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Kaub�i Bibappu: Tengoku no Tobira (Cowboy Bebop the Movie: Knockin' on Heaven's Door)

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Kaub�i Bibappu: Tengoku no Tobira (Cowboy Bebop the Movie: Knockin' on Heaven's Door) (2003)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 6.3/10
Reviews Counted: 69
Fresh: 45 | Rotten: 24

This may be strictly for anime junkies, but they'll find much to like about Cowboy Bebop's casual violence and cool dialogue.

Average Rating: 6.4/10
Critic Reviews: 19
Fresh: 11 | Rotten: 8

This may be strictly for anime junkies, but they'll find much to like about Cowboy Bebop's casual violence and cool dialogue.

audience

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Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 50,738

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Movie Info

The popular anim� series Cowboy Bebop gets its own feature-length film with the aptly named Cowboy Bebop: The Movie. Set in the late 21st century, it jumps into the series' story line just prior to its conclusion, with the bounty hunting crew of the interstellar craft Bebop chasing a hacker aboard a tanker into a major city on Mars. As crew member Faye Valentine closes in on the tanker, she witnesses its catastrophic explosion, which soon appears to be a viral terrorist attack as the death toll

R, 1 hr. 47 min.

Drama, Action & Adventure, Animation, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Shinichir� Watanabe , Hiroyuki Okiura

Written By: Keiko Nobumoto, Marc Handler

In Theaters: Apr 4, 2003 Limited

On DVD: Jun 24, 2003

Box Office:$0.9M

Independent Distribution Partn

Kaub�i Bibappu: Tengoku no Tobira (Cowboy Bebop the Movie: Knockin' on Heaven's Door) Trailer & Photos

More Photos (7)

Cast

Critic Reviews for Kaub�i Bibappu: Tengoku no Tobira (Cowboy Bebop the Movie: Knockin' on Heaven's Door)

All Critics (71) | Top Critics (19) | Fresh (46) | Rotten (24) | DVD (16)

The movie, with room to gallop through nearly two hours and an R rating, often just kicks around in the stable.

June 6, 2003 Full Review Source: Denver Post

| Comment

Vic Vogler

Denver Post

Top Critic

Even those unfamiliar with the good ship Bebop will enjoy the high-intensity action and witty dialogue.

May 15, 2003 Comment

Michael Senft

Arizona Republic

Top Critic

Folks who go for this sort of thing will find it the sort of thing they go for. But the rest of us may find reason to scratch our heads and scratch again.

May 8, 2003 Comment (1)

Roger Moore

Orlando Sentinel

Top Critic

Honors the affectless beauty of the original anime art and maintains the outlaw boppiness of the series concept.

April 16, 2003 Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly

| Comment

Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

Top Critic

Helmer Shinichiro Watanabe's oversight of Bebop's more expansive visual canvas is impressive, bringing out details not previously seen in tale's small screen version.

April 15, 2003 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment

Robert Koehler

Variety

Top Critic

The atmospherics are wonderfully dark and film-noirish, if overly violent.

April 4, 2003 Comment

Desson Thomson

Washington Post

Top Critic

The film starts with a bang, but its characterisation comes with a whimper.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

| Comment

Time Out

Color me impressed.

February 5, 2005 Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium

| Comment

JoBlo

JoBlo's Movie Emporium

Chock full of stylized exploding chopsocky for the veterans, yet quirky enough for the cautious newbie.

January 21, 2005 Full Review Source: Portland Mercury

| Comment

Andrew Wright

Portland Mercury Source: Portland Mercury

Based on the popular Japanese animated TV series, it features many of the strengths and weaknesses of the genre.

January 14, 2004 Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope

| Comments (2)

Robert Roten

Laramie Movie Scope

The strangely planet-bound James Bond plot unfolds just like you'd suspect, only slower.

October 8, 2003 Full Review Source: About.com

| Comment

Jurgen Fauth

About.com

—

The animation may have dated a little, but this is still lively, enjoyable stuff.

September 27, 2003 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine

| Comment

Empire Magazine

Lustrous

July 18, 2003 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com

| Comment

Chris Barsanti

Filmcritic.com

The only problem for me was that the plot failed to grab the attention the way the visuals did: a very involved storyline about terrorists and a biological weapon went on at least a half-hour too long.

July 8, 2003 Full Review Source: Guardian [UK]

| Comment

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian [UK]

"cowboy," no question; "bebop," another matter altogether.

July 8, 2003 Full Review Source: Film Freak Central

| Comment

Walter Chaw

Film Freak Central

The whole extravaganza could have made for a plucky 70 minutes, but it packs on an additional three-quarters of an hour of saw-toothed melodrama.

July 2, 2003 Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix

| Comment

Tom Meek

Boston Phoenix

Cowboy Bebop fans will be slightly disappointed and newbies will be nonplussed as to the show's cult following.

June 25, 2003 Full Review Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page

| Comment

James O'Ehley

Sci-Fi Movie Page Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page

A brilliant feature-length anime that's good enough to deserve mention in the same breath as Akira, Ghost in the Shell, and Spirited Away.

June 24, 2003 Full Review Source: BBC

| Comment

Jamie Russell

BBC

A joyless hatchet job.

June 13, 2003 Comment (1)

Kevin John Bozelka

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The screenplay walks a tightrope, managing to stay amusing and lighthearted while handling hefty themes.

June 12, 2003 Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star

| Comment

Phil Villarreal

Arizona Daily Star

It's a mixture of the military/industrial complex paranoia of The X-Files, the deadpan style of Sam Spade and the wisdom of Confucius-lite.

June 6, 2003 Full Review Source: Des Moines Register

| Comment

Jeffrey Bruner

Des Moines Register

Even fans of the series may be disappointed.

June 6, 2003 Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City

| Comment (1)

Jeff Vice

Deseret News, Salt Lake City

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Kaub�i Bibappu: Tengoku no Tobira (Cowboy Bebop the Movie: Knockin' on Heaven's Door)

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Embodies everything I loved about Cowboy Bebop. The chemistry of the crew, the Scifi elements, Spike's martial arts prowess and delicious animation while still retaining that slick bounty hunter feel.Someday though I'll have to climb over that lame melodramatic mountain that seems present in all Anime. The main

June 2, 2011

Drake Tsui

Super Reviewer

"Well, that's a real shame. But, we're not cops and we're not from some charity organization. Sorry lady, we don't protect or serve. This is strictly business."One word came to my mind after watching this. Unnecessary.I have been putting off watching the Cowboy Bebop movie for several years now. I'm a huge fan of the

July 7, 2010

Lewis C.

Super Reviewer

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Latest News for Kaub�i Bibappu: Tengoku no Tobira (Cowboy Bebop the Movie: Knockin' on Heaven's Door)

September 24, 2009:

Keanu Reeves Waiting for Cowboy Bebop Rewrite
According to Keanu Reeves, his live-action adaptation of "Cowboy Bebop" is still on track -- it just...