For our new selection, we propose you two adaptations, the first one is a cult manga (Cowboy Bebop) and the second one is a successful fantasy book series (The Wheel of Time)!
Check out our mini-reviews and have a great weekend!
You can still have a longer list of the releases under the “This Friday” section on the homepage.
Cowboy Bebop
WHY
When Netflix announced the adaptation of the cult manga, Cowboy Bebop, we were divided between excitement and fear. The first picture and footage left us mixed and we are still in this state. This adaptation wants to be really respectful of the manga and it succeeds rather well with its iconic opening title and also the two main roles played by John Cho and Mustafa Shakir. But it really spoils with the rest of the cast and especially with the villain Vicious who has absolutely no charisma and we don’t even talk about the secondary characters. The story is largely based on the animated series, the fan service works at full speed, with some differences. The visual aspect also makes the big gap, as with the casting, between the sublime and the ugly. Some sequences, especially in space, are really beautiful with a well done cinematography while for other sequences it is almost embarrassing as the visual look really amateurish. In spite of that, the complicity between the two heroes works really well, the humour is cool and the action scenes are very successful, especially the hand-to-hand fights involving Spike! For the curious, don’t hesitate to discover this series but for the fans, we advise you to re-watch the animated series which is available on Netflix.
WHAT
COWBOY BEBOP is an action-packed space Western about three bounty hunters, aka “cowboys,” all trying to outrun the past. As different as they are deadly, Spike Spiegel (John Cho), Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir), and Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda) form a scrappy, snarky crew ready to hunt down the solar system’s most dangerous criminals — for the right price. But they can only kick and quip their way out of so many scuffles before their pasts finally catch up with them.
WHERE
The Wheel of Time
WHY
Before the arrival next year of The Lord of the Rings, Amazon offers us with The Wheel of Time, the adaptation of another series of fantasy books, which we specify we haven’t read. We were quite curious to discover this new universe and new heroes. The first footage looked interesting. But we have to admit that the very long setting up of the story have almost remove any interest to us. Indeed, it takes more than 30 minutes before the first action scene. The rest is just talk, talk and talk. And if the adult cast works very well thanks to Rosamund Pike and Daniel Henney, the rest of the cast and the heroes really lack charisma and interest. This is also true for the story that takes a long time to set up. Again, it’s only talks for ¾ of the episodes’ duration and it has a cruelly lacks epic scenes like we can expect from a fantasy series. Hopefully, one of the strong points of the series is its villain played by Álvaro Morte (El Profesor in La Casa De Papel) who is much more interesting than the classic villain. The fantasy fans will surely find interest in this story, for the others, the too slow setting up might put them off.
WHAT
Set in a sprawling, epic world where magic exists and only certain women are allowed to access it, the story follows Moiraine (Rosamund Pike), a member of the incredibly powerful all-female organization called the Aes Sedai, as she arrives in the small town of Two Rivers. There, she embarks on a dangerous, world-spanning journey with five young men and women, one of whom is prophesied to be the Dragon Reborn, who will either save or destroy humanity.
WHERE