Based on Michael Crichton's novel of the same name, "Rising Sun" is an absorbing murder mystery that's spiced-up by some high-tech wizardry, culture clashes and the friction that develops between a couple of mismatched cops. The action takes place at the U.S. headquarters of the Japanese Nakamoto Corporation in L.A. where, what first appears to be a straightforward investigation into the death of a young woman, becomes complicated by the discovery of a conspiracy, a cover-up and a political dimension to some negotiations that the corporation is involved in with an American company called MicroCon. The presence of a number of possible suspects, a desire to protect the reputation of the Japanese business and a need to navigate some important cultural differences, then make the whole investigation rather challenging.
After the dead body of blonde prostitute Cheryl Austin (Tatjana Patitz) is discovered lying on a boardroom table in the Nakamoto offices during a party hosted by the corporation, LAPD investigating officer Lieutenant Tom Graham (Harvey Keitel) arrives on the scene and deduces that she was a "gasper" whose enjoyment of asphyxiation during sex had contributed to her death. Forensic evidence and film of the incident during which she died (which was captured on laser disk), then support the view that the killer was her current Japanese boyfriend Eddie Sakamura (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa). Graham isn't able to wrap the case up immediately and so Special Services liaison officers Lieutenant Web Smith (Wesley Snipes) and Captain John Connor (Sean Connery) who have more expertise in communicating with Japanese businessmen, are brought in to assist.
Smith is a streetwise detective who resents having to team up with his semi-retired partner and Connor is an expert on all things Japanese who soon recognises that the circumstances surrounding the death of Cheryl Austin are not as simple as Lieutenant Graham had originally assumed. Through his experience of living in "the land of the rising sun", Connor had learned a great deal about Japanese culture and customs and uses this knowledge to good effect to interact smoothly with the people from the Nakamoto Corporation and to advance the police investigation far quicker than would otherwise have been possible.
It soon emerges that the laser disk recording of the murder had been doctored and so further work then becomes necessary to access the original recording and to investigate whether there was any special significance to evidence of Austin's involvement with Senator John Morton (Ray Wise) who, for reasons of national security, had strongly opposed the negotiations that Nakamoto were conducting with MicroCon.
A complicated plot, the complexities of its characters and the difficulties created by cultural differences, all add interest to what otherwise would have been a simple whodunit. "Rising Sun" is well-paced, visually strong and features some good performances, most notably from Snipes and Connery who work brilliantly together to make their difficult relationship a pleasure to watch.
After the dead body of blonde prostitute Cheryl Austin (Tatjana Patitz) is discovered lying on a boardroom table in the Nakamoto offices during a party hosted by the corporation, LAPD investigating officer Lieutenant Tom Graham (Harvey Keitel) arrives on the scene and deduces that she was a "gasper" whose enjoyment of asphyxiation during sex had contributed to her death. Forensic evidence and film of the incident during which she died (which was captured on laser disk), then support the view that the killer was her current Japanese boyfriend Eddie Sakamura (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa). Graham isn't able to wrap the case up immediately and so Special Services liaison officers Lieutenant Web Smith (Wesley Snipes) and Captain John Connor (Sean Connery) who have more expertise in communicating with Japanese businessmen, are brought in to assist.
Smith is a streetwise detective who resents having to team up with his semi-retired partner and Connor is an expert on all things Japanese who soon recognises that the circumstances surrounding the death of Cheryl Austin are not as simple as Lieutenant Graham had originally assumed. Through his experience of living in "the land of the rising sun", Connor had learned a great deal about Japanese culture and customs and uses this knowledge to good effect to interact smoothly with the people from the Nakamoto Corporation and to advance the police investigation far quicker than would otherwise have been possible.
It soon emerges that the laser disk recording of the murder had been doctored and so further work then becomes necessary to access the original recording and to investigate whether there was any special significance to evidence of Austin's involvement with Senator John Morton (Ray Wise) who, for reasons of national security, had strongly opposed the negotiations that Nakamoto were conducting with MicroCon.
A complicated plot, the complexities of its characters and the difficulties created by cultural differences, all add interest to what otherwise would have been a simple whodunit. "Rising Sun" is well-paced, visually strong and features some good performances, most notably from Snipes and Connery who work brilliantly together to make their difficult relationship a pleasure to watch.