Black Rain (1989)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Michael S

  
  One of the most underrated films ever made, and one of my personal favorites.

• Ken S

  
  A perfect 2 1/2 star movie. The absolute middle of the road. Not bad, not great. Well shot, but nothing extraordinary. Not ridden with cliches but nothing too original either.

• Conner R

  
  A great 80s cop movie that managed to stay serious, despite it having a Japanese biker gang and a racism theme. Michael Douglas personifies in many ways the epitome of a loose canon cop during the time. He rides around in a motorcycle with aviators and a leather jacket with tough talk… More
  A great 80s cop movie that managed to stay serious, despite it having a Japanese biker gang and a racism theme. Michael Douglas personifies in many ways the epitome of a loose canon cop during the time. He rides around in a motorcycle with aviators and a leather jacket with tough talk to accompany his look. Ridley Scott shows such a dark and different side of the crime world compared to most cop dramas of the time. In a lot of ways it is the French Connection of its time, with a lot of the same story lines and characters. While it's not as good, it still manages to create this extremely believable and imperfect world of Cops & Robbers.

• Tim S

  
  I never want to meet Michael Douglas in a dark alley.

• Wahida K

  
  Osaka, Japan. A cop on the edge. A conspiracy on the rise. A killer on the loose.

• Anthony L

  
  A modern classic. It's still sad when Andy Garcia get chopped in half by an angry motor-ninja, and it's still original in that the bad guy isn't killed at the end! Great East meets West cop film and beautifully directed!

• Cassandra M

  
  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… More
  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.

• Lenny M

  
  Japan, Motorcycles, Decapitation

• xGary X

  
  Bit of a no-brainer that's essentially Coogan's Bluff relocated to Japan. The usual nice visuals from Scott, but Douglas is as dislikeable as usual. Andy Garcia's quite good though.

• Dean !

  
  A cool action film about the Japanese criminal underworld.

• Dean M

  
  Good thriller, with director Ridley Scott's famous urban steamy visuals looking second-hand. A nice head-lopping sequence, though.

• Michael G

  
  Early 90s mediocre cinema at its finest...

• Fascade F

  
  Somebody commits a murder...how far would you go to solve it? Incredible classic scenes of Japan...

• Danny R

  
  Director Ridley Scott's visually stunning and gripping crime thriller, about a hardboiled New York City police detective Nick Conklin, played by Michael Douglas who delivers a outstanding performance that is utterly believable as a cop on the edge. He and his partner Charlie… More
  Director Ridley Scott's visually stunning and gripping crime thriller, about a hardboiled New York City police detective Nick Conklin, played by Michael Douglas who delivers a outstanding performance that is utterly believable as a cop on the edge. He and his partner Charlie Vincent, played wonderfully by Andy Garcia witness a brutal double homicide in a N.Y. restaurant by a vicious Japanese Yakuza thug, who they apprehend and than escort back to Osaka, Japan to be turned over to their police, he escapes which leads Douglas and Garcia into Osaka's exotic underworld to try to recapture him and straight into a the center of a raging feud between two Yakuza crimelords. Uniformly fine supporting performances by Ken Takakura, Kate Capshaw and Yusaku Matsuda, flawless direction by Ridley Scott, great atmosphere along with some brilliant action sequences and dazzling cinematography by Jan DeBont that adds a stylish veneer to the film. A first-rate crime thriller. Highly Recommended.

• Deb S

  
  Directed by Ridley Scott, Black Rain is a highly competent action thriller with an intelligent storyline, excellent photography, soundtrack and style and great motorcycle chase sequences. Beautiful and fascinating display of a country and its culture portraying that the Japanese views… More
  Directed by Ridley Scott, Black Rain is a highly competent action thriller with an intelligent storyline, excellent photography, soundtrack and style and great motorcycle chase sequences. Beautiful and fascinating display of a country and its culture portraying that the Japanese views of honor above all else. Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia portray a duo of U.S. cop partners whose latest mission leads them to Tokyo to take on the Japanese mob. Michael Douglas is effective as the main cop and Andy Garcia gave a great supporting role. Worth viewing at least once

• Marcus W

  
  "He's an NY cop on the edge. He doesn't follow rules. He shoots first and forgets to ask questions. Now he's in Japan - the land of respect and honour. Sparks. Will. Fly." If that wasn't the tagline it should have been. Douglas is fine, Scott's… More
  "He's an NY cop on the edge. He doesn't follow rules. He shoots first and forgets to ask questions. Now he's in Japan - the land of respect and honour. Sparks. Will. Fly." If that wasn't the tagline it should have been. Douglas is fine, Scott's direction is good, and the plot works. Watchable.

• Donna D

  
  A blast from the past When Michael Douglas was still considered a top actor, this is one of his cool action movies that I enjoyed. Andy Garcia is his awesome partner as they take on the Japanese Mafia in this action, suspense and drama flick.

• Moe E

  
  One of Ridley Scott's best! Excellent example of culture clash...

Read all 18 featured audience ratings