Rising Sun (1993)

 

Michael Crichton has always been a very successful novelist. Many people will think of course about 'Jurassic Park', but there's also 'The Andromeda Strain' and several others that will have some bells ringing left and right. Of course, after the success of said park, more works of his were in the running for an adaptation and 'Rising Sun' was one of his later ones, focusing on the trade relations between Japan and ther US at a time when Japanese companies were buying quite a lot of American companies. 

It is also a very competent thriller, including the occasional racist trope, but considering the ideas behind this story, it isn't that surprising.

There are negotiations going on between a massive Japanese concern called Nakamoto and a smaller US company. Things aren't going too spiffingly, as whether or not this company can be bought depends on votes in Congress and especially senator John Morton is opposed. 

But when during a party at Nakamoto a young woman is found dead, things really heat up. Officer Web Smith (Snipes) is called to the scene, but he has to pick up John Connor, a man with a great love and understanding for all things Japanese. Things don't go well, as the pair get stonewalled by burocracy and Smith along with many of his fellow officers are being driven to fury by the tactics of the Japanese businessmen. 

But the plot starts to thicken when video footage places the blame for the murder on an Eddie Sakamura. But what is truly the extent of Eddie's involvement? And what about the senator? 

Questions, questions... 

This modern thriller works really well and they in fact did a very good job of translating the book to the screen. Some minor issues notwithstanding, is the story you see the story you might have read. Just the thing about the bribery charges and the dispute between Smith and his ex-wife concerning their daughter is just touched upon, but could have been left out, as neither has any real impact on the story in this case. Snipes and Connery work well off each other and you can tell this was a role where Connery was enjoying himself instead of slumming through it. And Snipes proves that he is a more versatile actor than he sometimes gets credit for. The side characters are also great: Harvey Keitel is perhaps a bit too onesided, but Tia Carrere and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa are excellent. 

The story plays out in a very interesting fashion, but at times it is quite hard to fathom whether or not certain aspects of the Japanese company are based on fact. They might be, but sometimes some elements feel overdone and they do have that awkward touch of racism here and there. It's hard to tell, because sometimes, Japanese culture is so vastly different from Western culture that it might be correctly on display. However, at times, it does feel a bit off. 

This doesn't distract from an entertaining film, however. Is it very memorable? Maybe not, but should this one come your way, give it a chance.