Black Rain

A perfectly 80's dirty cop, fish out of water tale featuring antihero Douglas and his oh so American casual racism. He's more gruff than McGruff the Crime Dog but only half as house trained. The real fish out of water was Kate Capshaw surrounded by all these professional actors.

Black Rain is possibly Ridley Scott's most underrated film. Michael Douglas gives a solid performance and I'd of loved to of seen him do more roles like this. Both Ken Takakura and Yusaku Matsuda are great also. But Andy Garcia is horribly annoying. Atmospherically Jan De Bont's gloomy cinematography is stunning and Hans Zimmer's brilliant score superbly captures Japan. It's regarded by many as just another 80's action/thriller, but I think Black Rain is definitely something of an unsung gem.

I think the movie wants me to think Douglas' cop character is 'a badass loner who doesn't play by the rules' rather than 'a petulant child who has absolutely no impulse control'. It doesn't do a very good job at that. Scott's Japan is stylish to a fault, and the xenophobic loathing is nearly palpable. Kind of a miserable experience.

Looks great for the most part, but the script is so stupid, with Douglas's character such an absurd walking cliché of a renegade "badass" cop that the whole thing regularly resembles more of a parody than a straight thriller. My favourite part was probably Matsuda's deranged, bug-eyed performance, but even that was under-utilised.

Fish out of water detective story, where the fish is kind of a moron who screws things up, with a bit of light criticism of the US. Ridley Scott directs with his usual polish, some twists scribble outside the expected genre lines to add a bit of depth and interest, and it has aged remarkably well apart from flagrantly 80s music. It's a thoroughly decent detective film that is easy to enjoy.

It's funny, but Tokyo in real life looks less realistic than the set of scott's earlier film Blade Runner

The longer I live in Japan, the more ridiculous this movie feels. The 'looking like somebody stuck a chopstick up your ass' acting style gets annoying quickly.

Though there's quite a bit of enjoyable substance and detail to Black Rain, it drifts more and more toward its genre's stupid convention culminating in an embarrassingly cliched finale. I can't give it points for originality, but it stands head and shoulders above most 80s action fare in terms of performances (Garcia, Takakura and Douglas in his top form, as well as a good supporting cast), gorgeous sets and photography, nice tension and a perfect spot of humor. The synth music did not impress.

Guh go away Kate Capshaw . I thought you were only contained within Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Long-winded action film elevated by Scott's innate style behind the camera, and the perpetual satisfaction of seeing Douglas go rogue in the final act of a thriller, but this is ultimately a pretty flabby affair, not helped by a lack of logic to key plot points (especially the major incident at the halfway mark). The film also wallows in dated cultural imperialist notions to sometimes cringe-worthy extremes (and Capshaw's role is laughable). Still, for Douglas and Scott fans, it's worth a watch.

This was the beginning of Ridley Scott sucking.

Black Rain is perhaps the prime example of American insecurities about Japan in pop culture in the late 80's/early 90's. Visually it's amazing because Scott doubles down on the aesthetic of Blade Runner, everything is giant neon or angled light pouring in through a ventilation fan. Besides that it's mediocre, as Douglas doesn't work as an action star and both Garcia and Capshaw are terrible. The culture clash dynamic is surface level and the stakes involved in the gang war aren't interesting.

Decent late 80's cop flick; The cinematography and the soundtrack are great and the visuals of Osaka Japan look great. The acting pretty good. Andy Garcia and Michael Douglas put in good performances but Yusaku Matsuda steals it as the villain Saito, a role which would be his last.Plays heavily on the culture clash between US/JPN & the anxieties both countries have about the other. It's worth checking out if you're into 80's cop flicks or just like 80's action flicks,you'll enjoy this film.

This film is excellent proof of how much better action films _looked_ in 80s/90s, sadly it is not all that good apart from that.

"öcü gibi korkuyorlar gelecek-japon yoldaşımdan" döneminin açık mensupları içerisinde görece eli yüzü daha düzgün olanlardan. scott reklam filmi çeker gibi çalışıyor, douglas'un uyuz karakteri de dönemin gözdelerinden andy garcia'nın manik performansı da standart hikaye de ne ilginç bir şeyler sunuyor ne de geviş getirirken boğuyor.

It's not a bad cop movie, but Douglas' character gets annoying over the course of two hours as he seems to be more of a petulant child than conflicted policeman.

Had potential, but they blew it. Wonder why...

Weaker entry from Scott is watchable, but nothing special.

Orientalism. :rolleyes: Still...

Miss those movies where it is always night.

Lidt for meget Douglas

A fish out of water story of an American cop mixed up in something that leads him to Japan, and given his fast and loose strategy in a country filled with red tape and restraint, it would seem like a prime set up for a comedy, but "Black Rain" tries to be serious and gritty and while it does work, it's also counterintuitive and feels unnatural.

Score based on distant recollection.

Ridley Scott has been hella racist before now! Total trash - ugly, repetitive, overlong, unexciting, standard cop fare. Devoid of value.

It's put together decently enough, and it's not dull. It's just so... *normal*. Nothing on display here is really special

The characters in this aren't as charismatic as one might expect, and a lot of what's here is fairly by-the-books for a cop movie. What elevates this is the performances, and the lack of subtitles. Most notably, though, it's the cinematography, which has some of the most unique and atmospheric footage of Japan to be seen in an American movie.

Kick ass action.

Cliche '80s film all around but it tries its best. Visuals and feel of the location are great when there isn't any cliche '80s steam filling the screen. A decent watch if it's on tv on a boring Sunday afternoon but I wouldn't go further than that

When I saw Michael Douglas on a bike in the first few minutes, little did I know he would finish the classic 80s third act action all bloody and muddy but with honor so he can redeem himself but mostly a new partner after he lost his first to Yakuza (ofc he gets the girl).

Absurdus maximus? Not entirely. The last section salvages some of the name and fame associated with the movie.

59.000

It's Blade Runner, but without the sci-fi... Very wet and rainy. And I love it!

It's less badass than it looks, but Douglas makes this pretty watchable and entertaining. Hollywood would make better asian american cop films in the following decade.

American cop with attitude aggravates, annoys and offends his colleagues on foreign soil but a mutual respect develops through their work despite their differing approaches. It might sound good but this description could be duplicated and used for a number of films. Nothing new or exciting !

I saw this in the theater, and that's all I remember. Some kind of cop thing that obviously left no impression on me at all.

Absolutely ridiculous premise, it becomes unwatchable the more you mull upon how braindead stupid the plot is

Pretty good cop film.

This movie had a few interesting scenes. There were no real strong female characters in the film. The action scenes were very ho hum. This would be just an average film overall.

The aftermath of Hiroshima on a very personal level. A couple want to see their niece get married but survivors of the bombing are not desirable. Thoughtful and heart breaking.

57.500

good movie

Steeped in 80s style twice over, Japan becomes a recreation of Blade Runner's futuristic L.A., full of diffuse lighting, neon, cycling fans, low ceilings, and small humans trying to make it through this cold, concrete environment. . A pleasure to look at, and if Michael Douglas's morally gray New York cop remains inaccessible, Scott still captures the noir mood -- listless, lost, and, to use that word again, gray.

Rarely any Douglas's movies that is not top-notch. He gets the best storylines and is a great actor.

Slow, dense, stylish, grumpy, tense, and hard as nails. The production value is through the roof and the whole movie feels like an adapted graphic novel. Possibly the definitive 80's cop thriller.

Essentially this is every Steven Seagal movie ever made, just done well, boasting a scriptwriter who appreciates the nuances of cultural differences, actual actors and a proper director involved.

I seem to enjoy this more and more each time I watch it. Everything is "top drawer": cinematograghy by DeBont, score by Zimmer, tough dialogue, etc. There are some outdated aspects: Douglas' mullet, cop cliches, antipathy towards Japanese but they still fit the film. Douglas, Takakura and Garcia are all in fine form and director Ridley Scott manages to create a world which mixes his own Blade Runner, real Japan and fantasy but still feels belieavable. One of best action films of 80's.

stylish but unsatisfying

Ridley took what could've been paint-by-numbers and created a stylish, genuine dramatic thriller about relationships forming across massive divides to confront a common villain.

Scott's late 80s action thriller might have been better if made by his brother, but this is still boasts a style and a soundtrack that rocks. Garcia is riding high in his goofy phase of his career and Ken Takakura is always a pleasure to watch.