Rain Fall
Directed by: Max MannixStarring: Kippei Shiina, Gary Oldman, Kyoko Hasegawa, Akira Emoto, Dirk Hunter Synopsis: John Rain, a deadly assassin who specialises in kills which look like natural causes, is hired to take out a corrupt businessman and retrieve a memory stick with vital information. The plan goes ahead but the victim doesn’t have the stick with him. Rain realises that there are others after the stick as well and he may have been set up. His only chance is to recover the stick, find out why it is so valuable and keep the victim’s daughter alive. Unfortunately for Rain, a CIA task-force led by John Holtzer (Gary Oldman) is on his trail. Review:I’m a big fan of Barry Eisler’s series of John Rain books, so I was quite surprised by the direction this film adaptation has taken. The literary version of John Rain is an expert in Judo, loves jazz music and has an affinity to expensive single-malt whiskey. Not only are those details put aside, but John Rain himself almost becomes a side character in his own film. The reason for this is that Gary Oldman’s Holtzer not only runs the CIA operation, acting as ringmaster to the spy circus around him, but he also owns the film. The film is heavily influenced by the Jason Bourne movies – especially the Bourne Supremacy’s Waterloo Station scenes, with Holtzer and his men watching a bank of tv monitors and positioning his agents. Oldman’s intensity makes these scenes work. Nobody can bark orders like he can. Kippei Shiina (Shinobi: Heart Under Blade) isn’t bad as John Rain. As I said, a lot of his background and characteristics are left to the side, but he makes for a sympathetic killer, especially as he doesn’t like to see innocents killed for no reason. It’s a pity that the action scenes are choppy, overly edited affairs. It’s quite jarring because Rain Fall switches film styles during fight scenes. The plot is quite complex, and it takes two scenes of exposition to set everything out – Akira Emoto plays Detective Tatsu, who is investigating John Rain’s assassinations, each of whom were politicians in the pocket of a yakuza boss. Dirk Hunter plays a British journalist who explains to Rain why the CIA is involved. Both of these scenes tie nicely with the ending. Rain Fall Rain Fall is a slow-burn thriller that requires a lot of patience, especially at the start where it’s a little difficult to get your bearings as to what is going on (you can thank Gary Oldman for making sure we do know). However along the way there is some stunning cinematography by John Wareham to help make the lengthy talking scenes more watchable. In particular there is a scene on a rooftop with the protagonists almost in silhouette against a giant yellow neon sign, and a conversation between Holzter and his number two overlooking a lake.Verdict Imagine a Bourne movie which was almost all set in the CIA/FBI side of the fence and didn’t actually spend a lot of time with Jason Bourne. That’s kind of the set-up here, which is a shame because the literary version of John Rain is a very interesting character, and I think Kippei Shiina could have pulled it off. However, the film still works because of the excellent acting by Shiina, Oldman and Emoto. If they develop any more of the Rain books, I hope they will allow John Rain more of the limelight. 6 Out of 10 (MikeOutWest)
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