On a purely visual level, Black Rain draws immediate comparison to Ridley Scott's earlier Sci-Fi classic 'Blade Runner'. The almost claustrophobic industrial streets of Osaka surrounded by neon advertisement boards and the dark hue of the city lights are reminiscent of that. These damp, dark, unknown conditions that our protagonists find themselves in is the source of most of the films strength. They're strangers in a strange land, stripped of many of their policing abilities and stuck where their hard-edged procedures are no longer acceptable despite having to face criminals who are as ruthless as they come.The film follows two cops Nick and Charlie who have to escort a member of the Japanese Mafia back to Japan and then work with the local authorities to track him down after he manages to escape. The cops are played by a stubborn Michael Douglas and a smooth Andy Garcia. Most important is that both actors are very charismatic and therefore have little trouble carrying the film with them. They manage to convey a variety of emotions whilst always convincing as tough cops. As the film progresses they realise that the Japanese police don't trust them and they fall in with honest cop Mas, whose law-abiding ways are at odds with Nick's beliefs. This is where Scott's intelligence with the film comes to the fore as he turns it on its head. It appears to be a straight-forward, almost buddy-cop like film done seriously (I still think the Rush Hour series gained a lot from this film). It certainly contains a number of 80's action film clichés and is over-stylised to a degree. Yet it goes much deeper than that. It turns more into a study of the characters morality. Nick's questionable ethics, Charlie's laid-back approach and Mas' by the book method which is seen as the true way in Japan. The way these three characters bounce off of each other is where the films best moments are. Whether they argue or laugh or mourn, they're relationships feel genuine and so does the way in which they have to change in order to succeed.I don't think the film succeeds to this degree in its other areas. The plot itself is far too clear-cut and by the numbers. So much so that if it wasn't for the strong central characters then I think the film could be easily forgotten. The Japanese culture is interesting and the way in which their criminal underworld works is interesting, yet we only get glimpses of these sides. At one point we see the Mafia meeting in a steel foundry, which is a unique setting for such a thing to happen, and it leads to them having dull conversations that musters up to very little. Same goes for Sato, the main antagonist. If it was intended to make him shadowy and intimidating then well done, but if he was meant to be interesting and layered then they failed. Kate Capshaw puts in a good performance, showing she can act after her irritating role in 'Indiana Jones', as the nightclub worker who feeds Nick secrets about the Mafia. The problem is, even with suspended logic considering the type of film it is, I have trouble believing that she would know so much about them. How could a simple hostess from Chicago find out so much, especially when she tells Nick that the Americans are seen as ineffective? Her role simply seems too convenient considering how hard the film is trying to play this story straight.Scott is in his element when it comes to how the film looks. He is a great visual story-teller and he lets the dark glow of Osaka guide us through the film. He manages to make the skyscrapers, industrial centres and stacked apartment blocks look simultaneously futuristic and decayed. Some of the neon and lighting can become overbearing, but I feel that was intentional in order to add to the oppressiveness of the location. The action sequences aren't anything out of the ordinary, but they can be effective. The climax takes place at what appears to be rice fields, which I can't say I've seen in a film before and it certainly adds something different.Despite having some big issues with its plot and the logic behind it, I think Black Rain is an enjoyable enough film if you are willing to accept it as the strongly stylised piece that it is. When it focuses on the bond between the three protagonists then it is very entertaining, down to how straight the actors play it. Yet I never felt that involved with the film because the plot simply doesn't allow you the opportunity to be sucked in. The characters, visuals and the new environment are all exciting features, but the plot line and dialogue are flat because nothing remarkable is done with them. It was clear that at this point in time Scott was stuck doing films that he liked the concept of but was always unsure about how to make it all come together.

When Ridley Scott filmed Black Rain in Japan and got some top players in the Japanese cinema to appear in it, it was at a time when relations between Japan and the USA were tense. Japan was in the midst of an economic boom that got a lot in America quite jealous. Can't really blame them that much as Japan's prosperity was due to American protection because Japan spent a pittance on a defense budget as compared to what we spend. When the Japanese boom eventually went bust ironically things got a whole lot better.Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia are a pair of American cops who arrest a top Yakuza boss right in New York. They'd like to keep him here, but are ordered to extradite him to Japan as a matter of good will, sorely needed in 1989.Upon landing in Osaka they lose the prisoner and I won't say how. Garcia's all for going back to New York and face their music but Douglas wants to get him back. It costs Garcia his life. Some elements of the Robert Taylor/George Raft police drama Rogue Cop are present here. Douglas is a cop who at a minimum shuts his eyes to corruption and Internal Affairs is on his case. Garcia is relatively new and a Boy Scout. He's more in line with the Japanese who according to Black Rain just don't have corruption. It's all about honor and saving face in their tradition. Douglas teams up with Japanese detective Ken Takahara and they take down a pair of feuding Yakuzas more in an American movie style shootout.Michael Douglas plays well of both Andy Garcia and Ken Takahara, their scenes have both bite and poignancy. The feuding Japanese Yakuza are played by Tomisaburo Wakayama as the older and Yusaku Matsuda as the younger and more evil and violent. Matsuda was in fact dying of cancer when he took on the role in Black Rain. I suspect a whole lot more doubling than usual was working here.Black Rain is surely dated now that America and Japan seem to be back on track together again. It's still a good action film with some fine acting by Michael Douglas and the rest of the cast.

Well, the opening gets way too long, and in my opinion, doesn't really detail anything except to connect at the finale action sequence. That, in my opinion is kind of stupid because it waste enough minutes to have a not so significant connection. The story gets so very predictable, just like a typical Steven Segal or Van Damme movie where he would go into a place outside the US and wreak havoc and beat the living hell out of the sorry people there. Having a very predictable plot, it gets even more stupid by presenting it just over two hours long. The scenes take too long while most viewers would have guessed where they would lead to after the first 2 or three minutes into them anyways. Michael Douglas tried to act as the tough guy cop, but in my opinion, he should stick to dramas, or at most thrillers, and stay away from action movie.

What could be a more flattering gift to the world's second most prosperous nation than Nick Conklin? He rides a motorbike, awkwardly struggles to master using chopsticks, pronounces Sato as Sate-Oh, and instructs his veteran Japanese counterpart with lines like "sometimes you have to go for it!" Black Rain is one of the very few legitimate explanations foreigners have for being concerned about arrogance in America. Japanese are characterized as by-the-book squares who immediately allow impersonators to snatch someone on their most-wanted list right from under them. Luckily, two rough-mannered New York buddy detectives, one of whom later admits to being "crooked", help teach those Osaka keystone cops how it's done---American style!! I enjoyed the cinematography of Japan's bustling metropolitan scene and peaceful rural setting, but isn't that what the Travel Channel is for?