**THE UGLY: ‘BLACK RAIN’**

WRITING: 65
ACTING: 65
LOOK: 70
SOUND: 80
FEEL: 70
NOVELTY: 65
ENJOYMENT: 65
RE-WATCHABILITY: 55
INTRIGUE: 60
EXPECTATIONS: 60

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**THE GOOD:**

Hans Zimmer offers a slick, exhilarating and synth-heavy score, that sounds different to most of his later work but fits the tone of the film perfectly. It sounds typically 80s and somehow manages to sound sufficiently oriental at the same time.

Ridley Scott brings his usual flair and a basic understanding of tension and suspense into his directing. The action scenes are dynamic and exciting, the scenes in between steady but informative. Scott keeps the film alive by allows for a steady pace and lively tone.

I like how this film takes a fairly typical 80s cop movie setting and gives it a new spin by placing it in Japan, forcing two American policemen to work on unfamiliar territory surrounded by a foreign culture.

Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia are charismatic leads, working very well together without trying too much to take the spotlight from each other.

Ken Takakura might very well be my favourite character in this film, and he feels like an even better companion to Douglas than Garcia does.

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**THE BAD:**

It’s a pity Douglas and Garcia play such clichéd and one-sided characters. They’re not particularly interesting and seem almost too perfect.

After the swift opening, the film somewhat struggles to develop the plot until the major narrative shift in at the halfway mark.

Kate Capshaw is around to bring some female presence into the story but gets absolutely nothing of value to do.

The last act and the climax lacks the tension and feel of danger present in Scott’s best movies. It creeps forward with a surprisingly slow tempo.

Despite the fine performances and a good visual grip from director Scott, Black Rain is still a disappointingly by-the-numbers cop film that doesn’t quite reach out as much as I’d hoped it would.

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**THE UGLY:**

Entry #476 in The Most Unanswered Questions in Movie History: Where’s the black rain this film title alludes to?

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**THE VERDICT:**

_A stylish police thriller with an exotic setting and charismatic leads struggles somewhat with an uneven script._

**66% = :heavy_minus_sign: = UGLY**