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Killer Bean is a Masterpiece
Killer Bean Forever. If there is such a thing as a dark horse, it's this movie. Produced over the course of five years by one man and only four or five other people, this is one of the only theatrical-length animated movies made for under one million dollars. Killer Bean was never released in theatres; I don't even know how much of a cult following it has, if it has any at all. All I can tell you is that, for the money I paid for it, it has given me my money's worth many times over.
Now, before I get to the meat of this review, I must state that I did not buy this from the listed seller- I got it from the original Killer Bean Forever website before it shut down. However, it seems Jeff Lew, the directoproduceanimatovoiceetc., only made one print run of the discs; the original copies are all that's left. So whoever snags this last remaining copy- consider yourself lucky you even found it at all. Thirty bucks for something so rare is a steal.
Killer Bean Forever is straightforward in its outlandish premise. Welcome to a world where coffee beans can walk, talk, and decaffeinate each other in ridiculous gunfight rampages. The main character, Killer Bean, has been sent to eliminate a rogue operative from his organization. In the process, he spills bean blood by eliminating every single bean that gets in his way. This trained, cocky agent catches the attention of Detective Cromwell, who has devoted his life to defeating the gangster menace known as Cappuccino- the man whose gangsters get slaughter by Killer Bean in the first ten minutes of the movie. Cromwell seeks to untangle the web of mystery surrounding Killer Bean, and Killer Bean himself must track down a rogue bean and face some harsh facts about his agency. Cromwell and Killer clash throughout the movie, each of them working on different agendas and with different styles. When Killer Bean completes his mission, he must cope with another threat- his own elimination by another agent. It's a wild ride that, while outlandish, is both action-packed and funny. There are bullet-dodging moments, twenty-on-one gunfights, unemployment jokes, drunken beans, and one or two coffee-related puns.
The movie has some flaws (why does Killer Bean only reload one gun?) but you must take a look at the bigger picture to really see the beauty of the movie. The director, Jeff Lew, has been involved as an animator for several movies, including at least two of the Transformers movies by Michael Bay. This solo project was an enormous undertaking, and he did the majority of it himself. He wrote the entire script, animated it alone, directed the voice actors, voice-acted for several roles, and even composed the majority of the music. It's no cinematic masterpiece, but I'd pick it over a number of movies that were made by much more financially-backed studios. Jeff Lew made Killer Bean Forever almost by himself over the course of five years for under a million dollars. Most animated movies cost $50 million to make. Respect the man.
On top of the movie itself, we get more special features than most high-budget movie DVDs usually get. There are TWO audio commentary tracks for the 85-minute movie itself, one for the directing and writing aspects and one for the animation aspect. There's an entire 87-minute featurette on the making of the movie which really gives you some insight into the production of the film. There's 20 minutes of alternate and deleted scenes; twenty minutes of voice recording sessions; both of the original online Killer Bean videos, each with a commentary track; a Killer Bean 3 trailer and the lost scene from it; and lastly, a host of trailers for the movie itself and Jeff Lew's self-made release that teaches animation.
I don't know how or why this movie isn't more popular. My brother and I have memorized a good chunk of the movie, it's so endearing. And whenever my cousin comes to visit, the first thing he asks to watch is Killer Bean. Snatch this movie up while it's still available in English (there's German and Spanish versions, apparently). I completely recommend this movie, and I promise you won't regret purchasing it.
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