Black Rain (1989): Ridley Scott Thriller, Starring Michael Douglas

Largely set in Japan, Ridley Scott’s violent action thriller, Black Rain, starring Michael Douglas, was nominated for two Oscar Awards but lost in both categories.

Grade: C+ (**1/2* out of *****)

Douglas, high on the heels of his 1987 Best Actor Oscar for Wall Street and the smash hit erotic thriller Fatal Attraction (made in the same year) plays a tough New York City cop named Nick Conklin.

Suspected by his superiors for allegedly dipping into confiscated drug money, he expects no sympathy from his former wife, who is demanding her alimony.

However, he gets a chance to redeem himself when he is assigned to escort Japanese mob boss Yusaku Matsuda back to his country in order to stand trial.

Upon arriving in Osaka, Douglas and his partner Charlie Vincent (Andy Garcia, then rising star, and soon to appear in Coppola’s “The Godfather, Part III”) are tricked into releasing their prisoner.

In conflict with both the U.S. and Japanese police authorities, Conklin is forced to deal with the Yakuza-the Japanese equivalent of the Mafia in order to retrieve the elusive Sato (Yusako Matsuda).

Culture clash: For a while, the tale, unevenly scripted by Craig Bolotin and Warren Lewis, is engaging due to its detailed portrait of the different methods used by the police forces of the two countries.

At the time, some critics complained that Japan looks in this picture very much like a futuristic L.A., perhaps a result of Ridley Scott’s dark sci-fi, the noir cult picture “Blade Runner.”

Though he originated the project, Michael Douglas, is stuck with a routine, narrowly defined role that even he, usually a likable and sympathetic actor even when he plays anti-heroes, can’t rescue.

Others felt that the portraiture of the Japanese was too stereotypical and even racist, turning the picture, perhaps unintentionally, into a demonstration of cultural imperialism and American superiority.

Nonetheless, most reviewers agreed about the high-quality acting of the Japanese performers, Ken Takakura and Yusako Matsuda (in his screen final role after a bladder cancer).

You can spot in a small part Kate Capshaw (later better known as Spielberg’s second wife) as an American bar girl, who caters to Japanese businessmen.

Despite mixed reviews, Black Rain was a commercial hit globally, earning $134.4 million at the box office against a production budget of $30 million, though it did much better in Japan than in the U.S.

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