BLACK RAIN

I had seen this back in the day but couldn’t remember much about it.  Given that it is regarded as one of Ridley Scott’s weaker efforts my expectations of a rewatch were low.  Maybe because of this I ended up quite enjoying it.

Admittedly it got off to a poor start: a credits sequence over which a forgettable mid-tempo ballad is played.  Very 1989.  

This is followed by a sequence the only point of which is to show us that Michael Douglas’s character (NYPD detective Conklin) is a bit of a biker on the side.  Inevitably this Chekhov’s Gun returns at the end. 

We then get a poorly staged action sequence of sorts in a restaurant.

Thankfully from this point on the film picks up as Conklin and his sidekick Vincent (Andy Garcia) are tasked with transporting a member of the Yakuza to Japan. 

Scott’s visual flair is in evidence once we get to Tokyo, bringing to mind the Chinatown sequences in ‘Blade Runner’. 

This was Douglas’s first role after winning an Oscar in ‘Wall Street’ and it’s a bit hard to see what attracted him to it, given that he could play it in his sleep: a maverick cop who is happy to cut corners and who is under investigation for corruption.

I found the relationship between Conklin and Vincent quite engaging and was disappointed when the latter is killed off quite brutally, and is thereafter totally forgotten.

Kate Capshaw does what she can with a thin role as a character who keeps the plot moving by helping Conklin when he needs it.

The real acting honours belong to two Japanese actors.

Yusaka Matsuda is terrific as the main villain, a young blood desperate to take over from his seniors.  Very sadly, Matsuda was dying of cancer during the making of the film, his last.

Ken Takakura is excellent as the put-upon Assistant Inspector Matsumoto who plays by the rules and who is given the unenviable task of keeping Conklin from causing too much mayhem.

The evolution of the relationship between Conklin and Matsumoto from mutual distrust to mutual respect is nicely done and is the best part of the film.

I was therefore disappointed that the final scene between them, at the airport, is somewhat botched in my opinion.

So the film exceeded my low expectations, and just about passes muster.  It might make an interesting double bill with the superior ‘Insomnia’, another film about a dodgy cop in an alien environment, whose sidekick dies midway through.

RATING: ✓ If You've Nothing Better To Do