Black Rain (1989) User Reviews

Ultra-moody cop fiction.

[CuriosityKilledShawn · 7/10 · 24 February 2007]

I saw this film on crappy pan and scan VHS when I was about 12 and I didn't really understand it and I wasn't really up on Ridley Scott's work. As a result, the impact of the film was somewhat lost on me. I was expecting an action film instead of a character drama with lots of police procedure. But now, older and wiser and with a brand new Blu Ray of the movie, I am finally able to appreciate how clever the film is.

The story unfortunately IS riddled with 80s Cop Movie clichés and goes through quite a lot of familiar motions. But if you see past that you'll appreciate the immense atmosphere and mood that Ridley Scott piles on. Simply put, Michael Douglas is Nick Conklin, a bad cop (pretty much the exact same character in Basic Instinct) who drag races on his superbike to pay alimony and pinches drug money instead of turning it in for evidence. Enjoying lunch with partner Charlie (Andy Garcia) in a steakhouse in New York's meat-packing district, they just happen to witness a Yakuza execution by wanted Japanese criminal Sato (Yusaku Matsuda, who was dying of cancer during filming and didn't tell anyone). After a quick punch-up and shoot-out they find themselves chaperoning Sato back to Osaka. But when they arrive there he manages to escape, leaving them embarrassed with lots of questions to answer.

Nick and Charlie find themselves in a very foreign and intolerant world and recapturing Sato proves to be difficult in many ways. Not the least of which is Japan's alienating culture (from an NYPD point of view) and rigid rules. Nonetheless, Nick is determined to catch Sato and restore his honor.

Like I said, the atmosphere of the film is overwhelming, which is really all the film needs. The clichés and stereotypes don't matter so much when you are involved this much. Hans Zimmer (his first film with Ridley Scott) provides a deeply emotional and very melodic score that'll be rattling around in your head for days. It's a shame it's never had a comprehensive CD release, as it's one of Zimmer's most impressive efforts.

You could call it a pretty 80s movies, but I still do feel that it holds up pretty well today. As one of Ridley Scott's more forgotten works, it's well worth checking out.

Moving and thrilling action movie in cool visual style by great filmmaker Ridley Scott

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 1 December 2008]

This solid thriller deals with a down-home cop (Michael Douglas) accused of corruption and his young partner (Andy Garcia). They witness a grisly killing by a Japonese murderer named Sato (Matsuda). They pursuit him and barely escape with their life , but get detain him . They're assigned to protect him but with painful results when the mobster is transported to Osaka . Then they are assigned to upright Inspector (Ken Takatura) and forced into action against Yakuza . Thus starts a clash of culture and a cobweb of intrigue which keep the spectators on the edge of their seats. An American Cop in Japan. Their country. Their laws. Their game. His rules. Osaka, Japan. A cop on the edge. A conspiracy on the rise. A killer on the loose. A cop on the edge, a conspiracy in the rise, a killer on the loose.

A Ridley Scott Film From The Producers of "Fatal Attraction", this is a superb, though predictable at times, blending of tough American police genre and Japanese gangsters by means of a mobster organization called Yakuza, a kind of oriental Mafia . Michael Douglas as down-and-out police and Ken Takatura as honorable Inspector are very fine . Good secondary actors , such as : Andy Garcia and Kate Capshaw , Spileberg's wife . Appearing uncredited John Spencer as the chief official and Luis Guzman . This first-rate suspenseful action pic benefits from intelligent screenplay and visual dynamics ; however, being overlong , two hours and some. This special buddy-movie is full of neon lights from Osaka in videoclip and advertisement spots style . The motion picture was glamorously directed by Ridley Scott as stylish as ever , similar his previous film (Someone to watch over me) and others (Blade runner , Duelists , Legend) in which the visual style is impressive .

If you pull it-you better use it.

[hitchcockthelegend · 8/10 · 31 December 2012]

Black Rain is directed by Ridley Scott and written by Craig Bolotin and Warren Lewis. It stars Michael Douglas, Andy Garcia, Ken Takakura, Kate Capshaw, Yusaku Matsuda and Tomisaburo Wakayama. Music is by Hans Zimmer and cinematography by Jan de Bont.

After New York cops Nick Conklin (Douglas) and Charlie Vincent (Garcia) arrest a sword wielding psychopath named Sato Koji (Matsuda), they are tasked with escorting him back to Osaka in Japan. From here they are plunged into a war that is brewing in the Japanese underworld.

You see there's a war going on here and they don't take no prisoners.

Welcome to Blade Runner's younger brother, Black Rain, a Ridley Scott film I feel has never received the credit it deserves. Viewing from the outside it looked like one of those 1980s cop movies, one where the main cop is washed up and perched on the edge of oblivion, his partner his sanity and voice of reason. However, Scott (brought in late to direct when Paul Verhoeven bailed) wasn't interested in the normalities of the cop drama, he saw the potential for cross continent culture clash and the chance to bring his visual skills to the fore.

Yep, it's the big neon glitter of Osaka and the grime and dime of New York that is the big draw here, but characterisations are still rich for the drama, with Scott taking plenty of time to set up the lead protagonist. We know Conklin's troubles, we know how tight his friendship is with Charlie, and by the time things go grim and dour in Osaka we understand just why Conklin plunges head first into a do or die situation.

Visually Scott infuses the picture with cramped locales, steamy streets, industrial wastelands and blood red suns, while his lead character is an unshaven trench coat wearer who still manages to look devilishly cool. It's perhaps the drawing of Osaka that is the most impressive, for it's an alien creation to us as much as it obviously is to Conklin, the ignorance gap between America and Japan still wide apart in 1989.

Complaints? At just over two hours in running time the film does have periods of flatness, where some better editing wouldn't have gone amiss; though Scott's original cut was considerably longer, begging the question on if more could have been done to enhance the seething culture clash between cops Conklin and Matsumoto (Takakura)?

Another problem is that Capshaw's character is under written, a crime when it's the sole female part of note in a two hour movie. Did more of the character hit the cutting room floor? Likely, because now it's a token eye candy offering, which is a shame since what little we do get hints at a savvy performance from Capshaw.

Ridley Scott lifts Black Rain from merely being a fish out of water thriller to something more layered. True to say there is more style than substance (what style though), but there is still very much interesting juxtapositioning of countries and human interactions of credible worth as well. 8/10

A clash-of-cultures story.

[barnabyrudge · 6/10 · 16 January 2005]

Ridley Scott tends to give his films a very potent visual energy (see "Alien" and "Blade Runner" for further evidence), and here he takes a story that's been around since films began and dresses it up with his customary pictorial trimmings. Black Rain is another fish-out-of-water yarn in which a cop leaves his usual patch to track down a criminal in an unfamiliar place (see also Brannigan, French Connection II, No Mercy, Beverly Hills Cop, etc. for other versions of what is virtually the same story). The unoriginality of it all is a bit disappointing in all honesty, but Black Rain compensates for its over-familiarity by excelling in other areas.

Reckless New York cop Nick Conklin (Michael Douglas - looking more like his father Kirk than ever) and his partner Charlie Vincent (Andy Garcia) catch a Japanese gangster named Sato (Yasuka Matsuda) in their city. They are assigned to escort Sato back to Japan and hand him over to the Japanese police. However, almost immediately upon their arrival Sato escapes with the aid of some of his underworld friends, cunningly disguised as cops. Nick and Charlie are left with egg on their face, and endeavour to help the Japanese police to recapture their man. They join Japanese cop Masahiro (Ken Takakura), but police methods in Japan prove very different to what the Americans are accustomed to, and soon differences in approach boil over into frustration and violence.

Scott paints the night-time streets of Osaka as some kind of neon-lit, nightmarish maze. It becomes easy to relate to Nick and Charlie's bewilderment, and the viewer is left glad NOT to be sharing their experiences in the seedy, dangerous environment of this seemingly hostile city. There are some attempts to explore the different codes of honour by which the American and Japanese law enforcers measure their success. Also, the film establishes and sustains an edgy atmosphere (one scene, in which a key character is lured into a trap and beheaded, is especially tense).

Black Rain is a mix of effective and not-so-effective elements. The visuals, the atmosphere and the cultural alienation of the main character are very interesting, while the plotting and dialogue are disappointingly familiar. It's definitely a film worth catching, though it probably won't be remembered as fondly fifty years from now as some of the director's other films.

Good, but not that good.

[ChrisC. · 24 August 1999]

Black Rain is an absolutely gorgeous movie to look at. And for the most part it's highly entertaining and well acted - the guy playing Sato is brilliantly menacing. But occasionally, very occasionally, it descends into either complete predictability or downright cheesiness. A motorbike chase, well, that's a surprise! And that award ceremony right near the end - why? It's totally irrelevant, feel good factor nonsense - the sort of stuff you get with bog standard action movies. And this is not bog standard, and not really an action movie. Certainly underrated and deserving of a better audience than it has received, but ultimately let down by a few lapses in quality.

Black Rain

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 14 August 2011]

"I usually get kissed before I get f**ked."

Veteran, highly commendated (but under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service for skimming drug money) NYC detective Michael Douglas collars a Yakuza gangster after he slits the throat of a Japanese mobster in an Italian restaurant and, along with partner Andy Garcia, must take the murderer back to Osaka, Japan thanks to the Japan Embassy's negotiations with the State Department. Once they arrive by plane to Osaka, Douglas and Garcia accidentally release their prisoner to his own Yakuza who are dressed as police and must remain in Japan, trying to track him down, but on his own turf this will not be easy. The cultural divide, the language barrier, two New York cops, forced to be classified civilians, without their guns, attempting to catch a killer, how in the world will they make it on foreign soil, out of their element?

The Yakuza killer is named Sato, quite a reputation as a dangerous individual waging war with an "Old time boss" named Sugai, with Douglas and Garcia embroiled in the middle as they continue to investigate even in Osaka, much to the chagrin of the Japanese police who want them to stay out of their business. Matsumoto ( a police detective who takes a lot of s**t from Douglas and doesn't deserve to be treated so harshly) is to work as a sort of console for Douglas and Garcia, while his superior Ohashi wants the Yank cops to "know their place".

80s urban noir, photographed by Jan De Bont (director of "Speed"), Osaka looks a lot like the futuristic city in Ridley Scott's other film, "Blade Runner"—what I found fascinating was how Osaka looks practically identical to the New York presented in "Black Rain", the traffic and congestion of heavily populated streets, steam and people, through De Bont's lens the city is dark even during the day. Douglas, wearing a trench coat and shades, looks a lot like Harrison Ford in "Blade Runner", has plenty of aggression, is hard-nosed and tough, and dogged in his pursuit of the man who got away. He's on the hunt and when he's motivated further by the murder of Garcia, there's nothing going to stop him from getting Sato, but he needs help navigating through a foreign terrain and that is where Mas comes into play. Sato is ambitious, wants to be a Yakuza boss, and have his own territory to run. Good part for Ken Takakura as Mas, an honorable cop who, to his credit, swallows a lot of Douglas' wise-ass remarks and tolerates his snarky attitude.

"Black Rain" has the fish-out-of-water theme along with the unlikely partnership angle: the film is as dead serious in tone as the lead character it follows. One thing about Douglas' character, he doesn't scare easy, the man has brass balls to actually confront a top Yakuza boss just so he can get closer to Sato, revenge firmly his only motivation it seems. Kate Capshaw is a high-price call girl in Osaka who provides Douglas with assistance, although she wishes he would just go home to America and leave her out of his feud with Sato (she's pretty smokin', too). Yûsaku Matsuda's Sato is a Yakuza hood right out of a Takashi Miike film, hotheaded, gutsy, sociopathic, and volatile, but not directionless as he seems to have a strategic plan for the more traditional Japanese mob bosses who want him out of the picture. Ultimately, what is desired by the Yakuza is engraving plates, one of which is in the possession of Sato, giving him an edge. Douglas is the wild card who stands in Sato's way. Garcia is a nice addition to the movie, a good cop who has the misfortune of being aligned with a partner who has stirred the nest, so to speak.

"But sometimes you have to go for it."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 9 July 2019]

If I take myself back three decades in time, this film was probably hot stuff for 1989. Today, not so much. There's not much originality here other than the American/Japanese cop team-up, and a lot of it comes off as not very credible. Like Nick Conklin (Michael Douglas) running amok as the Japanese Prefectural Police attempt to reign him in as he goes off on a personal salvage mission at first, and then a revenge quest following the murder of his partner (Andy Garcia). On the Japanese side, top shelf Oyabun, Sugai Kunio (Tomisaburô Wakayama) is at odds with an underling who used to be an ally, but now former henchman Sato (Yûsaku Matsuda) demands a piece of the action and a territory to call his own. It doesn't work this way for the Mafia, and predictably won't work like this for the Yakuza. You have to admit, Yakuza sounds a whole lot cooler than Mafia, but in mobster land, they rhyme pretty well.

Where it got really dumb at one point was when Nick was hot on the trail of Sato with Assistant Inspector Matsumoto Masahiro (Ken Takakura) backing him up, and when the bad guys are about to make a break for it, Nick yells "Hold it"! Really!!?? Like that was going to do the trick? I kind of let my expectations for the story dwindle from there, and with a few minor high spots yet to come, it all ended quite predictably. I'll give Sato some credit for cutting off his pinky to make amends with the Oyabuns, but it turned out he really didn't have to because he was laying in wait for the big double cross. In hindsight, he could have just whipped out his artillery right then and there instead of wasting a finger. Yet another dumb move, making it America, -1, and Japan, -1.

I probably should mention there was a full bore counterfeiting scam going on as a backdrop to the Yakuza festivities, which sets up a good cop/bad cop scenario that Nick Conklin uses to his advantage when he shows up Superintendent Ohashi (Shigeru Kôyama) with some phony bills he palms. Witnessed by Masahiro, the Japanese inspector bemoans the fact that Nick disgraced himself and his profession by stealing, along with Nick's admission that he took advantage back home when no one was looking. The finale suggests that Masahiro will turn into a dirty cop himself with Nick's going away present, which was kind of a disappointment for this viewer. I'd like to think that maybe Mas would treat the counterfeiting plates as souvenirs.

Douglas and Garcia go to Tokyo to take on mob

[goya-4 · 7/10 · 2 September 2000]

Douglas, as a tough american detective and his partner played superbly by Andy Garcia chase down a murder suspect on his home turf- Tokyo An excellent movie that explores the culture shock felt by Douglas on his chase and the bureaucracy that tries to stop him..this violent tension filled film is not for the young ones but provides loads of action from the director of Blade Runner.. on a scale of one to ten... a 7

One of the Top Cop thrillers of the last century, supremely underrated.

[Joyyrider · 10/10 · 13 January 2007]

Micheal Douglas has always been, at least for me, one of the better actors to portray a cop on screen. Very believable, very real, he just has a natural feel for this type of role. I think its due to the fact he starred as one on TV in "The Streets of San Francisco". Everything blends in this cop thriller. It oozes style and panache. It also has an underlying emotional core that I think gets underrated by critics. Douglas as Nick Conklin has some fine moments playing off the characters played by Andy Garcia, Kate Capshaw and especially Ken Takakura. This movie combines excellent acting, gorgeous cinematography, great atmosphere, along with some solid action set pieces...and gets it right. Director Ridley Scott brings all his cinematic guns to bear and spins these elements into a definitive police action thriller. I loved this flick when I saw it in 1989 and I still do. It may not be as audacious as when it premiered, time has seen to that(ex.action scenes have really gone virtual reality)but it's still a respectable addition to your DVD library. And of that fact there is no gray area!

Action!

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 1 September 2015]

Two New York City cops arrest a Yakuza member and must escort him when he is extradited to Japan.

I got this movie on accident. I was looking for "Black Rain", a 1989 Japanese film. Instead I got "Black Rain", a 1989 American film that happens to have Japan as a big part of the plot. Strange, and I am sure I am not the first one to make this mistake. But you really cannot complain when you get to check another Ridley Scott film off your list.

This is a rather strong film for Michael Douglas. Not quite as strong as "Falling Down", but it does have some of his most vulgar and tough dialogue. The line "I usually get kissed before..." has become a small part of the popular culture.

Oh brother

[cinden-z · 3/10 · 30 July 2017]

First of all, I'm not a film snob. I love ridiculous action movies and I enjoy a good 80s cop movie. And yes, there is always some sexism and cultural insensitivity inherent in any older movie - it comes with the territory. Usually I just look past it or ignore it or laugh it off. But less than 30 minutes into this movie, I'm wondering why the h-e-double-hockey-sticks haven't the Japanese police force kicked those two stupid American cops out of their country!

Michael Douglas plays Nick, a thoroughly unlikeable New York detective with no apparent redeeming qualities. The film presents him as the troubled hero, with children and an ex wife and bills to pay and those pesky Internal Affairs cops dogging his steps. And yeah, he might be a little dirty but hey, he's just like you and me, right? Ha. If he has any good qualities, you forget about them as soon as he opens his mouth. He hardly says a word in this movie to friend or foe that isn't some kind of abuse, showing off his "tough guy" attitude, his "I'm a badass American cop, watch how manly and rough I am" persona. He spouts so much abuse at any character that crosses his path, I was really hoping he would get killed off. But nope! No such luck!

He and his younger, much more likable (but still kind of a jerk) partner Charlie escort Japanese criminal Sato back to Japan where they unwittingly allow him to escape. Whoops. Then they proceed to bluster their way through the local police department, insulting their hardworking counterparts left and right and generally making a nuisance of themselves. (Lots of manly posturing and whining and "hey, we're cops too, let us play...even though we don't know any of your laws, procedures, customs, language, etc...whatever, we're still better cops than you!) They mock their Japanese hosts at every opportunity and get all upset when they don't receive respect in return. They even steal evidence from a crime scene and expect to be THANKED for it.

Then Charlie, who was at least trying to be polite and friendly to the local PD, gets freaking decapitated and we're left with only Giant A-Hole Nick. Oh joy. Supposedly all of this murder and mayhem results in some kind of redemption for Nick, but by the time it happens I just couldn't care less about the man.

I've seen a lot of East Meets West movies, a lot of cop movies, a lot of action movies...but very few of them had me rooting AGAINST the main character from the very first scene. The only thing that saved this movie from being a complete wash was the cinematography and the great atmosphere. Very cool. Unfortunately, not enough to distract from how much I just hated Nick and everything he said or did. Which was, alas, most of the movie.

It holds up as a classic.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 31 October 2023]

Two American Detectives arrest a member of The Yakuza, and arrange to transport him back to Tokyo. When they arrive in Tokyo, they are outsmarted, and the criminal is sprung, they stay in Japan to bring him to justice.

When you read exactly what is in the mix, Ridley Scott, Michael Douglas, Andy Garcia, Oscar nominations, even the great Hans Zimmer providing the music, you'd think you were in for a classic, and I'd argue that's exactly what Black Rain is.

Ridley Scott is known for delivering hard hitting, bleak epics, and Black Rain is no exception, don't expect many lighter moments, they are few and far between, do expect action, grit, pace and a great story.

The clash of cultures makes it a very interesting watch, we have the brash, gung ho Americans up against the cultured and methodical Japanese.

The cast do a first rate job, I may be somewhat biased, but I'm a huge fan of Michael Douglas, and he's terrific here.

Lots of 1980's glamour, Kate Capshaw looks incredible in almost every scene, Garcia cuts a pretty dashing figure also.

It's a film that has aged pretty well.

9/10.

Uneven and clichéd

[ctomvelu-1 · 6/10 · 6 December 2008]

I have never been able to warm up to BLACK RAIN, a cliché-ridden 80s cop thriller. Michael Douglas, who by 1989 was a big Hollywood star with a mullet, plays a crooked cop who escorts a Yakuza home to Japan after witnessing the guy kill two people. His partner Andy Garcia is along for the ride. As soon as they touch down in Tokyo, they lose the killer and the chase is on. Soon enough, they are teamed up with a by-the-book Japanese detective, played by the doleful Ken Takakura. The problem with the movie is, it is shot MTV-style and we are all over the place with this one, rarely sitting still long enough to catch our collective breath. You'd think Tony, not Ridley, shot this one. Douglas is fine and basically carries the movie, and Garcia is believable as a naive, fresh-faced youngster who lacks Douglas' street smarts. The bad guys are stock characters and just not that interesting. In the end, too much chasing around without much of a payoff will have worn most viewers out long before the final scene.

Cliché-ridden film which really hasn't aged gracefully

[janhus · 4/10 · 29 January 2002]

This film, made in the era of "Japan, Inc" has not aged well (neither has the idea that the Japanese "model" is the superior way of organizing an economy or society). I do not know any NYC Cops but I simply cannot believe that the scriptwriter could have intended for Michael Douglas' character to be so insultingly brash. He's not a complex character at all but a spiteful cynic tough guy who fires off insults right and left to anyone near enough to hear them. No cultural ambassadorship for Douglas' "Nick" by any stretch of the imagination. But this characteristic could have been displayed with a great deal more subtlety.

The ending is typical hollywood rubbish, which allows Douglas to "get the bad guy", show that he's been somehow "cleansed" by the experiences in the film and wind up with the girl in the end. Just far too unbelievable.

The cinematography is quite spectacular though (if a little bit reminiscent of Blade Runner in its styling, unsurprisingly), and the industrial city of Osaka (not Tokyo as another reviewer suggested) plays its grim role well.

Osaka Runner

[UACW · 13 October 2005]

It's been said this is the movie Ridley thought he was going to make when he was given Blade Runner. Whether there's truth in that hardly matters: the movies share a lot, especially in terms of the stark thick imagery.

Word has it the DVD rendition is terrible, which is a shame as this movie offers so much visually.

But Black Rain is more than an aesthetic visual experience: it's a morality play, and what the morale is supposed to be might be difficult to articulate, but it's there.

The supporting cast is excellent, as is Douglas, but especially impressive are the Japanese stars Ken Takakura and the legendary Yusaku Matsuda. Takakura, a star in his home country, is eminently sympathetic, and Matsuda's way of playing his role - with a touch of smart aleck snooty adolescence - is nothing short of brilliant.

This was Douglas's project; perhaps he had something in mind. It's interesting with respect to the title, what that title means, and the fact that a documentary on the subject (and with the same name in Japanese) came out the same year.

Matsuda succumbed to bladder cancer a month after the premiere. He'd known about it for a year but didn't think it fatal. He'd been on his way to making a new film with Sean Connery. Matsuda is a legend in his home country, and was so before his illness.

The movie is largely about the Douglas and Takakura characters, but as always when Hans Zimmer has a hand in production, the music really takes off. Zimmer is perhaps the most effective film composer today if not of all time. He's done wonders with movies that might otherwise have not come to people's attention. And this is another great score. The title song with lyrics by Will Jennings is a knock-out.

And let's not forget Lady Kate Capshaw.

This one is bloody and violent, and that might not be your cup of tea and it certainly isn't mine, but just like with Leon there is a kind of quiet subtle poetry that emerges, gore or not.

Three days after seeing it again and the music and scenes are still playing in my mind. It's that strong.

And it's a definite keeper.

You're Sure This Is Top Ramen?

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 6 November 2010]

Exciting action sequences as Michael Douglas, a corrupt New York cop, and his partner, nice guy Andy Garcia, capture Sato, a young, ambitious Japanese gangster and are assigned to escort him back to his home city in Osaka Prefecture for prosecution.

The two American cops, only too happy to dump their prisoner, release him to gangsters posing as Japanese cops after doing "the paperwork," which in this case consists of Douglas signing a laundry bill written in Japanese.

The rest of the movie has Douglas and his Japanese partner, Ken Takakura, tracking down and nailing the mob in the expectable mêlée, Garcia having gone the way of all good-natured sidekicks.

The film isn't just another shoot 'em up, although fundamentally its origins are in the Mafia movie, a genre unto itself by now, and a successful one.

The Japanese locations are made good use of. Osaka is known as a city ablaze with lights. It's like living inside a Christmas tree given to excess, except that this tree has pachinko machines and plenty of noodle shops.

And it's not just the settings that matter, but the evolution of Douglas's character from unabashed crookedness to the Royal Road of ethical conduct. The mechanism of this transformation is his Japanese partner, Takakura, famous in Japanese movies for his many roles as a brooding tough guy.

After Garcia's gruesome death, Takakura takes on the job not only of cornering the Mafia but of educating Douglas in Japanese behavior. We've seen that before, of course, in "A Majority of One," "Sayonara," "Teahouse of the August Moon," "The Yakuza," and other exercises that arose out of the contact between the Japanese and American Armed Forces in the years following the way. The educational factor is made explicit in "Rising Sun." When Takakura explains that thievery shames not only the thief but the thief's friends and family, it may sound like an exaggeration, perhaps a deliberate scolding of America's dog-eat-dog mentality, but it's not. Like any other society, Japan has its miscreants, but by and large they simply don't suffer crime rates comparable to ours. I knew a guy in the military who was walking off down the street after patronizing a Japanese sporting house, and one of the hostesses came running after him, waving her hand, and shouting that he'd forgotten his wallet. Let's eat THAT with our sashimi.

There was also a moment when I thought the film might actually "go deep." While examining a crime scene, Takakura spots Douglas snitching a hundred-dollar bill from a pile. He says nothing at the time but later tells Douglas of his profound disappointment at the theft. Douglas explains defiantly that he only boosted it to determine later if it was counterfeit, then he demonstrates that it was in fact fake, jut as he suspected. At first I thought this might be an interesting object lesson. The Japanese have stereotypes of foreigners just as we do. But on reflection I think the incident was included in the script chiefly to burnish the image of Michael Douglas -- American, hero, police officer, movie star. After all, at no point do we ever see or hear evidence that Douglas is as crooked as everyone claims, although the many accusations leave us with little doubt. But I can't imagine the writers ever considered making this point too explicitly. You don't want to insult the proxy of the audience. And the movie avoids few clichés. Near the beginning there is a slam-bang fist fight between Douglas and the chief villain, who clobbers Douglas as if with a hammer. Not that Douglas actually LOSES the fight -- it's not that kind of movie. But afterward, after this brutal, punishing hand-to-hand combat, Douglas isn't bleeding. He's not even out of breath. A brief later shot shows him with a tiny Band-Aid over his eyebrow, the kind you use for a paper cut.

Not a bad movie, though. The performances are all by polished professionals. There are subtle comic moments as well as drama. And another exposure of Americans to an alien life style couldn't hurt. Yet, finally, it could have been much more than what it is, if the writers and producers had had more "thumos." Instead, they went for the commercially successful, dragging in a kind of middle-brow lesson in morality, easily swallowed, not too challenging, soothing even.

BLACK LABELLED RAINCOAT

[MadamWarden · 7/10 · 30 August 2020]

This is a stylish if somewhat dated (now) mismatched partner cop flick. The mismatch is not your standard comedy fare, but rather an interesting, if somewhat superficial, examination of the cultural differences between the USA and Japan.

The acting is so so, dialogue ok, and the plot fun. The strength of this movie is the cinematic style that only Scott can bring. He is a master!

A high-class B-movie thriller, if that makes sense

[Quinoa1984 · 7/10 · 27 April 2008]

Black Rain may not be one of the best films I've seen from director Ridley Scott or from Michael Douglas. Despite all the work to make it a darker effort than one might see, and more exotic with the Japanese locales, there's still the good-ol' American style to the story of "I always get my man", and it's the main thing that keeps it into the conventional and even 'safe' territory. But where it strikes its best ground, and stays fresh outside of its 80's period (and at this point it's a period piece thanks to the drastic drop in crime in NYC, if not in how the yakuza works in Japan), is in its focus as a character study, as opposed to the action which is more or less to be expected (there's even a ritualistic beheading of a character, of whom I won't reveal).

For Michael Douglas this was an attempt to deepened his persona as a star from what his two huge hits had been two years before (Wall Street and Fatal Attraction). Here he's not in a 'gray' area as a character, he's a fallen soul who curses like a sailor, is even more of a hard-ass than Harry Callahan, and will go to any length to get his man as it continues to go against the Japanese police force. It's a good character for him to play, and he has good back up with Andy Garcia as a fresh-faced young cop and Ken Takakura especially in a subtle part as the Japanese detective who's along for, whether he likes it or not, the long haul of this case against the psycho yakuza Sato (bad-ass Yukatsu Matsuda, sadly his last film). It's such a fascinating batch of characters and actors (hell, even Kate Capshaw gets her due as a noir character) that it's a shame the plot sometimes gets in the way as the yakuza prepare for a counterfeiting scam.

As luck would have it, almost in spite of the limitations of the script, Scott and DP Jan de Bont make the film cool to look at, with that touch of exotic locales and strange presences to scenes that Scott obviously loves, and with that smokey tint that was a trademark of much of the Scott brothers work (Ridley and Tony) up until the mid 90s. It's an atmospheric dip into some hard-edged pot-boiling fun and danger, just as long as you don't think too much about it amounting to a small hill of beans. 7.5/10

Loss of face

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 11 April 2015]

When Ridley Scott filmed Black Rain in Japan and got some top players in the Japanese cinema to appear in it, it was at a time when relations between Japan and the USA were tense. Japan was in the midst of an economic boom that got a lot in America quite jealous. Can't really blame them that much as Japan's prosperity was due to American protection because Japan spent a pittance on a defense budget as compared to what we spend. When the Japanese boom eventually went bust ironically things got a whole lot better.

Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia are a pair of American cops who arrest a top Yakuza boss right in New York. They'd like to keep him here, but are ordered to extradite him to Japan as a matter of good will, sorely needed in 1989.

Upon landing in Osaka they lose the prisoner and I won't say how. Garcia's all for going back to New York and face their music but Douglas wants to get him back. It costs Garcia his life.

Some elements of the Robert Taylor/George Raft police drama Rogue Cop are present here. Douglas is a cop who at a minimum shuts his eyes to corruption and Internal Affairs is on his case. Garcia is relatively new and a Boy Scout. He's more in line with the Japanese who according to Black Rain just don't have corruption. It's all about honor and saving face in their tradition. Douglas teams up with Japanese detective Ken Takahara and they take down a pair of feuding Yakuzas more in an American movie style shootout.

Michael Douglas plays well of both Andy Garcia and Ken Takahara, their scenes have both bite and poignancy. The feuding Japanese Yakuza are played by Tomisaburo Wakayama as the older and Yusaku Matsuda as the younger and more evil and violent. Matsuda was in fact dying of cancer when he took on the role in Black Rain. I suspect a whole lot more doubling than usual was working here.

Black Rain is surely dated now that America and Japan seem to be back on track together again. It's still a good action film with some fine acting by Michael Douglas and the rest of the cast.

Ridley Scott's Most Underrated Film

[dee.reid · 10/10 · 18 July 2001]

Black Rain (1989) Starring Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia.

Running Time: 125 min. Rated R

Black Rain stars Michael Douglas(Wall Street, Falling Down) and Andy Garcia(The Untouchables, Desperate Measures) as Detectives Nick Conklin and Charlie Vincent. One day while eating lunch at a local diner, they witness a horrific mob killing. The twist is that the killer is a dangerous gangster named Sato(Yusaku Matsuda) from Japan who is also wanted their for various other crimes. Soon after, a chase ensues and Sato is captured. The police tell Nick and Charlie that he must be returned to Japan in order to be prosecuted. When they finally get to Japan, the police there are very generous in accepting Sato, only they're not the police, they're Sato's thugs in disguise. So Nick and Charlie must go after him, but because they are foreigners, no one will help them in their investigation and they must also accept a new partner (Ken Takakura).

Filmed on location in Tokyo, Japan, Ridley Scott, who also directed Alien(1979), Blade Runner(1982) and Gladiator(2000) sets up a really dark tone for, much as he does in most of his films.

It's also surprising how low the rating is for this movie. It's a classic like so many other of Scott's films.

10/10

"Black hole sun,Wont you come,and wash away the rain."

[morrison-dylan-fan · 7/10 · 16 April 2014]

Despite owning the video for a number of years,I always found myself pushing it to the side,due to the film appearing to be rather dry. With a poll taking place on IMDb's Classic Film board for the best titles of 1989,I was happily caught by surprise,when a very kind IMDber gave me the chance to at last take a look at the movie,which led to me getting set to see the black rain pour.

View on the film:

Teaming up with the cinematography who had given Die Hard its crystal clear appearance, (who would end up working with Rain's originally chosen director,when he crossed legs with lead actor Michael Douglas on the Erotic Thriller Basic Instinct) director Ridley Scott and Jan De Bont give the movie a strong futuristic glaze,thanks to Scott and De Bont's making Black Rain's US look like a burning industrial zone,whose colour patterns are emphasized by De Bont and Scott brilliantly covering Japan in flashing,face melting bright,neon lights.

Cut by over 30 minutes,the screenplay by Craig Bolotin and Warren Lewis never quite gel the 2 excellent strips of the title into one whole entity. For the US set part of the ,movie,and also the beginning of Vincent and Conklin adventure in Japan,the writers decide to take a fish out of water approach with the plot,which despite allowing some charming 'buddy cop' moments to rise to the surface,leads to the potentially interested new Japan based characters to be rather 2D,thanks to all of their relationships with Vincent and Conklin being shown as disconnected.

Taking the movie in a wonderful Neo-Noir direction for the second half,the writers peel the buddy cop side away and instead introduce a burnt out cop,who despite having been used as a punch line for the first half,is successfully used to pull Charlie and Nick into the vicious underground of the Yakuza.

Made just a few weeks before he was to tragically pass away from cancer,Yusaku Matsuda gives a terrific sharp performance as Sato,with Matsuda keeping Sato away from becoming a simple boo-hiss villain,thanks to showing that Sato has a real skill in making others drop their guard,in order for he and his gang to strike at their hardest. Taking on Sato,Andy Garcia gives a delightfully playful performance as Charlie Vincent,with Garcia showing Vincent to be a quick-witted cop,who will also never turn down a chance to party.

Entering the movie on a stylish motorbike,Michael Douglas gives an excellent performance as Nick Conklin,thanks to Douglas balancing Conklin's laid-back attitude that he has with Vincent with a wonderful tough'n'gruff Neo-Noir edge,which Douglas brings to the front of the title,as Nick Conklin starts to see black rain fall from the sky.

This is typical Hollywood claptrap

[pocaree · 2/10 · 28 June 2000]

Black Rain is your typical Hollywood movie...shallow. This movie contains so many stereotypes about Japan and the Japanese people it is almost insulting. The audience is led to believe that an American cop with a chip on his shoulder is able to infiltrate the Yakuza, Police system etc.in less than 24 hours. Haven't we seen enough 'America saves the world' type movies? Perhaps the only good thing about this movie is that for a change they actually have Japanese actors playing Japanese people and not an Asian looking face. Save your time and watch Sidney Polack's 'The Yakuza' which at least digs deeper into the Japanese mindset.

Justice Falls Like Black Rain

[arthurclay · 10/10 · 21 October 2003]

Black Rain is hands down the best cop movie ever made! And I'm not saying that just because I like it. The cinematography and even the costumes were phenomenal and couldn't have been any better. Whoever did the casting for this movie earned their pay and then some. You couldn't have found better actors anywhere in the world. This is Michael Douglas at his best as New York Detective Nick Conklin, a macho yet streetwise cop after a coldblooded Yakuza killer all the way from the back alleys of Manhattan to the streets of Japan. Andy Garcia also gives a tour-de-force performance as Douglas's partner Charley Vincent and gives the movie some extra humor. There some great one liners here. I even like Kate Capshaw as Conklin's friend and love interest. Sato Kogei, the bad guy, is played brilliantly and almost effortlessly by Yusako Matsuda. Why haven't I ever seen this guy in anything else? Definitely one of my top ten best villains to grace the silver screen. Also look for Ken Takakura as Masahiro Matsamodo the stubborn and by the book police officer who befriends Douglas and Garcia and helps them chase Matsuda (Takakura was also in Mr. Baseball). Sato's rival Sugai Kenyo gives a stunningly great performance as well as the old time crime boss. Anyways if you haven't seen this film go out and get it like I did and make it part of your collection. Its great viewing, timeless and worth every penny. You won't regret it.

Underrated Film With Great Shots Of Tokyo & New York City. Great Use Of Light.

[Real_Review · 6/10 · 22 May 2019]

Underrated film by Ridley Scott. Better than most cop dramas, with excellent cinematography. Like many films from the '80's, the music is bad and dates the movie a little. But, 'Black Rain' is good enough to tolerate bad fashion and music choices.

RealReview Posting Scoring Criteria: Acting - 1/1; Casting - 1/1; Directing - 1/1; Story - 1/1; Writing/Screenplay - 1/1;

Total Base Score = 5

Modifiers (+ or -): Cinematography: +1;

Music/Soundtrack: -0.5;

Believability/Consistency: +0.5;

Total RealReview Rating: 6

Dirty Harry Goes to Japan

[view_and_review · 2/10 · 15 February 2020]

In this sloppy attempt at a cultural crossover you have an insufferable a-hole cop named Nick (Michael Douglas) who escorts a prisoner to Japan. He released the prisoner, Sato (Yusaku Matsuda), to a police imposter and now he's committed to catching him. In the meantime he goes through Japan like a bull in a China shop being a brash, arrogant, insulting, unbearable dick. I wouldn't care if he was the greatest cop on planet Earth, he didn't have sense enough to tone it down while in another country? He was behaving like he was still in New York where rude intolerable pricks are cherished.

I was tempted to shut it off several times before I finally did. I wanted to turn it off when his suddenly stupid partner, Charlie (Andy Garcia), walked right into an obvious trap that got him killed. I was tempted to turn it off when Mas (Ken Takakura) gave Nick a gun though he wasn't supposed to have one in Japan. I finally turned it off when the convenient American girl that spoke Japanese was Johnny on the spot to help Nick find another gangster he was looking for.

So, as far as I know, Nick could've had a change of heart and decided to be less of an American ass. Maybe Nick realized the error of his ways and left policing in Japan to the Japanese. I doubt it and I didn't care to find out.