It's difficult to find anything wrong with the live-action 'Cowboy Bebop', but there's something missing here that didn't translate from the animation. The casting is a little off.; John Cho is a solid actor, he fits the role of Spike Spiegel, although there's a height difference. I like his portrayal, but I've always found John Cho likeable. The casting of Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black and Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine is a poor choice... I'm thinking of better actors who could have matched their roles with the behavior that's apparent in the animation. The acting is okay, but IMHO they don't fit well along side Spike Spiegel. I haven't quite figured it out, but I want to say, it could be that John Cho is on a different level acting-wise than Mustafa and definitely Danielle. Daniella Pineda might have been a natural fit for the character of the disruptive Radical Ed (Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV), but Ed isn't part of the crew. In fact she isn't there at all until the end, where she appears with a bounty request for the Bebop crew.
The series is pretty slow for me. They've used Season One to introduce the main characters and their backstories, but by the time it's over I'm a bit bored by the introduction. The animation is a great anime filled with action, style, and substance - While the live-action version is pure style without substance. I wanted to love it, but I was bored. I was still hooked in for the long drawn out conclusion, and maybe that's what the direction was going for? Reeling in a curious audience who aren't familiar with the story. But for the fans, it was like "Okay. Get on with the plot." Now I see that Ed will play part of Season 2, and perhaps will receive the majority of the attention, but I'm thinking it's a little late. Do I want to wait for another year and sit through another season where it's all an introduction? Sitting here now, I think Netflix should have at least released the 2001 'Cowboy Bebop: The Movie' for anyone that's never heard of the series. This is simply too drawn out and slow for me. The series needs a gigantic push to knock it into gear and get on with the show.
The series is pretty slow for me. They've used Season One to introduce the main characters and their backstories, but by the time it's over I'm a bit bored by the introduction. The animation is a great anime filled with action, style, and substance - While the live-action version is pure style without substance. I wanted to love it, but I was bored. I was still hooked in for the long drawn out conclusion, and maybe that's what the direction was going for? Reeling in a curious audience who aren't familiar with the story. But for the fans, it was like "Okay. Get on with the plot." Now I see that Ed will play part of Season 2, and perhaps will receive the majority of the attention, but I'm thinking it's a little late. Do I want to wait for another year and sit through another season where it's all an introduction? Sitting here now, I think Netflix should have at least released the 2001 'Cowboy Bebop: The Movie' for anyone that's never heard of the series. This is simply too drawn out and slow for me. The series needs a gigantic push to knock it into gear and get on with the show.