The grim specter of Osaka dominates “Black Rain” the same way Gotham City looms over “Batman.” It’s a vast, dingy, polluted and cheerless metropolis, with hideous neon advertisements climbing up into the sulfurous skies (…). The story [is] thin and prefabricated and doesn’t stand up to much scrutiny, so Scott distracts us with overwrought visuals (…). This is a designer movie, all look and no heart. Roger Ebert