REVIEWED MATERIAL:

Japanese with Portuguese subtitles (fansub).

     Art/Animation: 

Perhaps a bit less perfect in the whole than the TV series, but the fights and space battle scenes more than make up for it!

     Humor: 

Ed and Ein are given full power, but Faye and Spike also contribute their share.

    Action: 

Although it starts a little slowly, the rhythm increases until it becomes breathtaking in the last third of the film. Special attention for the physical fights between Spike and Electra and Spike and Vincent. They are awesome!

    Bloodshed:  

A lot more than in the TV series, but nothing to get terrified about.

    Romance: 

Just in recollections, presented in a very delicate way and not only for the "good guys"!

    Psychological Content: 

Very rich, emphasis on the characters' internal conflicts. As always, it is presented in a very subtle way, not boring at all.

Characters:

Those we already came to know (and love) are as great as ever. The new ones, Vincent and Electra, are very convincing and soon win their place in one's hall of fame.

Summary:

The story takes place halfway of the TV series, when Ed, Ein and Faye are still part of the crew of the Bebop. While she is chasing a hacker, Faye witnesses the explosion of a tanker truck full of a mysterious chemical. People that were near the explosion start to die mysteriously and an outrageous bounty is placed on the culprit's head. Faye is the only person who has an image of the criminal, although much blurred. With Ed's help, the bounty hunters follow several leads that end up by complementing each other: a suspicious pharmaceutical corporation, a scientist who specialized in nanotechnology (machines so small that they can't be seen) a secret military division with most of its former members reported dead, a bio-terrorist plan to put an end to all human life on Halloween, the day when supposedly the souls of the dead would knock on Heaven's doors. All tracks lead to a secret experiment by the military authorities that has fallen into the wrong hands, that is, Vincent's hands, a former subject in their experiments. Vincent has lost his memory and (or so it seems) all feelings toward human beings, Now he is planning to wipe out all people on the planet. It is up to Spike and his mysterious, less than enthusiastic new ally, Electra, together with the Bebop's crew, to capture Vincent and to save the world (although, as he himself claims many times, he is just in for the money!...)

General comment:

Well, if you liked the anime you will like the movie. As I said, the beginning is a little morose, but don't give up, you will watch some of the most exciting sequences you've ever seen. Characters look even more verisimilar, denser (in the good sense, of course!)and real (including wacky Ed...). Electra is a very appealing character, with her "tough" exterior and, at the same time, a scared, sad little girl on the inside. And Vincent manages to make Vicious look like a lovingly person when one thinks of ice in the veins. Vincent is a even more intriguing character than Electra: he is a cold murderer and doesn't even seem to acknowledge the deaths he brings about, they are just... necessary casualties (maybe that is way he has spared Faye, since her death would bring him no advantage). At the same time (and we don't come to know it until the final scenes), he is really just another victim of military authorities and unscrupulous scientists, somebody that has always tried to find peace in life but never got his chance and can find no way out in this existence (very much like Spike, as we can see at the end of the TV series - in the movie, Spike says that he and Vincent "smell alike", that is, they share the same destiny). The only dubious thing in the movie is how Spike manages to survive and heal so quickly from so many wounds, shots and falls he suffers during it...

As for the others, Ed and Ein got a larger piece of the action and provide many funny moments (I just love Ed's original voice!). Jet and Faye got a little less of the limelight, but are still very much there (I think specially the boys will be pleased by the scenes where they got a better look at Faye's breasts...). The right amount of action and good dialogues recommends this movie for those who expect more from anime than mere sequences of shouts and punches

Pay attention to:

• again, the amazing soundtrack, that acts both as a complement and a comment to the action.
• the close-fights between Electra and Spike in the pharmaceutical company and between Spike and Vincent on the Tower - perfectly choreographed -, the duel between Vincent and Spike on the monorail and the amazing chase of the Swordfish by military jets that will rend you breathless!...
• following the series tradition, the title, Knocking on Heaven's Door, is a song by Bob Dylan (revisited by Guns and Roses...) that connects beautifully with the theme of Halloween and Vincent's wish of escaping this world's "hell" (even if it would mean to take everyone together with him).
• also in the series tradition, there is a nice final message before the credits come - and do not turn off the recorder, there is still a lot of the movie during the nice ending song.
• the incredible mixture of places from all over the world that compose the scenery: the action takes place on Mars, but you can identify places as mixed as the German train station Alexanderplatz, the skyline of New York, Tokyo Tower and many others, all reunited in a very harmonic way.
• For "bossa nova"-fans all over the world, the sympatic three old men playing cards are called "Antonio", "Carlos" and "Jobin" as a tribute for the famous Brazilian musician.

ExReviews: Cowboy Bebop Movie - Don't miss this excellent review of the movie, including technical data and nice pictures (some of which you've seen here ^_^). The text is great to read and covers all aspects of the movie in a very intelligent way.

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