Returner
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anne Suzuki, Goro Kishitani, Kirin Kiki, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Yukiko OkamotoBrand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Portuguese (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Japanese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Digital Sound, Digital Video Transfer, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Surround Sound, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.85:1
Running Time: 116 minutes
Published: 2004-02-01
DVD Release Date: 2004-02-10
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Movie Reviews of Returner
Movie Review: One of the best sci-fi movies I have seen in a long time!
Summary: 5 Stars
I just finished watching this movie and let me tell you I am quite impressed. Especially after reading all the so called "movie critic" reviews of this movie. You know, I have had enough with the stupidity and hypocrisy of your average critic and I am not going to even bother anymore with reading what they have to say about a given movie. It has become obvious to me that a good majority of them are so concerned about what it is fashionable to say or what they think other critics think they should say that any chance of them giving a sincere and open minded look at a movie seems completely impossible. And you know what is the fashionable thing to say about this movie? That it is derivative, that it is only an amalgam of ripped-off ideas from other movies. Take for example the Amazon.com editorial review above which says that "there's not a single original idea in Returner...combining elements of The Matrix, E.T., The Terminator and Independence Day, plus a dash of Back to the Future". This is basically a carbon copy of what nearly every wanna-feel-important movie critic on the net is writing about this movie (so who is being derivative here?). But I ask them, how is it any more derivative than the movies that they list as being ripped-off? Or any other movie for that matter. By the impossibly high standards with which they have obviously judged this movie ALL MOVIES would have to be considered derivative. 'Independence Day' becomes no more than a rehash of 'War of the Worlds' and 'Back to the Future' a rehash of 'The Time Machine' and so on and so forth. This is ridiculous. They are obviously being unfair to this movie. Yes it does contain elements from the movies mentioned, as well as elements from a thousand other movies, but so what? The same is true of every movie that has ever been made. But this movie is far from being a blatant rip-off, it presents many new ideas as well as some fresh perspectives on some old ones. Overall I found Returner to be a nicely balanced and enjoyable film. It has loads of style, amazing action sequences, an interesting plot, characters you care about and some very amazing special effects. I recommend that you don't listen to what the "critics" have to say (ever) and watch this movie with a fresh and unbiased mind. I am sure most of you will enjoy it.
Summary of Returner
There's not a single original idea in "Returner", but that doesn't stop this Japanese sci-fi action thriller from being a whole lotta fun. Combining elements of (what else?) "The Matrix", "E.T.", "The Terminator", and "Independence Day", plus a dash of "Back to the Future" (among others), the mayhem begins when scruffy survivor Milly (Anne Suzuki) uses a time portal to leap from 2084--when humans are being systematically wiped out by invading aliens--to 2002, where she hooks up with a gunslinging maverick (Takeshi Kaneshiro) whose swirling overcoat and hair-trigger attitude make him the live-action equivalent of the quintessential anime hero. Together, they thwart a Yakuza psychopath (played with hilariously laconic nihilism by Goro Kishitani) who's attempting to steal a recovered alien spaceship to exploit its highly advanced weaponry. In its race to avoid an end-of-the-world scenario, "Returner" throws in just about everything from the sci-fi anime repertoire, and director Takashi Yamazaki blithely and blatantly shifts from juvenile sentiment to violent brutality, resulting in a clash of tones that makes "Returner" wildly entertaining but decidedly "not" for children. Utterly derivative but worthwhile for sci-fi and anime fans, it's a noteworthy case of clever recycling, with energy and ammunition to spare. "--Jeff Shannon"Similar DVD Movies
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