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Returner Actors: Takeshi Kaneshiro, Anne Suzuki, Goro Kishitani Director: Takashi Yamazaki Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen Format: Color, Widescreen, Digital Video Transfer, Surround Sound, Subtitled, Digital Sound Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Running Time: 116 minutes Studio: Columbia Tristar Hom Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2004-09-07 Buy from Amazon

Customer Reviews: Total numer of reviews: 55 Average rating: 4.0 "Watchable But Cheesy" * I got into the mood to watch a cheesy B-movie and, having seen previews for the Japanese live-action film RETURNER on an anime DVD, thought it might do the job. At the beginning of RETURNER, a Japanese soldier of fortune named Miyamoto (Takeshi Kaneshiro) is engaged in a crusade against his arch-enemy, a brutal agent of the Chinese Triad gangs named Mizoguchi (Goro Kishitani), when the fight is interrupted by the arrival of a time-traveler from the future named Milly (Anne Suzuki). Miyamoto, not surprisingly, finds it hard to believe that she's been sent back in time from the future to head off an alien invasion, due to begin in a few days. He gradually comes over to her side, however, and the two cooperate to rescue a stranded alien from Mizoguchi. I have to admit that if I wanted an amusing cheesy B-movie, RETURNER fit the bill. The production values are good, the acting ranges from OK to good -- Takeshi Kaneshiro is a very appealing actor, sort of like a Japanese Keanu Reeves -- and it snaps along fairly nicely. However, part of the amusement was at the cheesiness of the thing, mostly in terms of the script. There was the usual sort of B-movie silliness -- the bad guys catch the heroes and instead of killing them on the spot, gloat and give the heroes time to pull something deadly out of their sleeves. Doing this once would have been dumb, but the bad guys keep doing it over and over, making me want to shout: "Just shoot them! Just shoot them! Why is that so hard?!" OK, I might put up with that, but I spent a good part of my time just figuring out all the lifts in the script from other films -- THE MATRIX, INDEPENDENCE DAY, and every time-travel movie I've ever seen. "Oh no, they're throwing in a bit of ET! And adding a Transformer, too!" They try to compensate by layering on the violence, but it doesn't work. After seeing this movie I have to remind myself that I have seen some brilliant anime (along with some really bad stuff as well, of course) and know there are Japanese film-makers out there who are capable of coming up with original ideas. Well, I wanted to watch a cheesy B-movie, I got exactly what I wanted, so I can't complain. However, I definitely got the craving for cheesy B-movies out of my system for a good long while. "This movie was excellent" The review on this title says that it is unoriginal. In defense of this there is a long list of movies such as Matrix and Terminator to which it is supposedly similar. First, that is completely backwards. American movies, PARTICULARLY The Matrix, have been ruining a genre perfected by the Japanese and Chinese, by poorly copying it's style and paying tons of money to get Asian stars and then writing crumby movies for them. Most of the movies on that list wouldn't exist if it weren't for Asian Sci-Fi/Action and Anime. Second, this film is derivative in the same way The Maltese Falcon was derivative. Third, if you don't love Sci-Fi and/or Asian films, you are watching the wrong movie. But don't worry, Legally Blonde is finally available in widescreen. "Wow" I think this movie is not getting the credit it deserves. Not only is the action great but the story is also excellent. The acting is great too. I suggest that you watch it with subtitles to fully see the acting. Anyway, overall this movie was great and I recomend it to anyone. "Three and a Half Stars" Go ahead and judge this movie by its cover. Looks like a lot of other recent sci-fi/action flicks, doesn't it? Guy in a trenchcoat, posing with a gun, lesser female character in the background, numbers rolling down behind them... Looks like the Matrix. Looks like Equlibrium. It isn't too far off. Actually, "The Returner" borrows more from "The Terminator" trilogy than anything else. It actually borrows too much. The story is exactly the same. In "The Returner" a war is being waged in the future against a race of aliens, and a girl must travel back to the present time to stop the war from ever beginning. Sounds a lot like a certain series starring Arnold Schwarzenneger, does it not? The girl even brings back a gadget from the future - a wristband - that allows a charcater wearing it to travel twenty times faster than everyone else for a brief period of time. This, as you might expect, allows for a few "Bullet-time" scenes, with enemies and bullets traveling in super slowmotion, while our heroes dodge the bullets with fancy acrobatic techniques. Seen it before, but it still looks cool. "The Returner" is a special effects filled sci-fi/action flick, that gives viewers exactly what they'll expect. It has likable characters, an interesting ending, and is only slightly hurt by its lack of real originality. Don'y go out of your way to see it, but if you are looking for a fun way to spend an hour and a half, this may be a great choice. "Not so un-original." Don't buy in to the "un-original" talk. Are you going to notice hints of a dozen movies in here? Of course. But if you're looking at Returner, you're already probably thinking "Hong Kong action flick" (or something close to it), saying Returner is a Rip-off is like saying Bruce Lee was "just another martial artist". Now on to the review. This is a great, funny, cool action flick. Only a few points really need to be addressed... -The main characters are lovable, and heroic but flawed, perfect for this movie. -The enemies are super-ultra-chique and mega-cool. Yes, there's a lot of cheese in there, and it's the same in the movie. But again, it's perfect for the film. -All of the action is superbly done, with a few technology-driven scenes that will really blow your mind. These special effects put most of Hollywood to shame. One bit toward the end truly becomes on of those "wow" moments, when you wonder why movies like this aren't destroying American cinema. -The story is convoluted, but not so much that it takes away from the story. Follow just enough to know what's going on, and this will be a blast. -The few scenes with "downtime" often involve a tiny bit of romance between the male and female lead. It's defnately nothing that's going to annoy the action buffs, but it would be just enough to score points with the opposite sex. An action flick with an iota of romance? Bonus. To sum up Returner: Fun, fun, fun. Get some snacks, and maybe grab your signifigant other, and enjoy it. Definately worth a second viewing.