Philip Kaufman has made some brilliant films like THE RIGHT STUFF, THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING and QUILLS, but when he takes on straight thrillers he often missteps big time. The original Michael Crichton book that his film was based on was criticized as being Japan-bashing. The film can't be accused of this per se, but it does walk a dangerous road between knowing a lot about Japan and knowing nothing.
Lt. Webster Smith (Wesley Snipes, BLADE) has been assigned a kinky murder case, which occurred in the new L.A. building of a big Japanese corporation. Partnered with Smith is Capt. John Connor (Sean Connery, THE UNTOUCHABLES), who has a very friendly relationship with the Japanese, who want to keep the incident as quiet as possible. While it's tough for Connor to keep Smith diplomatic, it's nearly impossible to do so with Lt. Tom Graham (Harvey Keitel, PULP FICTION), who wants to wrap the case up as quickly as possible.
The chief suspect is the son of a top Japanese businessman named Eddie Sakamura (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, PEARL HARBOR). When things seem really bad for Eddie, Connor calls on the services of tech wiz Jingo Asakuma (Tia Carrere, WAYNE'S WORLD). Other key characters include the Japanese corporation's ceo Yoshida (Mako, CONAN THE DESTROYER), Senator John Morton (Ray Wise, GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.), the Japanese corporation's chief PR man Ishihara (Stan Egi, GUNG HU), clueless yuppie businessman Bob Richmond (Kevin Anderson, SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY) and slimy reporter Willy Wilhelm (Steve Buscemi, FARGO).
First and foremost, the film pretends to know a great deal about Japanese culture, but really doesn't. It seems to know the facts, but none of the nuisance. Connor tells us about the sempai/kohai relationship, which is like a wise mentor and apprentice relationship. However, it is disrespectful to call someone a kohai to their face — so why does Connor call Smith this throughout the film? The film doesn't seem to be presenting Connor as disrespecting Smith, so the only interpretation is that they didn't know. This faux pas is nothing compared to having yakuza using samurai swords in a modern setting, but lets move on.
The wise detective and dutiful student pairing has been around forever and here allows Connery to spout either fortune cookie philosophy or lots and lots of exposition. None of the characters are developed beyond types. And Connery and Snipes don't expand on the clichés very much either.
The mystery plot is fairly engaging, if not a bit predictable. However, there are too many times the film throws out logic for plot conveniences. Would a reporter really be in the room during the interrogation of a police officer? Don't think so. The LAPD is known for corruption, but that's taking it a bit too far. In the end, the film seems like it knows its subject matter well, but with a few fact checks one quickly discovers the facts have been fudged and the structure has been copied from many a term paper before.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
