René Peraza

Without even planning it as such, I glanced at what others thought about the film and found myself in alignment with the many who wanted to love it - or even like it - but found it lacking 'something.' Some felt it was the acting, others felt it was the dialog. I felt it was more of a two-act play. I get it, it's about grief, but the scenes was dreary and disconnected, though beautifully shot. Luke Evans, however, stole the show in the preface to the story.

Had always been a fan of the Raymond Burr 'Mason' but this clever world-making prequel of sorts hits all the right chords, set in the time period when Earl Stanley Gardner wrote those first novellas. You don't even get to hear that famous theme at first, but it slowly builds with each ending credit sequence toward that recognizable melody, over the course of the first season! I'm not sure fussing with Della's sexual orientation was necessary (she always seem to pine for Perry's unrequited attention, at least in the Burr series), but we'll see how that develops over time.

Have always really liked this film, owned it in back in the day as laserdisc. Looked great then, looks even better in HD (4K where are you?). The Jan de Bont cinematography is timeless. However, the Hans Zimmer score does sound little dated with its Linn Drum machine rhythm patterns, albeit more melody here than we get from him today. I've always felt 'Black Rain' was a second-cousing to 'Blade Runner' in all is glorious neon, rain and smoke. Look carefully, boss Sugai's house is the same Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Ennis House in LA that also partially served as Deckard's apartment in 'Blade Runner.'