By judging from its cast, "Rising Sun" sounded promising enough to persuade me to give it a watch. Unfortunately, I was deeply disappointed by nearly all counts. Here is why: "Rising Sun" is about the story of two police detectives, Web Smith (Snipes), and John Connor (Connery), who are brought in hastily to investigate the murder of a prostitute inside the luxurious offices of a Japanese multinational. During their investigation, they are getting entangled in the underworld of Japanese businessmen-cum-gangsters, and they become more and more entrapped inside a web of deceit, sex, politics and cruelty. They also realize that they are practically working on this case all alone, as their "own" men, such as Lt. Tom Graham (Keitel), are acting erratically, to say the least.
Although the plot summary sounds like it has the ingredients of a great thriller, the reality is otherwise: The story is inconsistent and full of logical gaps, which only become graver in the progression of time. Moreover, the whole idea of the film is based on a completely flawed and even subtly racist assumption: The Japanese are representing a pure and highly superior society, whose powerful corporations are ready to devour the decadent and incompetent America; in the process, they are ready to employ all means ruthlessly. The film even suggests that the Japanese are running their own omnipotent criminal network inside US soil, which has subjugated the American society and infrastructure under its control!
Written in the early '90s, during a period when Japan was on the ascendancy worldwide, the novel by Crichton still goes way too far in its suggestions even by the Japano-phobic standards of the time. Of course, if it is judged against today's standards, a period when Japan is suffering from a decade of economic stagnation, the message of the movie is utterly laughable and displaced from reality.
The problems for "Rising Sun" do not end here. Despite the presence of two great actors (Connery & Keitel), the acting was quite unsatisfactory. It seems as if even the actors do not really believe in the ludicrous roles they have been assigned to perform. The same can be said with Kaufman's direction which is as poor as the film overall.
I was really disappointed with "Rising Sun", because it failed me completely. The only reason I gave it a 3/10 and not less, is out of respect for Sean Connery and Harvey Keitel.
Although the plot summary sounds like it has the ingredients of a great thriller, the reality is otherwise: The story is inconsistent and full of logical gaps, which only become graver in the progression of time. Moreover, the whole idea of the film is based on a completely flawed and even subtly racist assumption: The Japanese are representing a pure and highly superior society, whose powerful corporations are ready to devour the decadent and incompetent America; in the process, they are ready to employ all means ruthlessly. The film even suggests that the Japanese are running their own omnipotent criminal network inside US soil, which has subjugated the American society and infrastructure under its control!
Written in the early '90s, during a period when Japan was on the ascendancy worldwide, the novel by Crichton still goes way too far in its suggestions even by the Japano-phobic standards of the time. Of course, if it is judged against today's standards, a period when Japan is suffering from a decade of economic stagnation, the message of the movie is utterly laughable and displaced from reality.
The problems for "Rising Sun" do not end here. Despite the presence of two great actors (Connery & Keitel), the acting was quite unsatisfactory. It seems as if even the actors do not really believe in the ludicrous roles they have been assigned to perform. The same can be said with Kaufman's direction which is as poor as the film overall.
I was really disappointed with "Rising Sun", because it failed me completely. The only reason I gave it a 3/10 and not less, is out of respect for Sean Connery and Harvey Keitel.