Black Rain (1989)

Black Rain is a 1989 American action thriller film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Craig Bolotin and Warren Lewis. It stars Michael Douglas, Andy García, Ken Takakura, Kate Capshaw, and features Yusaku Matsuda (in his final film role before his death that year) and Shigeru Kōyama. The film focuses on two NYPD officers who arrest a member of the Yakuza and must escort him back to Japan. Once there, he escapes, and the two officers find themselves dragged deeper and deeper into the Japanese underworld.

Black Rain was released by Paramount Pictures on September 22, 1989. Upon release, the film received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics, which praised the performances, action sequences, Hans Zimmer's musical score, direction and editing but criticized the screenwriting, cliched story and lack of character development, yet, following the years, the film became a major cult film and since has been widely praised.

Despite mixed reviews, Black Rain was a huge box office hit with grossing over $134 million worldwide in front of a production budget of $30 million, and was nominated for two Academy Awards; Best Sound and Best Sound Editing.

Nick Conklin is a New York City police officer facing possible criminal charges; Internal Affairs believes Nick was involved with his partner, who was caught taking criminal money in a corruption scandal. Nick, who has financial difficulties, is divorced from his wife, who has custody of their two children.

At a restaurant, Nick and his longtime partner Charlie Vincent observe two Japanese men meeting with Mafia gangsters. Nick's suspicions are validated when another Japanese man enters the restaurant, seizes a small package at gunpoint, kills two people, and leaves. Nick and Charlie chase and arrest the suspect after he nearly kills Nick. They learn that the suspect's name is Sato, whom Nick and Charlie are told will be extradited to Osaka and given to the police there. Though angered that Sato will not be prosecuted in the US, Nick agrees to escort him; Nick's captain believes this will keep Nick from causing more trouble and exacerbating the already biased Internal Affairs investigation.

When they arrive in Osaka, they surrender Sato to the Japanese police, only to discover that they were duped by impostors and that Sato has escaped. Nick convinces the Osaka police to allow them to observe the investigation, though their weapons are confiscated. They are joined by local police detective Masahiro Matsumoto. While they have dinner at one night, Nick behaves rudely and offends Matsumoto while Charlie attempts to be more polite. Nick also makes contact with an American nightclub hostess, Joyce, who explains that Nick and Charlie represent American inefficiency and stupidity to the Japanese. Through her, Nick discovers Sato is fighting a gang war with a notorious mob boss, Sugai, and traveled to New York to disrupt Sugai's counterfeiting scheme.

Nick joins a police raid without permission and takes a few $100 bills from the crime scene. The next day, Matsumoto confronts them over the theft - which has been subsequently reported in America. When Matsumoto tells Nick and Charlie that they have dishonored themselves and him as well as the police force because of the theft, Nick calls him a snitch and demonstrates the money is counterfeit by burning one of the bills. At night, Nick and Charlie walk back to their hotel drunk and unescorted - despite warnings about their safety. In an apparent prank, a young motorcyclist steals Charlie's coat and leads him to an underground parking garage - where it turns out that the motorcyclist is one of Sato's henchman and that Sato has lured Nick and Charlie into a trap; Nick, separated from Charlie, watches in horror as Charlie gets attacked before Sato ends up decapitating him. Afterwards, Nick meets up with Joyce and she comforts him at her apartment. Matsumoto later visits Nick to give him Charlie's service pistol, and the two decide to work together in order to take down Sato.

Matsumoto and Nick track down one of Sato's operatives downtown. As they observe her movements, Nick confines to Matsumoto that he stole money in New York and never told Charlie about it - though admits that he isn't proud of what he did. The operative eventually retrieves a sample counterfeit note, which she passes to a gangster. Nick and Matsumoto tail him to a steel foundry, where they find Sato is meeting Sugai, and the package from New York is a printing plate for American $100 bills. Nick confronts Sato, who escapes when swarming police arrest Nick for waving a gun in public. Nick is consequently deported back to America, but he sneaks off the plane and visits Matsumoto - who has been suspended and demoted. Matsumoto refuses to help Nick, who then resolves to persue Sato on his own. Joyce helps him meet Sugai, who explains that making counterfeit US currency is his revenge for the "black rain", or nuclear fallout, after the bombing of Hiroshima in World War II. Nick suggests a deal where Sugai can use Nick to retrieve the stolen plate from Sato, thus leaving Sugai's reputation clean and allowing Nick to get the chance to apprehend Sato once and for all.

Sugai drops Nick at a remote farm with a shotgun. Nick is nearly spotted by one of Sato's lookouts, but Matsumoto arrives and knocks the gangster unconscious. He and Nick quickly deduce that Sato plans a massacre at his meeting with Sugai. When the two crime bosses meet, Sato cuts off one of his fingers in atonement, stabs Sugai, and escapes with the plates - sparking a gunfight between Sugai's and Sato's men. Matsumoto dispatches most of the gunmen while Nick chases Sato in a dirt bike on his own. Nick prevents Sato's escape and the two engage in hand-to-hand combat. Sato initially gets the upper hand, Nick takes advantage of Sato's finger loss to defeat him. When Sato is at his mercy, Nick has the choice of whether or not to kill Sato for Charlie and all the humiliation he has suffered. Sato is spared when Nick and Matsumoto are seen taking him into police headquarters, much to the amazement of the police force.

For their contribution to Sato's arrest, Nick and Matsumoto gratefully receive commendations by the police chief superintendent. The pair later bid farewell to each other as Nick prepares to return to America. He thanks Matsumoto for his assistance and friendship, then gives him a dress shirt in a gift box before leaving. Underneath the gift box, Matsumoto finds the counterfeit printing plates and shares a smile with Nick as the protagonist walks away.