Returner 2002

[CheezeFlixz]

I pick this flick up at Big Lots for a $1 ... I don't feel I was ripped off nor do I feel like I got a bargain, I did get my dollars worth.

This is a live action Japanese Sci-Fi film that is Matrix-y in looks albeit the Matrix is anime-ish in looks too. So this movie drew from the Matrix which drew from some Japanese films which drew from some American animation which drew from where ever and so on. Ok that's out of the way ...

Is short a girl is sent from the future to the past to save the future, typical over top Japanese acting a with bad dubbing and timing. One girl is shot and at least a full second goes by before she drops straight drop. (It wasn't an 'OH I'm shot' delay it was more of a "OH I missed my cue delay") Anyway not bad just, some corny Americanized dialog. (My Japanese is to poor anymore to keep up with a film.) I think or at least hope it wasn't as corny in Japanese.

It's wasn't bad it had some decent special effect and action, it's was loaded and I mean loaded with movie cliché I'm really not sure they missed one. It had transformer jets and 747, ET-ish looking aliens with Star Wars style armor and ST Borg force fields. Clearly it drew many of it's ideas from many other movies, although I don't think I've seen that type of worm hole before, it was a window in space more so than a tube. So that was new to me. 

It had a plot, it's had a good guy, it had the girl, it had the bad guy, it had the old weird women that knew everything, it's had guns and lots of ammo. So it had pretty much everything you'd expect in this type of movie.  I think it worth watching at least once, I don't think you'll demand your 2 hours back, but you might. It's not going to win any awards ... here. Ok it won 2 in Japan, but keep in mind Goro Kis**tani was nominated for best supporting Actor as Mizoguchi and I thought he was the most over the top cartoonish one of them all in this movie. So what ever on what japan thinks is good.

You might want to check it out you might not, who know your local Big Lots might have a copy for a buck.

I'm giving it 2.5 out of 5



(Man we need better rating icon-smiley-things.)

[Mr_Vindictive]

I watched Returner when it first was released on DVD a few years back.  I had heard little about it but the case looked pretty good, so I picked it up.

I actually enjoyed it for most of it's runtime.  The problem with the film is that it is a rip off of so MANY other films.  You have the leather-clad "Matrix" type character, you have the girl returning from the future to save the world (Terminator) and you have the aliens and their "Transformer" style ships. 

I do remember really liking the main bad guy though.  Japanese films have a way of creating great bad guys.  Returner, Battle Royale, and Ichi The Killer are all proof of this. 

I actually ended up buying Returner along with Das Experiment (Great film!) and another DVD from Best Buy for about 15 bucks or so all together.  This was about a year ago or so.  I have yet to actually sit down and rewatch Returner but I think I'll do so soon now that I've been reminded.

[CheezeFlixz]

Yeah it was a lot of movies in one ...

Leather duster and bullet time ... Matrix
Return from future to past to save future ... Terminator
Aliens with personal force fields ... Star Trek
Giant Space ship sent to destroy mankind ... Independence Day
Scummy urbanite the knew and sold info ... Huggy Bear from Starsky and Hutch

and few others I can't think of right now.

[Jim H]

Fairly entertaining, but it didn't have the right oomph to move it beyond that.  I feel the same thing of almost all of the more recently made Japanese action movies I've seen.  It's depressing when you consider how many good Chambara, yakuza and even karate films were released in the 60s and 70s.  It's like they forgot how to make that sort of film.

[Gerry]

I liked it a lot.  Sure it was derivative, but it was very well made and had some original touches.  I liked it better than most American films that come out these days.

[Mr_Vindictive]

I liked it a lot.  Sure it was derivative, but it was very well made and had some original touches.  I liked it better than most American films that come out these days.

That's pretty much my opinion on the film.  One could certainly do much worse.

[Gerry]

************SPOILER ALERT!!!!*************

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I liked the nice and unexpected twist that the alien she was sent  back to kill was not evil after all and not the cause for all of the devastation in the future.  That was a nice twist.
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************End Spoiler********************