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Sean Connery, Wesley Snipes, Harvey Keitel, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Kevin Anderson ... see more see more... , Mako , Ray Wise , Stan Egi , Stan Shaw , Tia Carrere , Steve Buscemi , Tatjana Patitz , Dan Butler , Clyde Kusatsu , Peter Crombie , Tom Dahlgren , Fumio Demura , Tony Ganios , Max Grodénchik , Amy Hill , Nelson Mashita , Carl A. McGee , Shelley Michelle , Joey Miyashima , Alexandra Powers , Scot Anthony Robinson , Toshishiro Obata , Jessica Tuck , Daniel von Bargen , Michael Chapman , Jeff Imada , Max Kirishima , Tadashi Yamashita , Tak Kubota , Michael Leopard , Donna Isaacson , Keith Hickles , Lauren Robinson , Meagen Fay

When Michael Crichton wrote his best-selling thriller Rising Sun, he wrote the character of hero John Connor with Sean Connery in mind. For Philip Kaufman's film version of the novel, Sean Connery, ne... read more read more...edless to say, fits seamlessly into the role of a legendary police detective who is an expert in Japanese culture. The story takes place in the towering office building of the Japanese Nakamoto Corporation in Los Angeles, who are negotiating a deal with Microcon, an American electronics firm. During a gala held one night in the Nakamoto offices, the body of a woman, Cheryl Lynn Austin (Tatjana Patitz) is found murdered in the main conference room. Arriving quickly on the scene is high-amped police lieutenant Tom Graham (Harvey Keitel), who oozes hatred for anything Japanese from every pore. When he has trouble getting cooperation from the Nakatomo executives, Graham calls in Web Smith (Wesley Snipes), a Special Services liaison, and John Connor (Connery), a man well-versed in Japanese culture and traditions. Together they form a team as they investigate the crime. Connor questions computer video expert Jingo (Tia Carrere), who works on a security system computer disc that captures the killer's identity. The only problem is that the image of the killer on the disc has been altered to conceal the murderer's face. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Flixster Users

46% liked it

34,911 ratings

Critics

35% liked it

37 critics

R, 2 hr. 9 min.

Directed by: Philip Kaufman

Release Date: July 30, 1993

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DVD Release Date: June 20, 2000

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Stats: 658 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (658)

  • Redlats
    December 11, 2011
    Redlats
    Entertaining. A whodunit that keeps you on your toes by sending the viewer down wrong paths as you try to determine who the killer is. Sean Connery usually does a great job acting, and this movie is no exception.
  • FilmFanatik
    December 21, 2009
    FilmFanatik
    A decent mystery film, but not perfect by any means.
  • SirPant
    September 28, 2009
    SirPant
    A pretty good thriller that?s satisfyingly unpredictable. One of the better, East meets West dramas of the time.
  • FiLmCrAzY
    September 2, 2009
    FiLmCrAzY
    i love sean connery and thought this movie ws quite good to be honest!
    Its a good action thriller with a few good twists and turns and its even funy as well in places!
    its worth a watch but can get a little confusing!
  • sanjurosamurai
    November 28, 2007
    sanjurosamurai
    its been some time since ive seen this film but i remember strangly liking the chemistry between snipes and connery. i wish snipes was still alive, he was good.
  • deano
    March 19, 2007
    deano
    Director Phil Kaufman delivers an excellent somewhat confusing thriller based on Michael Crichton's novel that attempting to tone down the alleged Japan-bashing. Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes are terrific in what is best viewed as another in the long line of cop/buddy flicks.
  • garyX
    January 7, 2007
    garyX
    The usual mix of culture clash/buddy movie/cheesy cop thriller based around Japanese businessmen operating in america. Simplistic and casually racist.
  • fb704730572
    April 22, 2011
    fb704730572
    A film that could have been so much more. Uneven pacing, and a plot that at first appears interesting and intelligent, yet eventually becomes asinine and ambiguous. Still, Snipes and Connery have surprisingly good chemistry, and it features one of the most underrated character ac... read moretors of all time, Harvey Keitel. Overall the film is a bit of a mess, sometimes appearing worthwhile, and other times too confused and meandering.
  • fb634852121
    January 9, 2011
    fb634852121
    An awful, misguided mess of a movie. Every actor seems out of place, every line of dialogue contrived, every shlock moment of gratuitous sex or violence obviously engineered to evoke a reaction, which it does not. It has been said that this adaptation removes the anti-Japanese bi... read moreas of the book, but in trying to soften the blow the filmmakers have tripped themselves up and are left with something that is still wholly offensive and startlingly obtuse in its ignorance. It seems that director Philip Kaufman had a film camera in one hand and a checklist of stereotypes in the other. There are no genuine moments of action or thrills in this plodding, so-called "action-thriller", and the high-tech element of photography forensics now seems awfully dated. This was a time when Wesley Snipes was a viable action star, but he spends the whole movie in dazed disbelief. When even Sean Connery visibly gives up on the project, one knows he is in deep trouble.
  • EbertsLittleApprentice
    March 6, 2010
    EbertsLittleApprentice
    A slow start, but it was definetly an above-average murder mystery, that was just as entertaining as the book.

    Not a great score, but excess nudity was kind of distracting, not unsettleling. The ending was not perfect, but it was succificent.

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Critic Reviews

Richard Schickel
November 5, 2008
Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine

It would be nice to see Connery doing something intrinsically interesting instead of trying to make something inherently dull entertaining. And it would be good to see Snipes cut loose more than he is... Full Review

David Ansen
October 18, 2008
David Ansen, Newsweek

As the plot grows more intricate, strangely the tension dissipates, until finally the movie just seems to run out of breath. Full Review

Todd McCarthy
April 9, 2008
Todd McCarthy, Variety

When working in genre territory before, the idiosyncratic Kaufman has shown a marked tendency to debunk or subvert conventions. Playing it straight here, he brings little to the table. Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
April 9, 2008
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

I found it pretty entertaining, as well as provocative in some of its comments about contemporary life. Full Review

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

It directs attention not to the internal reasons for America's economic problems, but to inscrutable, generalized, unknown others from abroad, whose yellow skins and strange manners announce their evi... Full Review

Peter Travers
May 12, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

The flaws don't cripple what is a fiercely funny, exciting and provocative detective story about the crimes of corporate culture -- crimes that transcend race and geography.

Hal Hinson
January 1, 2000
Hal Hinson, Washington Post

Connery is heaven, and so is the movie. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

There are a few too many plot holes and logical errors. Rising Sun may be solidly-paced, but not all aspects of the production are as successful. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The screenplay by Kaufman, Crichton and Michael Backes is not about much of anything important. Full Review

Desson Thomson
January 1, 2000
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

A thoroughly gratifying prestige thriller, thanks to riveting suspense and two brilliant stars. Full Review

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Rising Sun Trivia

  • He's the author whose books have been adapted into films such as "Jurassic Park", "Sphere", "Congo" and "Rising Sun". He also cowrote the screenplay for "Twister" and directed Sean Connery in "The Great Train Robbery".  Answer »
  • Name the actor/actress who has leant his/her talents in the following movies: Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man Rising Sun Kull the Conqueror   Answer »
  • Jurassic Park, Rising Sun, and Disclosure are films based on stories written by which author?  Answer »
  • On a day with a Rising Sun working with US Marshals, The Marksman and Passenger 57 are the Undisputed best with a Blade. Who am I?  Answer »
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