Best movie of this year hands down!

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

First of all, I'm not a film snob. I love ridiculous action movies and I enjoy a good 80s cop movie. And yes, there is always some sexism and cultural insensitivity inherent in any older movie - it comes with the territory. Usually I just look past it or ignore it or laugh it off. But less than 30 minutes into this movie, I'm wondering why the h-e-double-hockey-sticks haven't the Japanese police force kicked those two stupid American cops out of their country!Michael Douglas plays Nick, a thoroughly unlikeable New York detective with no apparent redeeming qualities. The film presents him as the troubled hero, with children and an ex wife and bills to pay and those pesky Internal Affairs cops dogging his steps. And yeah, he might be a little dirty but hey, he's just like you and me, right? Ha. If he has any good qualities, you forget about them as soon as he opens his mouth. He hardly says a word in this movie to friend or foe that isn't some kind of abuse, showing off his "tough guy" attitude, his "I'm a badass American cop, watch how manly and rough I am" persona. He spouts so much abuse at any character that crosses his path, I was really hoping he would get killed off. But nope! No such luck!He and his younger, much more likable (but still kind of a jerk) partner Charlie escort Japanese criminal Sato back to Japan where they unwittingly allow him to escape. Whoops. Then they proceed to bluster their way through the local police department, insulting their hardworking counterparts left and right and generally making a nuisance of themselves. (Lots of manly posturing and whining and "hey, we're cops too, let us play...even though we don't know any of your laws, procedures, customs, language, etc...whatever, we're still better cops than you!) They mock their Japanese hosts at every opportunity and get all upset when they don't receive respect in return. They even steal evidence from a crime scene and expect to be THANKED for it.Then Charlie, who was at least trying to be polite and friendly to the local PD, gets freaking decapitated and we're left with only Giant A-Hole Nick. Oh joy. Supposedly all of this murder and mayhem results in some kind of redemption for Nick, but by the time it happens I just couldn't care less about the man. I've seen a lot of East Meets West movies, a lot of cop movies, a lot of action movies...but very few of them had me rooting AGAINST the main character from the very first scene. The only thing that saved this movie from being a complete wash was the cinematography and the great atmosphere. Very cool. Unfortunately, not enough to distract from how much I just hated Nick and everything he said or did. Which was, alas, most of the movie.

l'd watched this picture for first time in 1993 on television since then more twice but now on DVD on widescreen format and classic dubbed version. The movie remember Robert Mitchum's Yakuza and Ridley Scoth has a visual approach of Blade Runner in many scenes...and Michael Douglas as a corrupt cop in a mission in Japan to delivery mob's gangster who escape of this hands for a false Japanese police which arrive early at airport...so he has to prove that wasn't intentional escape and they accept but as observer until your friend and cop Andy Garcia be killed by the mob's boss...even has been suspicious of your past by local police Douglas have a new partner and together trying to arrest the gangster who now have a half of plate to make fake dollars...great Scoth's picture on action and great surprise in the end!!!

**NO SPOILER REVIEW** I really liked this movie. This movie has some AMAZING cinematography, and does a fairly good job of portraying the culture shock that an American would experience during a first time visit to Japan, even though it's somewhat simplified and is also trying to be a buddy cop movie where there's also a good cop/bad cop dynamic. Bottom line is, it's a movie, some themes will have to simplified otherwise it'd be a 3 hour slog.The concepts of "GAIJIN" and Japanese police culture aren't fully explained so if you take some time to learn about these two things beforehand it makes the movie much more cohesive and ... well, just helps things make more sense. The movie 'Freakonomics' details a fascinating aspect of Japanese police culture which is on full display in this film, I highly recommend you watch a segment in the movie 'Freakonomics' on Japanese policing (probably 20-30 minutes long) I'd also suggest you briefly read up on Japanese people's disdain for a "Gaijin" prior to watching this movie if you aren't familiar with either concept. It will greatly enhance your viewing experience. Also keep in mind that in Japanese culture, saving face and maintaining honor (in all aspects of life, not just policing) is of the utmost importance, this will help explain why the Japanese seemed to do some of the things they did in the movie. It wasn't that unrealistic or far-fetched if you ask me.FYI: I served overseas as a military service-member in Tokyo (so I WAS the Gaijin), this is partially why I enjoyed the film so much. If you lived in Japan like I did you probably don't need to read up on "Gaijin" or research too deeply into Japanese culture since you're already familiar. I'm rating this 10 stars because some other people rated the movie way too low IMO, the cinematography alone is 5 star quality, the plot is somewhat predictable at times but there are a few surprising twists so I wasn't disappointed. If you ever traveled to Japan (which would help you understand and enjoy the film's setting easier) or if you enjoy Asian themed cop flicks (i.e. Police Story, Supercop, etc.) then you'll like this movie. I was lucky to come across it on Amazon Prime so if you see it on your streaming service definitely give it a watch!

"Black Rain" is a good crime picture, no more and no less. None of the characters are all that complex or interesting, but there's still plenty of atmosphere that's inherent to the setting. It's got a familiar culture clash / fish out of water story, and the fact that the extremely capable director Ridley Scott is at the helm ensures that it will be visually striking and never boring.Michael Douglas stars as Nick Conklin, a streetwise NYC cop who's being investigated by Internal Affairs on charges of corruption. Nick and his fun loving, brash young partner Charlie Vincent (Andy Garcia) happen to arrest a bold killer named Sato (Yusaku Matsuda), who butchers two associates in a restaurant full of people. Nick and Charlie are saddled with the duty of escorting Sato back to the authorities in Japan, and unknowingly deliver Sato to his own people, who masquerade as detectives. The two Americans get caught in the middle of a war among members of the Yakuza while the Japanese police assign a well meaning cop named Masahiro (Ken Takakura) to work with them.We've seen hard headed, reckless cops like Nick in countless other action movies, and as good as Douglas is, we kind of know what to expect from his character, and know that he isn't all that bad and will be looking to regain his honour. Ultimately, having or regaining that sense of honour is the theme of the movie. It's as slick as all get out, with Jan de Bont doing a bang-up job of capturing the colourful locales of Japan on film. The movie does go on for quite a bit, but it does end things on a high note with a solid action climax and a touching scene between Nick and Masahiro (or Mas, as Nick and Charlie start nicknaming him). Kate Capshaw doesn't make much of an impact as Joyce, an American living in Japan and working as a club hostess. Familiar character players among the supporting cast include John Spencer, Luis Guzman, John Costelloe, Stephen Root, Richard Riehle, Vondie Curtis-Hall, and in "blink and you'll miss them" parts, Professor Toru Tanaka and Al Leong. Garcia is quite likable as Charlie, Tomisaburo Wakayama has a great screen presence as mob boss Sugai, but the man who really makes "Black Rain" worth seeing is Takakura, who's endearing as the kind of character who's by-the-book to begin with, but who will eventually start following the maverick leads' example.Action fans should enjoy this, as well as Ridley Scott and Michael Douglas completists. It may not be terribly innovative (at least script wise), but it's good filmmaking and efficient storytelling that does entertain.Seven out of 10.