There are two kinds of Ridley Scott movies. There are the ones everybody talks about forever. Alien. Blade Runner. Gladiator. And then there are the ones that somehow fall through the cracks of his filmography and do not get brought up in the same breath, even though they absolutely should be. For a period of time, I think i was watching this film like 3 times a day. So much so that I forced Larry and Randall watch this because I think I was talking too much about it. For my first time seeing it, I am not sure, but would have been when I was working in the Video Store and I am almost positive Big Mike told me I would dig this. He was always good for a movie gem. This article is for him. But first, let‘,‘s get this one out of the way.
Here is the setup. Nick Conklin, played by Michael Douglas, is a New York City cop who is not exactly squeaky clean. He is under investigation by internal affairs, he is behind on alimony, he drag races motorcycles on the side to make money, and he has a habit of not turning in all the cash he finds at crime scenes. The best kind of ’80s cop. His partner is Charlie Vincent, played by Andy Garcia, who is younger and cleaner and keeps trying to be the voice of reason while Nick ignores him. Charles wears the fancy italian shoes, if you know what i mean. One afternoon the two of them are eating lunch in a steakhouse in the meat packing district and they watch a Yakuza hitman named Sato, played by Yusaku Matsuda, execute two men at a nearby table with a sword. They chase him down and catch him. And then they get assigned to personally escort him back to Osaka, Japan. And that is when everything goes sideways. And that is where I will leave you with the plot because you will love this flick if you have not seen it.
Now, the cast. Michael Douglas is Nick Conklin and this is him at his most flat out cool. This is the period right after Wall Street won him the Oscar and right before Basic Instinct. He is at the top of his game and he is playing a genuinely flawed, occasionally infuriating character and making you root for him anyway. Nobody does that better than Douglas. I have always loved him in The Ghost and the Darkness, but not as much as my buddy Chris. And honestly, I will fight anyone that doesnt understand the Romancing the Stone and Jewel of the Nile. Those flicks are 1984 and 1985 right on the dot. Also gems. Andy Garcia is Charlie and this is not long after The Untouchables, so he is absolutely on the rise. That puts him on the map, this adds to his chops, and then Godfather 3 makes him a household name. I always loved him in Jennifer 8, which will have an appearance in this book eventually. Well, the two of them have great chemistry and their dynamic as the reckless veteran and the idealistic younger partner works throughout. Then there is Ken Takakura as Masahiro Matsumoto, the Japanese detective assigned to babysit these two Americans and keep them out of trouble. Takakura at the time of filming was reportedly the biggest box office star in all of Japan. I assume only the true film buff will recognize him, but my first intro to him as Golgo 13 in Golgo 13. Absolutely awesome. He plays the stoic, honorable cop who is everything Nick is not, and the friction and eventual mutual respect between the two of them is the real heart of the film. He is tremendous. And then there is the villain. Sato, played by Yusaku Matsuda. I am going to come back to him in the fun facts because there is a story there that I think about every time I watch this movie. But as a performance he is extraordinary. Cold and precise and genuinely terrifying. And the rest of the cast is no slouch either. Kate Capshaw plays Joyce, an American hostess working in an Osaka club who helps them navigate. This is two years before she is married to Spielberg, so I makes sense. I could not imagine Steven being cool with her looking that smoking in a film with Michael Douglas. Stephen Root is in there in an early role. Essentially his third role ever and Luis Guzman pops up as a contact back in New York. This is when he was a recognizable background actor that showed up for 2-3 minutes and it was always solid. The whole ensemble is just tight.
Now the crew. The director is Ridley Scott, who I probably do not need to explain to you. But here is the context. In 1989, Ridley Scott was in what people were calling a career downturn. This was essentially seven years after Blade Runner and honestly he needed a win. And what he did with this film is take what looks like a straightforward 80s buddy cop action movie and turn it into something that looks like a cousin of Blade Runner, just set in the neon and smoke and steel of Osaka instead of a dystopian Los Angeles. I swear everything in Japan is always wet. Like, how is that even possible? The city in this film is a character. Every frame is drenched in atmosphere and precipitation. The cinematographer was Jan de Bont. If that name sounds familiar it is because he later went on to direct Speed and Twister, but at this point he was one of the best working cinematographers in Hollywood. The original DP actually quit early in production over filming in Japan and de Bont stepped in and absolutely delivered. The screenplay is by Craig Bolotin and Warren Lewis, which is a pretty solid script even if the critics at the time were not kind about it. Quick facts, Bolotin is a Cal Berkely graduate and Lewis touched up 13th Warrior and is a UCLA Advanced Screenwriting professor. Anyway, the story came from Bolotin visiting a friend in Japan and just being struck by the culture and the city. And the music is Hans Zimmer. This was actually the first time Zimmer and Ridley Scott worked together. Zimmer went on to do Thelma and Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down and more for Scott, but it all starts here. The score is exactly what you want, heavy and dark and atmospheric with just enough electronic texture to feel like the future. God, this movie is awesome.
And now the quotes because you know that is why I am here.
Their country. Their laws. Their game. His rules. ( this is the film tagline on the poster, how cool)
“If you pull it, you better use it.” – Nick
“You watch your tail, cowboy.” – Nick
“One good hand job deserves another.” – Nick
“I usually get kissed before I get fucked.” – Nick
Honestly every line Michael Douglas has in this flick is quotable. By the end of this flick him turning around in the airport to give Masa the thumbs up. I honestly have done that to bosses in jobs since I have seen this flick. God damn cool as shit.
Lets wrap up Back in 1989 they did not love this flick but what Ridley Scott and that cast made was one of the best looking cop action films of the decade with a genuine sense of place and two central performances that carry the whole thing. It opened number one at the box office, made over 140 million dollars worldwide, and then somehow got filed away in the section of the video store where people walked past it to grab something else. And honestly that is a crime. It is available on Amazon Prime for $4. Go watch it tonight. Tell me you hate it and i will buy you a large McDonald’s fries.
Fun Facts:
- Paul Verhoeven was originally hired to direct this film. He waited around through the development process for over a year and eventually got tired of waiting and left to make Total Recall. He would later go on to work with Douglas on Basic Instinct. Ridley Scott came in after Verhoeven walked.
- Harrison Ford and Kurt Russell were both strongly considered for the Nick Conklin role before Douglas got it. And Jackie Chan was approached to play Sato, the villain, but turned it down because he said audiences did not want to see him play a bad guy. Which is fair but also imagine that version of this movie. But imagine that flick.
- Yusaku Matsuda, who plays Sato, was dying of bladder cancer during the entire production and did not tell anyone. Not the producers, not Ridley Scott, nobody. He refused treatment so he could make the film. He reportedly said, “This way, I will live forever.” He died six weeks after the film’s American premiere at the age of forty. Ridley Scott dedicated the film to him. I have never been able to watch his scenes the same way since learning that. Absolute amazing film presence.
