Review of Black Rain (1989) by The A — 20 Feb 2011

Although not one of Ridley's Scott's best works, it was still an engaging film thanks to the ace Director's execution. The screenplay is a dull, uneventful and cliched but Scott's execution makes the film interesting to watch and a capable performance from Douglas and the Japanese cast helps.

We follow Nick Conklin, a hot headed cop, who is accused of corruption in the beginning having trouble keeping his career straight. He and his partner Charlie witness a murder in public by a Yakuza mafia thug, whom they later capture. They are assigned to escort him back to Japan and hand him over to the authorities but upon arriving in Japan they are double crossed and fooled by the killer's men and manage to escape. Now, he must work with the Japanese authorities to catch the killer but he and his partner are pretty much relegated to the back as they are foreigners in this land and are not allowed to carry their firearms around or interfere with the locals. Faced with this problem, Nick uses whatever method he can to find the killer with or without the help of the locals and try to catch the killer. He is aided by one of the Detectives, Masahiro, who basically baby sits them. As they get closer and dig deeper, they discover a war is going on between the killer and another Yakuza Mafia Lord and are involved in a counterfeit.

Scott's trademark style and attention to detail is evident throughout the film. The Japan we see here is like a not too distant future of the Blade Runner world; neon lights are everywhere, streets are crowded, heavy traffic and pollution, steam and what not. It almost resembles L.A. of 2019.

We find ourselves lost in this culture just like Nick. The mood and atmosphere is there and there is an edge to the film. But the screenplay is a big let down that fails to keep us interested. Scott does whatever he can to inject some excitement and thrill into the script but it falls flat as the screenplay has nothing much to offer. The whole thing just leads to a disappointing climax.

The characters are somewhat interesting and Scott manages to make them connectable. Nick, in the beginning, is totally biased and pissed off with this culture and how they work, but slowly begins to accept the customs and respect them, and the relationship between Nick and Masahiro is one of the highlights in the film, but they are still not well developed. Douglas is alright in the lead role and the Japanese actor do quite well in their roles.

This is an action thriller that is short on action and heavy on drama that isn't engaging enough. But nevertheless, it's stylish, visually immersive and entertaining enough with a memorable score by Hans Zimmer.

B-.

7/10.