appeared to be going in different directions. As the story went on, their paths merged and the big picture became clear.

For a while, I wasn’t sure what justified this being a movie. Like I said, it played like a standard episode. Would there actually be something to separate it from the show? Would there be genuine justification for...being? Rather than an excuse to bring these characters back.

And that was the most enduring thing about the first half of this film. The threat it established. This was the amplification. This was something which had the potential of defeating the crew. While the Bebop has faced this before, never with this much at stake. We weren’t talking about losing out on a job or a single person being killed. If the Bebop failed, there would be no coming back. And it all came to a head during the monorail scene.

I won’t go into too much detail, but this was, hands down, the best part of the movie. It set the stage for an epic confrontation. Something we’ll talk about next.

Film Negatives

If you’re thinking this movie will give you a sense of what Cowboy Bebop is like, be forewarned. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door doesn't go into backstory. It doesn’t go much deeper with the characters. It doesn’t even give that much of an introduction. You’re meant to know.

If you’ve seen the series, this isn’t a problem. And I imagine most of you have if you’re considering watching the movie. For fans of Cowboy Bebop, this is a good add on to a world you know and love.

Looking at it as a standalone film, it is a problem. Especially since the crew of the Bebop does feel out of place. 

Now, am I not contradicting what I just said? The threat of the film was movie level. When you compare it to the series.

Except nothing else reached that point. The reason why I say the characters felt out of place had everything to do with the setting.

This was in a city. Yeah, a city on Mars. But if I didn’t know that, I would think New York or Tokyo. This didn’t match the space western we've come to know. More emphasis on the nature of this universe would’ve gone a long way.

In the show, I praised it for not doing that. It was a positive then because the crew was outside the city. They were at the remote outposts. Far and away removed from civilization. The realities of living in the Solar System rather than a single planet were apparent.

For instance, dogfights using spaceships made more sense in the series. And they were more fun as well. There was one in the movie, which was neat and all. But it didn’t need here. It added to nothing to what was going on. Why there was even this kind of fight made little sense. Other than, they were in the show so one needs to be here too.

While all these were unfortunate, they didn’t ruin Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door. This was still a good movie. It represented Cowboy Bebop well.

Speaking of which. There was one part of the film that represented the show a little too well.

The Ending.

Like it was in the series, the ending of Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door was anticlimactic.

That’s not to say either were bad. But when you compare it to the rest of the production, it doesn’t match up. You get an alright fist fight and then it’s over.

Alright, I suppose. In the case of the movie, the monorail scene was awesome. It was a huge turning point. If this was only the buildup, what does the climax have in store for us? Then when you get there, “Oh, that was underwhelming.”

That and the crew’s plan I wasn’t a hundred percent on until after the fact. They just started doing things like they had discussed it. I must have missed that scene because that did not happen.

That level of engagement I was talking about earlier, this was how I noticed it.

Final Thoughts

I could’ve gone into a little more detail about why the ending wasn’t as strong as the rest. But then I would’ve been going into spoiler territory. But I don’t want to do that because it wasn’t that bad. This is Cowboy Bebop. Like pizza, when it’s not that great it’s still pretty good.

If you’re a fan of the show and haven’t watched this movie, I suspect it’s because you didn’t know it existed. Well, it does and you should check it out.

It’s been some time since I’ve heard any Hollywood adaptation rumors. And maybe it’s best that’s where they stay. We’ve already got our Cowboy Bebop movie.

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