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Returner
EMAILPRINTDestination Films / Samuel Goldwyn Films
Generally unfavorable reviews
Based on 17 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 18 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Action | Adventure | Foreign | Sci-fi | Suspense/Thriller
Written by: Takashi Yamazaki
Directed by: Takashi Yamazaki
Release Date:
Theatrical: October 17, 2003
DVD: February 10, 2004
Running Time: 114 minutes, Color
Origin: Japan
Language(s): Japanese (with English subtitles)
Summary
RATING: R for violence
Starring Takeshi Kaneshiro, Ann Suzuki, Kirin Kiki, Goro Kishitani, Yukiko Okamoto, Mitsuru Murata, Kisuke Iida, and Kazuya Shimizu
The year is 2084 and the human race is fighting an alien militia to save the last remnant of civilization. A young heroine name Milly (Suzuki) escapes the war and jumps back in time to present-day Japan in an attempt to change history and prevent the demise of her people. (Destination Films)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
A B-movie goof on an A-minus budget, Returner is a mini-epic tweaked with computer effects and one blazing gun battle after another and set to an anonymous techno-beat.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Manohla Dargis
Like all good B-movies, Returner comes loaded with enough eccentric touches to give the recycling a whiff of freshness and, as is often the case with many above-par follies, it's the cast that takes the whole thing to another level.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Hovering between "Last Action Hero" and "E.T.," this sci-fi extravaganza is bookended with violence but has some gentle moments in between.
Read Full Review >Variety Derek Elley
Kaneshiro is all long flowing locks and smoldering disdain, the visual F/X are only so-so, and pacing is almost brisk enough to hide the plot holes.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson
Yamazaki is clearly a science-fiction fan himself, and in Returner, he shows some worthwhile style, if only by stealing the biggest and best possible elements for his serviceably entertaining genre mashup.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub
Less a new Japanese movie than a series of scenes from old American ones, most notably "The Terminator" and "ET."
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Overwrought and overlong, Returner might been a rousing B-movie -- had it not been hamstrung by Yamazaki's bigger pretensions.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan
Hardcore genre fans may find some appeal in this warmed-over tale, but most viewers will be squirming in their seats even before the prolonged finale.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
Mines familiar territory and does nothing especially new with it. On the plus side, Kishitani is a spectacular villain.
Read Full Review >The New York Times A.O. Scott
A smorgasbord that seems to have been picked out of a Dumpster. It clumsily combines a fish-out-of-water story with bits lifted from sources including the "Terminator" movies, "Star Wars," "Starman," "Close Encounters," a couple of Pink Floyd albums and H. G. Wells.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Robert K. Elder
Serves as both an homage to and shameless thief of its influences. The result: a sprawling, deformed, undisciplined piece of cinema that hobbles along on weak, genre-splicing tactics.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Bruce Fretts
With his tousled mane and wispy facial hair, Asian pop star/ Prada model Kaneshiro suggests a Japanese Johnny Depp, but even his charisma can't carry Returner through its interminable longueurs. Blame it on Yamazaki.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
Suzuki and Kaneshiro keep the first hour afloat with their easy comic interplay, but Yamazaki badly needs editing: the opening escape sequence is needlessly repeated later, and a slow drip of false endings drags this out to a tiring 118 minutes.
Read Full Review >Premiere Scott Warren
The story and stunts are outlandish, and the effects are distractingly computer-generated. To be fair, some of the best things about the film are very Japanese, notably the anime.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
Soporific, shamelessly derivative and barely coherent by American standards.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.2 (out of 10) based on 18 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Peter K. gave it a 9:
O.K., so this film wasn't so origonal. So what? How much origonality do you find in typical Hollywood films these days? The special effects were incredible, the action scenes were spectacular, and the cast gave a great preformance all around; particularly the two protagonists, Millie and Myamoto, and the villain, Mizoguchi. The last scene in the film didn't make much sense, but that hardly bothered me. Check this out if you're not a stuffy critical type and you don't mind alot of harmless fun.
Gabor A. gave it a 3:
Acting cant save a terrible movie for you when you're forced to read subtitles. This movie feels like a live action video game. Did i mention that thats not a good thing?
Angel A. gave it an 8:
I absolutely adored this film, I think the heart of the film is not in the actual plot but in the relationship between Anne's and Takeshi's characters. And also noticed that it did seem to be ripp off by alot of films, but it doesn't matter, I think they made it work anyway. Loved it, it was definitely worth seeing!
Andrew F. gave it a 10:
The movie had great visual effects and i would seriously like to see the metacritic critics do something like this. theirs wouldn't come close. the acting was good and the plot was cool.
Shawn A. gave it a 2:
The best B-movies are movies where the makers were actually trying to entertain and not really wanting to make pathetic films, like Ed Wood for a obvious example. I think these film makers new from the beginning that they had crap with this one, it's too bad because the acting ain't half bad.
Jonathan H. gave it a 0:
This movie isn't worth anyone's time and money, stay clear.
JT S. gave it a 9:
I thought it was a lot of fun. the action was pretty good. the story was pretty good. i didn't see any problems with the effects. i enjoyed it quite a bit and plan to add it to my movie collection at some point. and i am an American.. Ann Suzuki was adorable, yet tough. and Takeshi was a believable hero.
