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Black Rain

Black Rain

Drama · Action · Thriller · 1989

Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and as they try to track him down, they get deeper and deeper into the Japanese Mafia scene and they have to learn that they can only win by playing the game—the Japanese way.

Movie details

Black Rain

“An American cop in Japan. Their country. Their laws. Their game. His rules.”

1989 Drama · Action · Thriller 2h 5m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.6 / 10

Community rating

Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and as they try to track him down, they get deeper and deeper into the Japanese Mafia scene and they have to learn that they can only win by playing the game—the Japanese way.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Black Rain?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Ridley Scott

Written by

Craig Bolotin · Warren Lewis

Michael Douglas

Michael Douglas

Nick Conklin

Andy Garcia

Andy Garcia

Charlie Vincent

Ken Takakura

Ken Takakura

Masahiro

Kate Capshaw

Kate Capshaw

Joyce

Yūsaku Matsuda

Yūsaku Matsuda

Sato

Shigeru Kōyama

Shigeru Kōyama

Ohashi

John Spencer

John Spencer

Oliver

Court is in session

Put Black Rain on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.