A review by Brooks Rich
We're kicking off Ridley Scott month with a forgotten film of his that gets unfairly maligned. Consider this the makeup for me missing forgotten film Friday yesterday. Black Rain might not be on the same level of those legendary Scott films like Alien and Blade Runner. But Black Rain is a fun and slick '80s crime thriller about a pair of American cops traveling to Japan and taking on the Yakuza.
Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia play Nick and Charlie, two New York cops who travel to Osaka to hand off a Yakuza heavyweight they captured in New York to the Osaka police. When they are duped into giving the man away, they tag along with the Osaka police to try and recapture him.
That's all I want to say for the plot as there's a big twist about halfway through the film that you won't see coming. The film is kind of known for this twist. I wish I could discuss it but it would be wrong of me to spoil it. But the film takes on this completely feel after the twist.
This is yet another exampled of the brilliance of Michael Douglas. Really in the '80s and '90s he was one of the biggest stars in the world. Black Rain is not his best performance, I reserve that distinction for previously covered films like A Perfect Murder, The Game, and The American President, but I think Douglas is solid as hell as Nick Conklin, disgraced NYPD cop. Douglas brings a grittiness and pain to the role where Garcia acts as the smooth talking likable counterpart to him. Also props to Japanese actor Ken Takakura who plays Masahiro Matsumoto, the representative of the Osaka police assigned to keep an eye on them. The three work well together and I would have loved to see a series of films with them solving crimes in Osaka.
Scott makes Osaka feel both like this shining beacon of industry and crime ridden cesspool at the same time. The '80s and early '90s had this fascinating with Japan and the rising industrial and business market coming from there. Black Rain both fears and reveres the Japanese culture. This isn't Scott's best to be sure but it's definitely one worth seeing.
We're kicking off Ridley Scott month with a forgotten film of his that gets unfairly maligned. Consider this the makeup for me missing forgotten film Friday yesterday. Black Rain might not be on the same level of those legendary Scott films like Alien and Blade Runner. But Black Rain is a fun and slick '80s crime thriller about a pair of American cops traveling to Japan and taking on the Yakuza.
Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia play Nick and Charlie, two New York cops who travel to Osaka to hand off a Yakuza heavyweight they captured in New York to the Osaka police. When they are duped into giving the man away, they tag along with the Osaka police to try and recapture him.
That's all I want to say for the plot as there's a big twist about halfway through the film that you won't see coming. The film is kind of known for this twist. I wish I could discuss it but it would be wrong of me to spoil it. But the film takes on this completely feel after the twist.
This is yet another exampled of the brilliance of Michael Douglas. Really in the '80s and '90s he was one of the biggest stars in the world. Black Rain is not his best performance, I reserve that distinction for previously covered films like A Perfect Murder, The Game, and The American President, but I think Douglas is solid as hell as Nick Conklin, disgraced NYPD cop. Douglas brings a grittiness and pain to the role where Garcia acts as the smooth talking likable counterpart to him. Also props to Japanese actor Ken Takakura who plays Masahiro Matsumoto, the representative of the Osaka police assigned to keep an eye on them. The three work well together and I would have loved to see a series of films with them solving crimes in Osaka.
Scott makes Osaka feel both like this shining beacon of industry and crime ridden cesspool at the same time. The '80s and early '90s had this fascinating with Japan and the rising industrial and business market coming from there. Black Rain both fears and reveres the Japanese culture. This isn't Scott's best to be sure but it's definitely one worth seeing.
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