Cowboy Bebop: Tengoku no tobira 2001

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Animaniacs will probably want to bump that rating up a star, and even I am looking forward to catching episodes of the TV show. Read more

Lawrence Van Gelder, New York Times: Can take its place among animated films unexceptional in their depiction of humans and among a long line of B-movies about small bands of mercenary heroes who save a world or city or town as filmgoers know it. Read more

Charles Solomon, Los Angeles Times: The characters may not move with the fluidity of their American counterparts, but the story unfolds with a sinister grace that any live-action director might envy. Read more

Vic Vogler, Denver Post: The movie, with room to gallop through nearly two hours and an R rating, often just kicks around in the stable. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Honors the affectless beauty of the original anime art and maintains the outlaw boppiness of the series concept. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: With all due respect to Japanese animation fans and pop-culture enthusiasts, life may be just too short to plunge into the busy world of Cowboy Bebop. Read more

Tom Maurstad, Dallas Morning News: The animation is spellbinding, the characters are ultra-cool and the action is nonstop. Read more

David Chute, L.A. Weekly: There are so many good ideas at the visual level that you can't help wishing the narrative elements had been more cleverly worked out. Read more

Jan Stuart, Newsday: An endless and endlessly pretentious expansion of the popular Japanese anime TV series. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: This switched-on futuristic anime noir is visually stunning -- and it makes a lot more sense than Spirited Away! Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: It's hard to imagine this overlong, overplotted and underdrawn animation winning many new converts, either to the series or to anime in general. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Too episodic to be coherent drama, too silly to be taken seriously and too long by far, this is the rare example of Japanese anime that seems singularly lacking in inspiration. Read more

Time Out: The film starts with a bang, but its characterisation comes with a whimper. Read more

Robert Koehler, Variety: 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. Read more

Janet Kim, Village Voice: Aims to transcend its own genre by emulating all genres, and it falls short only in the melodrama. Read more