I Come with the Rain

A former police officer turned private detective (Josh Hartnett) is hired over a voice masked phone by someone rich to go to a jungle somewhere and find his son. He goes and finds out the son is dead, but then he’s not . . . he is in Hong Kong according to some other guy. So josh Hartnett goes to Hong Kong, meets up with what appears to be a friend (?)(Shawn Yue), who is also a cop. Then he somehow doesn’t notice that the guy who’s picture he has been carrying for weeks is right across a glass window from him, though he makes eye contact. . .*sigh*. Oh but its okay because he magically realises later on when it’s a whole lotta too late. We also find out that this missing son apparently is a healer of some kind, sort of like Michael Clarke Duncan in The Green Mile I guess. . .oh and an older hairless Casey Jones beats up, then bites Josh Hartnett during the film’s opening prologue, I guess that’s important to the plot. But since that stops making any sense a third of the way in, we can just forget about that.

As you may be able to tell, I really didn’t like I Come with the Rain, which is by far the biggest shock of my film watching life. I can’t begin to explain how excited I had been for this for over a year since first watching a trailer. First off I have always liked Josh Hartnett, he is usually a great actor in my books. However he really looks bored out of his mind in this (can’t blame him), and was probably being paid in potato skins. I also like Shawn Yue so that was good. However the apparent clincher for me was that one of my favourite actors in the world, Lee Byung Hun plays the films villain (I might add that term must be used lightly). The trailer looked awesome, the cast looked awesome, and I was stoked. And like a slap to the face it ended up being a jumbled, incoherent snore fest that felt like an overachieving artsy film student’s thesis project. However if you like half naked people rolling on the ground, clenching themselves and groaning, then this is the film for you. Imagine the awful rave scene in the second Matrix lasting 2 hours, and you might have an idea.

Maybe I am being too harsh? But over all I just didn’t get it. I will admit I usually go for the bizarre incoherent “Lost Highway esc” indie films. But this was just too much, the longer it went on the less it made sense until I finally started to forget why the characters were where they were, and doing what they were doing in the first place. Perhaps a second or third viewing is needed, but to be honest I really don’t see that happening. I also don’t see this getting much worldwide support, a US release? Not likely anytime soon. However if it does, then do yourself a favour, don’t watch it!

3/10

A Film by: Anh Hung Tran