Review of Rising Sun (1993) by Guillaume L — 09 Jan 2011
An awful, misguided mess of a movie. Every actor seems out of place, every line of dialogue contrived, every shlock moment of gratuitous sex or violence obviously engineered to evoke a reaction, which it does not.
It has been said that this adaptation removes the anti-Japanese bias of the book, but in trying to soften the blow the filmmakers have tripped themselves up and are left with something that is still wholly offensive and startlingly obtuse in its ignorance.
It seems that director Philip Kaufman had a film camera in one hand and a checklist of stereotypes in the other. There are no genuine moments of action or thrills in this plodding, so-called "action-thriller", and the high-tech element of photography forensics now seems awfully dated.
This was a time when Wesley Snipes was a viable action star, but he spends the whole movie in dazed disbelief. When even Sean Connery visibly gives up on the project, one knows he is in deep trouble.
This review of Rising Sun (1993) was written by Guillaume L on 09 Jan 2011.
Rising Sun has generally received mixed reviews.
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