As the eighties came to a close, Ridley Scott would continue to operate as a director-for-hire. Screenwriters Craig Bolotin and Warren Lewis – whose previous few credits included an episode of “Miami Vice” – found themselves with a hot script with “Black Rain.” At one point considered as a blue print for the second “Beverly Hills Cop” movie – which, somewhat ironically, would ultimately be directed by Ridley's brother – Paramount producers Stanley R. Jaffe and Sherry Lansing would shop the script around to multiple big stars in Hollywood. Michael Douglas, who had starred in the Jaffe production “Fatal Attraction,” would sign on to star and apparently got Ridley attached to direct. The film would end Scott's loosing streak at the box office, becoming a surprise blockbuster in 1989 and being nominated for two Oscars.
Hard-boiled New York Cop Nick Conklin is currently in hot water. After his partner was caught taking bribes, Nick is under investigation by Internal Affairs. While spending time with his partner Charlie in an Italian restaurant, he is witness to a Japanese gangster stealing a box from a mafioso and murdering him in cold blood. A chase ensues and Nick catches the guy. Nick and Charlie are assigned with transporting the killer, a Yakuza enforcer named Sato, back to Japan. Upon arriving, Sato escapes. Nick immediately butts head with by-the-book Japanese cop Masahiro Matsumoto. When Charlie is killed by Sato, the investigation becomes personal for Nick. Going against official orders, he uncovers a counterfeiting scheme and a war between different factions within the Yakuza.
In the late eighties and early nineties, certain voices in the United States claimed Japan was America's fiercest economic rival. Some were concerned about Asian corporations investing in American businesses. That this meant Japanese businessmen, with their high-tech electronics and wacky vending machines, were going to start buying up stateside competition. This supposed economic friction, steeped in old fashion xenophobia and reheated yellow peril, would spawn a handful of productions. Mostly reactionary schlock like “Rising Sun” or “Debt of Honor.” (Though it did make it into the plot of a “Godzilla” movie.) Considering its premise and the time period it was made, it's impossible not to think about “Black Rain” as part of this era of reportedly tense U.S.-Japan relations.
That's not the interesting part. What's interesting is how “Black Rain” reflects changing Japanese attitudes towards the West and vice-versa. I expected an entire movie built around fish-out-of-water shenanigans, of an American cop bristling against Japanese culture. Most of that stuff is shoved into the first half-hour and largely revolves around the language barrier. There's a laid-back comedic sequence set in a karaoke bar and that's about it, as far as scenes of Americans being baffled by Japanese customs go. Instead, the subplot about strife within the Yakuza proves more intriguing. Sato is presented as part of a new wave of Americanized Japanese, who disregard traditional concepts of honor. The older mob boss he hopes to usurp is a survivor of the bombing of Hiroshima. He hates American values and resents the growing Westernization of his country. That this character ends up being more sympathetic is especially surprising. Is “Black Rain” suggesting that, while the exchange of ideas between the U.S. and Japan is ultimately good, some of the island nation's resentment of America is probably well-founded?
This is a possibility but that's not what “Black Rain” is really about. In fact, “Black Rain” is barely about Japan at all. Instead, this is a movie devoted to Michael Douglas playing the most belligerent asshole action hero possible. Nick is introduced competing in a motorcycle street race, which he wins by jumping his bike over a ramp. He has a ball-busting ex-wife, so faceless that she literally never appears on-screen. When being interrogated by Internal Affairs, he's constantly aggressive towards them. He batters Sato on the plane ride across the Pacific. Upon meeting the Japanese police force, he immediately berates them with profanity. He outright refuses to take responsibility for his actions, even when admitting to blatantly illegal actions. By the movie's end, he's even forms a truce with the Yakuza. Nick Conklin is the most exaggerated cowboy cop this side of Marion Cobretti. He's such an over-the-top macho asshole that I honestly wonder if “Black Rain” isn't a secret satire of eighties action movie excess.
That doesn't mean there isn't some fun to be had with “Black Rain's” full-throttle embracing of cliches. As an over-the-top action movie, this is fairly entertaining stuff. The motorcycle race is ridiculous stuff but well-shot. The foot chase proceeding the factory shoot-out is similarly well framed. That sequence ends with an exploding bike and lots of collateral damage. The climax of the movie, where Nick and Masahiro declare all-out war on the Yakuza's base, is certainly exciting stuff. There's lots of goons getting shot through walls, machine guns blazing, and cars going up in flames. You know this shit is good because Al Leong has a cameo, as a henchman who gets gunned down into the back of a limousine. The climatic fight between Nick and Sato even attempts to extend the East-meets-West themes of the movie, as Sato fights with karate and Nick uses bare-knuckle boxing. It's not especially distinguished, as far as dubious action movie thrills go, but it still tickles the lizard brain.
And you can bet your ass that Ridley Scott makes sure it looks good. Jan de Bont is credited as D.P., though apparently Howard Atherton shot most of the movie. This combined talent creates a frequently gorgeous looking film. Ridley Scott happily applies his style to the metropolis of Osaka. That means lots of shots of rays of light cutting through darken areas, including behind a spinning fan, and multiple occasions of smoke billowing up through the streets. The sequences devoted to Nick and Charlie being harassed by a motorcycle street gang – a real Japanese phenomenon – on the neon-soaked streets of Osaka is especially memorable. It all looks as slick as can be, proving once again that Ridley Scott's aggressively cool style goes a long way.
I have no doubt that this movie would've been sturdier if it had focused squarely on the Japanese cast. Ken Takakura – a huge star in Japan best known, ironically, for starring in Yakuza movies – plays Masahiro. The story of a Japanese cop forced to put up with this absurd American, desperately trying to hold onto his own honor, is definitely far richer than “Black Rain's” action movie wish fulfillment shenanigans. A quiet scene in his apartment, after Nick gets Masahiro demoted at work, is a showcase for Takakura's nuanced and subtle acting skills. The fact that he still seems to question whether he's doing the right thing or not, even after he stands alongside Douglas for some vigilante justice, is intriguing. “Black Rain” is ridiculous but Takahura suggest a serious drama, about a old-fashioned cop deeply disappointed in himself, would've been worthwhile.
Takahura leads off an accomplished supporting cast. Tomisaburo Wakayama plays Sugai, the old-school Yakuza boss. The “Lone Wolf and Cub” star delivers the title-lending monologue, a withering moment in a movie otherwise lacking in dramatic weight. Yusaku Matsuda plays Sato as a stone-cold and reptile-eyed psychopath, who takes utter delight in the violence he causes and thirsts only for power. Matsuda was dying of bladder cancer at the time – the movie is dedicated to his memory – but you wouldn't know it from his fierce performance. An absolutely baby-faced Andy Garcia is charming enough as the doomed Charlie. Kate Capshaw appears as Douglas' expat love interest, a largely disposable role. Capshaw is given nothing to work with but at least looks glamorous in a series of fancy gowns.
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