Returner

In 2084, the mankind is near total annihilation by alien invaders. Milly (Anne Suzuki), a young woman from the Earth resistance, uses a time machine and returns to October, 2002, trying to avoid the beginning of alien invasion and the war. In her arrival in a ship, she is rescued and saved from the Yakuza evil boss Mizoguchi (Goro Kishitani) by a hit-man called Miyamoto (Takeshi Kaneshiro). Using unconventional methods, Milly forces Miyamoto to help her to save the human race.

"The Returner" is a good surprise: the story uses many elements of "The Matrix" (the shootings, the costume of Miyamoto), "Clockstoppers" (the apparatus that makes time stand quite still), "The Terminator" (the traveling back in time to save the human race) and even "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (an alien that wants to return home). However, although having some flaws in the story (as usual, when dealing with time travel), it is a great entertainment. The chemistry between the beautiful Anne Suzuki and Takeshi Kaneshiro is excellent, and Goro Kishitani is a great villain. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Retorno" ("The Return")

I know that I will definitely have to see this film again. Japanese movies are getting that sleek futuristic look and Returner is chock full of it. Although I have to admit, there seem to be a lot of "homages" ranging from Matrix, Men in Black to Fifth Element, X-Files and so on. Still, it's an action packed with cool style to boot.

The main hero and butt whooping babe work well together. From martial arts, lasers, guns, explosions, action scenes are so rapid that you're left blinking in awe. I definitely think towards the final 30 minutes, it does seem to go on a tangent and a friend and I were trying to piece together what we could and keep up. The CG is used well in enhancing the style of the film, especially the futuristic technology stuff.

If possible, catch this in the theater or on a good home system and you won't be disappointed.

This Japanese Sci-Fi thriller is actually quite good, and it starts out in a fairly good pace and keeps rolling forward at that pace. The movie is driven by an equal amount of story, action and character development. There are some similarities to the "Terminator" movie though.

"Returner" (aka "Ritânâ") is about Milly (played by Anne Suzuki) who is living in a war-torn future, the year is 2084 and aliens are waging war on mankind, and mankind is losing. In a desperate attempt, Milly flings herself through a vortex, traveling back in to to the days prior to the incident that sparked the war. Here she gets help from a reclusive gunman named Miyamoto (played by Takeshi Kaneshiro).

Story-wise then "Returner" is entertaining and fast paced. The dialogue is good and the characters are alive and colorful.

The effects were good and passes as believable, although I was puzzled at how the driver and gunman disappeared from inside an exploding car as it came crashing down on the road.

Fun and action-filled entertainment, "Returner" is well worth watching, regardless if you like Japanese movies or not.

Version: Columbia Tristar's DVD release. Japanese / English subtitles.

Time travel is cool. Explosions are cool, as are gun fights. Any movie that attempts to incorporate 'The Terminator', 'Independence Day', 'Leon', and nearly every John Woo movie made between 'A Better Tomorrow' and 'Face/Off' is cool. 'Returner' features all these elements, and therefore, is awesomely cool. Or at least a fun action movie.

In 2084, the Earth has been nearly overrun by aliens. The last survivors of the human race are fighting a losing battle in the mountains of Tibet. Naturally, these survivors have mad scientists with them who develop all these cool gadgets, as well a time-machine. Milly (Anne Suzuki) volunteers to go back to 2002 to stop the war from beginning. Upon arrival, she teams up with Miyamoto (Takeshi Kaneshiro). Miyamoto is a mercenary seeking vengeance against the Triad gangster, Mizoguchi (Goro Kishitani), who in turn, may actually have caused the war in the first place. Convenient.

A Japanese friend of mine originally recommended 'Returner' to me, and another friend of ours, knowing full well we are easily impressed by explosions. If, like me, you are easily impressed by explosions and have not yet seen 'Returner', you should stop reading and go watch it right now.

'Returner' is little more than a stylish action movie. Most of the plot seems to be taken from random elements of 'Terminator', ID4, and 'Leon', and styled in a similar way to ID4, 'Matrix', and a fair number of John Woo movies. I must admit that any comparison to the 'Matrix' is a tad unfair, as the 'Matrix' was also made up of elements from nearly every movie John Woo ever made. As a sci-fi / action movie, 'Returner' is entertaining, if a little cheesy. The action scenes are generally awesome and exciting.

'Returner' is a fun action movie. It should at least satisfy hardcore action fans, and should be entertaining enough for anyone looking for a fun movie - 7/10

I was told by everyone that this movie was awful. Even the critics said it was bad. Then I wanted to check it out by myself! MAN, has everyone lost their mind? This is probably one of the best sci-fi flick I've ever seen! Never saw something that refreshing since Fifth Element.

Of course a lot of people are going to say it is a Matrix rip-off, that the script looks like Terminator or Independence Day, blah blah... Then I'm sure these people didn't watch the same movie I did! Cuz it has nothing to do with these films, AT ALL! It may be futuristic, but it has its own universe, its own way to introduce it to you. Plus, you stay close to the characters, to the very end. Even though the plot is big and takes place on a higher level, you always stay close to the characters life, emotions, motivations and goals. That's what I liked about this movie. It may be sci-fi, but the characters are not so far from any drama movies.

I heard someone saying that the Japanese love to copy American movies. BLASPHEMY! If you look carefully, it's the total opposite. Weren't the Americans the ones who did a remake of Godzilla? Weren't the Americans the ones who did free adaptations of Ringu and Ju-On? Aren't the Americans planning to do a live-action movie of The Transformers? Besides, Matrix IS a Japanese animation *rip-off*. It deliberately got his inspiration from anime such as Ghost in the Shell or X. And if you want good example of innovative Japanese movies, I recommend to you Akira Kurosawa's, even though it has nothing to do with sci-fi.

Anyways, Returner is a must see to all sci-fi fans and to all Japanese movies and animation lovers. I can guarantee you a good time if you watch it *open-minded* and if you put aside the *rip-off* crap we've been so fed about.

9 out of 10