Andy Garcia and Michael Douglas in Black Rain (1989)

Michael Douglas leads the show here, and for the most part he is great. Spoiling as little of the plot as possible, Douglas plays Nick Conklin, a wisecracking New York cop, thrown into an unknown land and forced to deal with the Japanese Yakuza. His chemistry with Andy Garcia and Ken Takakura is great, and easily the highlight of the movie. Douglas is almost always wonderful in anything he’s in, whether it be in Wall Street as Gordan Gekko, in Marvel’s Ant-Man as Dr. Hank Pym, or in the 2018 Chinese movie Animal World which is probably best left to be described with that movie’s trailer (linked below). So yes, Michael Douglas is always a joy to watch, and that remains the same with Black Rain.

Trailer for Animal World (2018)

Michael Douglas in Black Rain (1989)

Masahiro (Ken Takakura) is arguably the strongest aspect of this movie. He provides both the heart and soul, as well as the moral compass throughout. He is consistently the most valuable person to have on your team and proves his worth in spades throughout. His growing professional and personal relationship with Nick helps him feel even more likable. Takakura’s performance is probably the best out of the entire cast of the movie with it being very clear that he was giving it his best throughout.

Nightclub Scene from Black Rain (1989)

Though Charlie Vincent (Andy Garcia) does not end up being in this movie for too long, when he is, he brings a natural charm throughout his entire performance. This karaoke scene between him and Masahiro is easily one of the most wholesome scenes I’ve recently seen and it just makes me smile. Garcia has a natural charisma in pretty much every role he plays and that is on full display here. Every scene between he and Nick in the beginning of the movie are very enjoyable sections, thanks in part to Garcia’s charisma and the chemistry between he and Douglas. Thankfully for anyone who saw this and wanted more of Andy Garcia singing, he did in fact get his own musical number in Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again alongside Cher, and yes, it is as wonderful as it sounds.

Fernando from Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again (2018)

Yûsaku Matsuda in Black Rain (1989)

Back to Black Rain, the villain of the film is the character of Sato (Yûsaku Matsuda). He is played excellently and really elevates the film even further with his malevolent presence throughout. When first introduced it seems as if he is going to be a pretty lackluster antagonist, but when he shows up with his crew on the motorcycles after the nightclub scene, he makes his presence felt and any doubt of his character’s power is thrown out the window. The chemistry between Matsuda and Douglas, being able to fully realize animosity between Sato and Nick is another high spot for this movie.