Fairaher
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Dirtylogy
It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
Roy Hart
If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.
kld0068
What I expected was a so so Japanese version of a sort of sci-fi/alien/Terminator type story. I was pleasantly surprised to see the story develop into something original and unique.Milly travels back in time as the cusp of an alien takeover of Earth. Her goal is to prevent the aliens from reaching the point where they are too strong to defeat. The story was well told with not only sci-fi alien invasion and time travel, but it was also a Asian gangster and revenge flick. There were a couple of E.T.esque soppy moments, but the film was had a good amount of action, explosions, subtle humor, and an interesting multifaceted story.
Leofwine_draca
Lightweight but entertaining Japanese sci-fi flick that rips off about a dozen similar Hollywood movies made in the last couple of decades. I've watched a lot of rip-offs over the years and the ones I enjoy more are those that rip off multiple movies to create their own wild blends rather than those that slavishly copy the plot and style of one specific movie (such as the execrable REIGN IN DARKNESS, which copied THE MATRIX so heavily it was a total bore). RETURNER is a film that goes for quantity over quality, delivering a quite frankly bonkers plot that riffs on such movies as THE MATRIX (in the look, style and action), THE TERMINATOR (with the main character having travelled from the future to save the present) and STAR WARS (dodgy looking aliens are the enemy in this instance). Throw in some distinctly Japanese elements – nasty gangsters, cute bonding over rice – and you have a film that's difficult to describe.Of course, it's a triumph of style over substance, but that doesn't make it a bad movie. In fact, it's pretty entertaining, loaded with tons of action scenes and featuring a central twosome who are difficult to dislike. Takeshi Kaneshiro trades on his boyish charm as is the norm and Anne Suzuki proves an unexpectedly heartwarming saviour. There are a ton of CGI effects, some dodgy, some decent, but for the most part Returner gets by on just the kind of wild enthusiasm and imaginative effort you expect from Japanese cinema.
disdressed12
Ritana aka Returner,is a Japanese action,sc/fi adventure.its basic premise is that Milly,a young girl from 82 years in the future,goes back in time to 2002, to prevent an interstellar war.she eventually recruits a man named Myamoto to help her in her quest.There is another small subplot in the movie as well.there is plenty of action,sometimes over the top,as well as some light comedy.the movie is slow for the first half and pick up by act 2.the violence is no more graphic than any north American film.there is very little foul language.there are some ludicrous situations in the movie,but again no more than your typical American movie.some time however,it feels a bot low budget.you almost feel as if you are watching a sc/fi TV show.it is however,at least from the 2nd act on,an entertaining diversion. 6/10
AwesomeWolf
Version: Columbia Tristar's DVD release. Japanese / English subtitles.Time travel is cool. Explosions are cool, as are gun fights. Any movie that attempts to incorporate 'The Terminator', 'Independence Day', 'Leon', and nearly every John Woo movie made between 'A Better Tomorrow' and 'Face/Off' is cool. 'Returner' features all these elements, and therefore, is awesomely cool. Or at least a fun action movie.In 2084, the Earth has been nearly overrun by aliens. The last survivors of the human race are fighting a losing battle in the mountains of Tibet. Naturally, these survivors have mad scientists with them who develop all these cool gadgets, as well a time-machine. Milly (Anne Suzuki) volunteers to go back to 2002 to stop the war from beginning. Upon arrival, she teams up with Miyamoto (Takeshi Kaneshiro). Miyamoto is a mercenary seeking vengeance against the Triad gangster, Mizoguchi (Goro Kishitani), who in turn, may actually have caused the war in the first place. Convenient.A Japanese friend of mine originally recommended 'Returner' to me, and another friend of ours, knowing full well we are easily impressed by explosions. If, like me, you are easily impressed by explosions and have not yet seen 'Returner', you should stop reading and go watch it right now.'Returner' is little more than a stylish action movie. Most of the plot seems to be taken from random elements of 'Terminator', ID4, and 'Leon', and styled in a similar way to ID4, 'Matrix', and a fair number of John Woo movies. I must admit that any comparison to the 'Matrix' is a tad unfair, as the 'Matrix' was also made up of elements from nearly every movie John Woo ever made. As a sci-fi / action movie, 'Returner' is entertaining, if a little cheesy. The action scenes are generally awesome and exciting.'Returner' is a fun action movie. It should at least satisfy hardcore action fans, and should be entertaining enough for anyone looking for a fun movie - 7/10
