Rising Sun MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +2 1/2 Content: -3

This murder-mystery intrigue stars Sean Connery as a retired Los Angeles police detective, Capt. John Connor. Using the latest in audio/video surveillance, a Japanese company negotiates to buy an American computer company. While a party goes on in the Japanese office building, a woman is raped and strangled on another floor. Lt. Web Smith (Wesley Snipes) is ordered to bring Capt. Connor into the investigation, apparently because of his skill at handling cases involving the Japanese. The grisly rape and murder have been captured on laser disc, and are replayed frequently throughout the movie, supposedly to aid in the investigation. Sean Connery exudes authority and great presence in the movie, while Wesley Snipes is effective as his young counterpart. Although moments of high-tech intrigue and action recall the days of 007, RISING SUN falls short with a confusing plot and little character development.

Apparently director Philip Kaufman felt driven to show the repulsive rape and murder - a graphic intercourse scene with nudity and an on-screen murder more than 10 times in video replay. Scantily dressed young women are lodged in hotel rooms and private residences for the convenience of the Japanese executives. In one particularly offensive scene, a nude female is riding a male detective. Violence ranges from moderate to severe, from a dead man sinking in concrete, to a dog carrying a severed human hand. However, the most severe and gratuitous scene is the on-screen rape and murder that is replayed so often. Objectionable language includes incessant obscenities, many crudities and a few profanities. Other elements include some racial slurs against the Japanese and ethnic jokes, and a reference to spirit worship. The sexual situations, violence, and foul language in the film are painfully explicit and offensive.

Preview Reviewer: Alice Anderson
Distributor: 20th Century Fox, 10201 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035