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March 28, 2024, 01:54:56 PM

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Cowboy Bebop (Netflix live-action remake)

Started by Mister Six, October 19, 2021, 05:07:15 PM

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Mister Six

Trailer up now. It's a bit frenetic, but I don't imagine entire episodes will be like that. The cast acquit themselves well, especially the guy playing Jet. Only complaint is that of all three characters Faye is the last one who ought to be complaining about reckless use of firearms...

Alberon

It looks really good. It seems to be sticking very close to the source material, and why not?

The only question that isn't being answered right now is Ed, who was quite bonkers in the original even for anime. It'd be a shame if she isn't in this as much.

MojoJojo

Yeah, hopefully the episodes calm down a bit. That reminded me of Kung Fury.

Jerzy Bondov

Quote from: Alberon on October 19, 2021, 05:35:25 PM
It looks really good. It seems to be sticking very close to the source material, and why not?

The only question that isn't being answered right now is Ed, who was quite bonkers in the original even for anime. It'd be a shame if she isn't in this as much.
I believe Ed's not in it at all, this first series doesn't get far enough through the story

popcorn

Quote from: Alberon on October 19, 2021, 05:35:25 PM
It looks really good. It seems to be sticking very close to the source material, and why not?

Because it ends up looking like dodgy cosplay?

Looks more like a half-baked Edgar Wright production than Cowboy Bebop to me anyway.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

I imagine casting Ed for live action would be tricky enough, but especially so if this is intended to go on for a number of years and she ends up being a foot taller between seasons. I like Cho in general, but he does rather look his age and I can't quite imagine him having the same spikiness[nb]Arf![/nb] that Steven Blum brought to the dub. My personal choice for Spike, at least a decade ago, would have been Joseph Gordon Levitt. The other two seem well cast and it's mildly amusing to imagine the manbabies in a frothing rage over Jet being black and Faye not dressing like stripper.

... speaking of which; they mostly seem to have pulled off the costumes, but the whole thing does kind of look like a fan film.  I can't quite decide if the splitscreen shenanigans (if they're even part of the finished show) are a sign of this going in it's own direction, or that the showrunners just heard a description of the original and assumed that's how it should look.

Of course, the main question is, "what is point?" The original is basically perfect as it is.

Still, nitpicks aside, it looks like it could be entertaining.

Alberon

Well, Ein better be in it or I'm really going to kick off.


C_Larence

Quote from: Alberon on October 19, 2021, 05:53:56 PM
Well, Ein better be in it or I'm really going to kick off.



Ein is going to be in it! https://youtu.be/D4gPQDyOixQ

None of the footage from this teaser is going to be in the show, but a trailer coming soon will show some. I think it's fair to expect this was more of a proof of concept than anything else.

Chairman Yang

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on October 19, 2021, 05:52:41 PM
Of course, the main question is, "what is point?" The original is basically perfect as it is.

Still, nitpicks aside, it looks like it could be entertaining.

This is where I am too, I wish it no specific ill will but it's definitely going to be, at best, redundant.

Was it someone on here who said 'maybe people will finally shut the fuck up about Firefly'? That's my one hope.

letsgobrian

As long as the live action doesn't make an episode worse than "Boogie Woogie Feng Shui" it'll at least sit somewhere within the existing range of Cowboy Bebop quality.

Mister Six

Ha, I was thinking today about how shit that episode is.

Hope they take a leaf out of the original's book and give the various episodes different tempos, atmospheres and tones. Have some slower stories, some frenetic ones, some silly, some serious. If they're all like this trailer, they'll have missed one of the biggest selling points of the original show.

Chedney Honks

#11
Who is this for? I enjoyed Cowboy Bebop a fair bit but I won't be watching this.

Young cunts? They'll happily watch the original, anime is mainstream. In fact, they will have already seen it.

Trailer looks like a labour of love, cast are good from that little proof of concept, but I don't know why it exists.

mothman

As somebody who knows nothing about the original apart from the name (and what I just read on Wikipedia), that looked... fun, I guess, but exhausting? I felt the same the first time I watched Scott Pilgrim. That just made me feel OLD.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

That trailer doesn't particularly represent the tempo of the original series. While it does have plenty of action, it also has lots of slower, quieter (and cheaper to animate) scenes.

The original is on All4, if you have access to that (and it's not currently broken). If you're not embarrassed by watching animation (or the lead female character's outfit) I would recommend giving it a go.

Wonderful Butternut

Have the usual suspects complained about Jet being black and Faye knowing what clothes are yet?

Seems as visually faithful as you can get going from anime to live action but the trailer feels really weird to watch. It's all action, but feels really dead at the same time?

mothman

All4? Isn't that like ten minutes of adverts every five minutes? I'll
Spoiler alert
torrent
[close]
it...

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

I find it's not that bad for adverts, but any are obviously worse than none at all, depending on your tolerance.

mothman

Perhaps Netflix should bag the original. After all people are going to seek out the original anyway.

Mister Six

Is it not already on there? Maybe just in the US.

Why it exists, I'm guessing, is because (A) young people genuinely haven't seen it, (B) it's assumed they'll recoil like vampires from a crucifix at anything in a 3:4 ratio, and (C) every fucking thing has to be a remake, reboot, revival or related spin-off of some pre-existing property these days, because algorithms and cunt execs have decided that's where the money is.

This could be its own, thing, but the hoo-hah about the differences in casting or writing or even whether it should exist (as in this thread) all contribute to it being "seen" on social media and Google in a way that something totally original probably won't (unless it's very lucky or very good... and even then it's a long game, not an instantaneous rush of cash from ticket sales/as sales/new subscriptions, so basically undesirable).

I think this is part of the reason why corporations have embraced gender- and racebent casting - not because they want to see more marginalised people on screens (although obviously that is a laudable thing to pursue), but because it gives them a slim excuse to remake everything in live action. "At last, see Cowboy Bebop how it was meant to be seen - with a black guy, an unambiguously Asian lead[nb]Spike Spiegel is Jewish in the original, which doesn't preclude him being Asian or part Asian, of course.[/nb] and a Latinx woman!"

(For the record, my one quibble in the casting is that John Cho is looking a bit old to play Spike, but that can't be helped. Casting for Faye and especially Jet seem spot-on.)

phantom_power

Quote from: mothman on October 20, 2021, 05:26:49 PM
As somebody who knows nothing about the original apart from the name (and what I just read on Wikipedia), that looked... fun, I guess, but exhausting? I felt the same the first time I watched Scott Pilgrim. That just made me feel OLD.

That was all shot specifically for the trailer. There will be a proper trailer with footage from the show sometime soon I think

Alberon


letsgobrian

Quote from: mothman on October 20, 2021, 07:10:35 PM
Perhaps Netflix should bag the original. After all people are going to seek out the original anyway.

It returned to UK Netflix today.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Quote from: Mister Six on October 20, 2021, 07:44:50 PM
Why it exists, I'm guessing, is because ... it's assumed they'll recoil like vampires from a crucifix at anything in a 4:3 ratio
Good point. I remember a bunch of people (if they can be classed as such) complaining about that on Wandavision. More fool them, because the original is a great looking show. According to some youtube thing I watched, it was made at the tail end of traditional 2D animation, before digital colouring and compositing became standard. I dislike using such nebulous terms, but it does have a sort of nostalgic warmth to the image (even when I first watched it, 20ish years ago) that tends to be lacking in more recent animation.

Quote from: Mister Six on October 20, 2021, 07:44:50 PM
John Cho is looking a bit old to play Spike, but that can't be helped.
Well, not unless they had cast someone else. I watched other Netflix martial arts show, Wu Assassins, last weekend and now I reckon Lewis Tan would have been a decent choice.

mothman

Quote from: letsgobrian on October 21, 2021, 11:10:49 AM
It returned to UK Netflix today.

Thanks! Huh, random - someone in the family must have been watching it when it was on before...

Mister Six

Maybe, but I'm assuming they figured Cho was right for the role. I only know Tan from Iron Fist, where I spent most of my time wondering what the hell his accent was supposed to be. He had the relaxed atmosphere of an off-duty Spike, though.

phantom_power

Cho might be a recognisable enough name and face to give the project a bit of a boost as well

rue the polywhirl

I think the trailer is quite fun, quite cosplay-conventionish but is letdown with Cho looking more like 54 years than 27. Can Netflix not de-age him like they did with De Niro and gang in the Irishman?

Deliciousbass

It looks like a live-action adaptation of a fan podcast.

MojoJojo

Quote from: Mister Six on October 19, 2021, 05:07:15 PM
Only complaint is that of all three characters Faye is the last one who ought to be complaining about reckless use of firearms...

Watching it again, and it's actually a bit worse than that - the trailer ends with Faye playing mummy to naughty boys Spike and Jet - or playing into that stereotype, anyway. However it's such a frantic, looks based trailer I'm not sure much can be concluded from that.

Actually, I think this is one of those adaptions where trying to be faithful to the original is pointless. Hopefully they just ake something good.

Dickie_Anders

Actually looks alright to be honest. I've seen some of the hardcore fans of the original kick off, but then I was never absolutely in love with the show anyway. Did like it quite a bit though. Space Dandy, made by the same director - now that's a program I love. Might be my favourite animated comedy show

Seeing this made me go back and watch the episode where they meet Ed's dad. It's not one I remember even being particularly good, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. There definitely is something quite special about the tone of the original. The story just kind of meanders in a casual way, and the humour is charmingly wacky. I'm not gonna laugh out loud at it ever but I do like it. Looking at the trailer the banter seems true to the original, sort of, but it remains to be seen if they can recapture that charm

The bit at the end of the episode where Ed leaves I found surprisingly subdued and non-sentimental. The music and the bit with the dog wanting to come with her was a bit sappy, I suppose, but I like how Spike and Jet don't show any emotion or make any comment on it, they just sit around eating eggs. I remember Cowboy Bebop being quite restrained and great at moments of pathos like that