The returner

Having read a few online reviews of this movie, and having seen some of the more recent movies out of Japan including Batoru rowaiaru (2000), my expectatations were low. (Battle Royale is for the most part a good movie, but enjoyment of the movie is ultimately crippled by a truly lousy ending.) For some reason, recent Japanese live-action movies tend to be really bad, while anime is often very good.

This movie was a pleasant surprise. It didn't rip off other movies nearly as much as I was led to believe. True, some of the special effects resembled those in The Matrix, but they helped advance this movie instead of being a way to try to make the movie seem more "cool."

The character of Mizoguchi, played by Goro Kishitani, resembled Gary Oldman's parts in a number of films including Fifth Element, The (1997) and Léon (1994). The acting by Takeshi Kaneshiro as Miyamoto was good, but the standout of the movie was the cute-as-a-button Ann Suzuki as the serious, fun, energetic, and rebellious Miri.

The CG of aliens disguised as terran aircraft transforming into their true forms was impressive, resembling the work done in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001) and Independence Day (1996). This is a movie not to be missed by CG buffs.

With the recent shortage of good live-action movies coming out of Japan, The Returner is one of the best to come out within the last few years.

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")

The day was set to end, I had two videos in my hands I had just rented an hour before, one of them was "Lost in Translation" and the other one was "The Returner".

To make a long story short, my attitude turned pretty sour after viewing the more anticipated "Lost in Translation" and turned on "The Returner" thinking it would be pretty cheesy....turns out, I was completely wrong.

The Returner, even though it obviously borrows a lot of ideas from other films, is incredibly entertaining. The main characters Miyamoto and Milly were incredibly engaging, the bad guy (with his "Vash the Stampede" look and gun) was pretty cool, the storyline (filled with some comedy, drama, action, and a science fiction twist of course) was not that bad (some parts were a lot more enjoyable than others), the execution of the directing was what caught my attention, and the overall impression I got from it was completely passable and whole-fully entertaining.

Even the ending and the soundtrack was superb. It made me drop my jaw in awe during the credits, it really had that much of an impact with me throughout the entire thing. I long for the special double disk edition (if it exists that is, not entirely sure yet).

For those who love action/SCI-FI flicks, this is a definite must. And this is also recommended for those who love Japanese Cinematography in general.

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

If you watch enough Japanese sci-fi films (live-action or animated), you'll see that their makers *love* to get their ideas from American films. This one is no exception; among other films, you'll see elements of THE TERMINATOR, INDEPENDENCE DAY, and E.T. There's even evidence that the filmmakers saw the Jack Scalia/Dennis Christopher direct-to-video flick THE SILENCERS! As derivative as the movie may be, it's still pretty entertaining. Sure, the story has a few murky plot points, but none that terribly confuse you about what is going on. And while it's directed in that stiff and somewhat sterile style often found in Japanese films, that feeling is much less intense than usual. The movie rolls along at an acceptable clip, there are some neat action scenes, and the special effects are often pretty good for what must have been a limited budget. Not a movie to actively seek out, but it's a good one to pick up when your neighborhood Asian DVD rental place is offering 3 rentals for $10. Ten lashes with a whip for the Universe Laser & Video Co., however, for one of the crummiest DVD transfers to date!