Cowboy Bebop (2021)

As much as the live-action Cowboy Bebop attempts to create its own identity and take on its characters and universe respective to the Cowboy Bebop anime, the strongest parts of the show are not what it adds in, but rather what it lifts wholesale from the original.

The new Cowboy Bebop will probably excite anyone who's never seen the original anime, and those who have might be tickled by all the homages and recreations. But in each case, it'd be more fulfilling to move Netflix's cursor one spot over and check out the original series.

The series has a routine professionalism that serves it well in its lighter moments but doesn’t alleviate the drudgery of its later episodes. ... In its resolute ordinariness, the main value of this new “Bebop” would be to drive you back to watch the old one.

John Cho deserves a better show. Not that “Cowboy Bebop” is awful. It isn’t. It’s just typical. ... It also doesn’t help that the dialogue is uneven and stilted at times. Smooth talking characters need to talk smoothly.

[Cho] has the unique ability to ground an absurd premise but also rise to its ludicrous demands, and his duality is the most rewarding component of the uneven, much-awaited Netflix adaptation of Cowboy Bebop. ... In this new form, it flirts with being just another Netflix action series, with accompanying mid-season bloat, liminal dialogue, and sexless sex scenes.

In trying to thread the needle between both approaches, the new Cowboy Bebop tries to serve two masters and ends up satisfying neither.

The Netflix adaptation comes off like a cover band that kind of knows the songs and makes up for the rest by mugging to the crowd. It sucks, but at least it wants you to know it’s having some fun.

Viewers returning to the “Cowboy Bebop” franchise with fond memories for the anime might enjoy their favorite episodes receiving the live-action treatment even with the above caveats, but those turning in for the first time will likely be left wondering why this was a big deal.

More generally, a lack of rhythm permeates much of the Cowboy Bebop remake, including the lead performance. Cho looks the part but can often struggle to muster the charisma and screen presence needed to sell Spike as an effortlessly cool rogue. Although, as already mentioned, he’s hardly helped by the show’s limp direction and scripting.

While the action sequences are stylishly choreographed, Cowboy Bebop finally bangs out a pretty dull tune.

Cho, Shakir, and Pineda really hold “Cowboy Bebop” together. When the plot is spinning its wheels, spending time with three actors this charismatic goes a long way. Sadly, the design and the writing rarely match what they bring to the table.