OneEightNine Media
Transformers meets The Matrix meets ET meets Back To The Future. Seriously, this movie is insane, but in a good kind of way. It was made in the early 2000s and it is a Japanese film, so sadly the special effects are sometimes awful. But then again sometimes the special effects are great by today's standards. Anyway, this is a science fiction film about a girl who travels back in time to prevent an alien invasion of earth. She meets an assassin with a heart of gold and pure entertainment transpires. Needless to say the action is high caliber, the acting is refreshingly excellent with little camp, which is rare for a Japanese science fiction film made back in the early 2000s. The plot should be the biggest drawback of the film because we've literally seen it a thousand times before, however this film does the impossible. It not only shamelessly borrows the major plot points from numerous American SciFi classics, it makes each of those plot elements it's very own. But what really puts this film over the top is a very simple but all so forgotten thing when it comes to movies; solid character development. The backstory of both lead actors makes you not only care about them but root for them. The villain is a great kind of villain. A villain can make or break any movie. Lucky this villain is as entertaining as he is menacing. And he is a villain with an agenda that runs parallel to the main story but isn't reliant on the story; which is impressive writing and directing if you ask me. Marvel Studios could learn a lesson from them on how to solve their villain track record. To make a long story short, I highly recommended this hidden gem. If you happen to stumble upon it, it would be worthwhile checking it out.
mats_carcass
Ingredients:2 Parts E.T. 1 Part The Terminator 1 Part Indepedance Day Rind of The Matrix pretty much every action movie clichéTake all these ingredients into an editing suite, wait for several months, and when released... AVOID!!Yes as many know this movie pretty much rips off several action and pop culture films. What makes it worse is the fact that when the bland action subsides, and they try to engage the audience with some form of plot, it fails miserably. Many times i was bored with Takeshi and Anna's wooden, by the numbers performances; several times i checked how such was left to go. And even when i thought i had reached the end, it kept going, and going, and going. It gets a 2 purely for the fact it is Asia ripping off Western cinema (at least in theme) for once, instead of the opposite. Too bad it didn't prove that Asia does it better...
dustyrose25
I loved this film. I am aware, however, that it is a bit of a cult film, so you will either love it or hate it. Returner has excellent actors (Takeshi Kaneshiro, from House of Flying Daggers; Anne Suzuki, from Moon Child; Goro Kishitani, plays one of the best movie 'bad guys'; and Kirin Kiki the supplier (of weapons/information) with attitude) Returner has beautiful photography, flawless animation, and really cool action scenes. Oh, yeah. And trench coats. So through in a grown up street kid out for revenge, a villain who buys children for their organs, a girl from the future on a mission to save the human race, and, of course, aliens, and what do you have? The Returner.
AwesomeWolf
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
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