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Rising Sun

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source: Rising Sun

SNIPES NEEDED BETTER TECHNICAL ADVICE ON THIS FILM, BE AUSE IT IS LAUGHABLE TO EVERY REAL POLICE DETECTIVE TO WATCH HIM TASTE THE WHITE POWDER IN THE MURDERED GIRLS APARTMENT. NO REAL POLICE DETECTIVE WOULD. NEVER TASTE A WHITE POWDER LAYING OUT IN A DEAD WOMANS APARTMENT DURING A HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION. IT COULD BE ARCENIC.

There are couple of things I remember from this movie. First is the woman on table, the tapes and the girl fixing those tapes. Second thing is the old Japanese proverb. Connor quoted old Japanese proverb "Nothing is more important than gardening and..." I'm not sure how it continues or did it go like that! Does anyone remember it correctly, or could you check? I don't have the movie anymore. I'd like to borrow it! I liked Connery, he was very convincing. if there wasn't Wesley Snipes this would be a good movie. Is there already a Japanese version of this? I'd really like to see it. Without Hollywood crap I mean.

"Rising sun" is a first-rate thriller with an exceptional balance between action and suspense. The association of Connery and Snipes works on different levels and the supporting roles (Keitel,Tagawa) bring depth but also fun to the story. The film is visually captivating at times (the "phantom" scene on the videodisc - a great idea! You recognize Michael Crichton's touch here) and the story, although a bit confusing at times, has no real holes when you think about it. ***SPOILER*** Or maybe one: it may not appear very coherent that a politician who is supposed not to be born yesterday accepts to have sex in the meeting room of his "enemies". Apart from that, this is one of the most solid thrillers of the past 10 years. IN NO CASE you can guess the name of the killer from the start, except if you have read the book before. Forget what the grumps say: "Rising sun" is a perfect example of intelligent entertainment.There hasn't been so many movies of that class in the 90's.

Or were the producers merely following the formula of late 80s/early 90s action movies and television (Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, Walker Texas Ranger) by portraying the combination of a white cop and a black one as some sort of novelty? Besides watering down Crichton's criticism of Japanese business practices, the screenwriters seemed determined to step up their racial cautiousness by portraying John Connor's partner, Smith, as a black man. There's nothing really outrageous about that either, but a black cop who wears a beige suit accompanied by an orange shirt and uses his ties with the Los Angeles ghetto gangs to elude Yakuza-like thugs? I welcome that sort of entertainment in an Eddie Murphy or Chris Tucker movie, but it's totally out of place here.

I really wasn't left with much of an impression after watching Rising Sun. Of course, Sean Connery is terrific as usual, but that doesn't come as much of a surprise for anyone accustomed to his slick acting. Unfortunately, I think Rising Sun tries to be more than it is--in the end, as the mystery of who-did-it must be solved, suddenly we are provided with so many twists and turns that it's so muddled and unbelievable we don't care anymore. The final scene seems pretty uncalled for.

I rented it this movie for two reasons : (a) it was based on a M.Crichton book and (b) Sean Connery was playing. The first reason implied a good plot and the second a solid performance. I was justified on both. I am sure that Crichton had Sean Connery in mind when he was developing the character of LAPD officer John Connor : extremely clever, dressed in Armani suits, excellent golf player, fluent in Japanese, and could kill with his thumb (a different kind of J.Bond!). The direction could have been better (the plot had material for stronger scenes). W.Snipes does not exceed a medium performance but Keitel is excellent. Although the hi-tech gadgets of the Japanese implicated in the film (zoom-in cameras, laser disks etc.) has become today trivial stuff, the Rising Sun is still a good police thriller to watch. I give it a 7 out of 10.

I watch this kind of movie for fun and suspend my disbelief. Rising Sun is not bad at all. It could have been much worse without Connery. I am not a big fan of oriental "wisdom" sound bites e.g. "Leave the cage door open the bird may return". Spoken by an unintelligent actor you don't like they become a lightening rod for all your ire. Fortunately Connery is not such an actor. The senior Japanese executives look like they have irritable bowel syndrome if they smiled their faces would crack. It is exaggerated and silly but for the most part the action keeps your interest. Although, at the end I got confused as to who killed the girl. I am still not sure. It is worth renting to pass a couple hours.