Returner (2002)
"Ritânâ" (original title)

A young woman from the future forces a local gunman to help her stop an impending alien invasion which will wipe out the human race.

Director:

Takashi Yamazaki

Writers:

Kenya Hirata, Takashi Yamazaki

Stars:

Takeshi Kaneshiro, Anne Suzuki, Kirin Kiki

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Takeshi Kaneshiro	...	Miyamoto
Anne Suzuki	...	Milly
Kirin Kiki	...	Xie
Gorô Kishitani	...	Mizoguchi
Yukiko Okamoto	...	Dr. Yagi
Mitsuru Murata	...	Mizoguchi's Henchman
Kisuke Iida	...	Karasawa, Mizoguchi's Henchman
Kazuya Shimizu	...	Murakami, Mizoguchi's Henchman
Chiharu Kawai	...	Liu's Interpreter
Dean Harrington	...	Dr. Brown
Xiaoqun Zhao	...	Slave Merchant
Masaya Takahashi	...	Liu Laoban, Chinese Godfather
Kenji Motomiya	...	Mizoguchi's Henchman
Hoshi Ishida
Misako Nagashima

Storyline

After an alien invasion threatens to annihilate the human race, a young Japanese girl, named Milly (Anne Suzuki), travels back in time from 2084 to October 2002, and enlists the reluctant aid of skilled Tokyo gunman, named Miyamoto (Takeshi Kaneshiro), to discover and prevent the start of the war. However, trouble ensues when the two protagonists are forced to deal with a Japanese mafia boss, named Mizoguchi (Goro Kishitani), who is somehow involved in the start of the war by keeping the first alien spaceship and its alien pilot captive, while our two heroes race against the clock to find a way to stop the oncoming destruction from the vengeance-seeking alien invasion fleet on its way to Earth.

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Plot Keywords:

alien | alien invasion | future | murder | shot in the head | 

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Taglines:

Who cares about the future?

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp] Sony Pictures [us]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese English Mandarin

Release Date:

31 August 2002 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Returner

Filming Locations:

Himeji, Japan

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$29,214 (USA) (17 October 2003)

Gross:

$69,886 (USA) (31 October 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amuse, Fuji Television Network, Imagica Corp.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The handgun Milly uses through out the movie is a Walther P99.

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Goofs

During the highway chase when the car is blown into the air and falls back down, the cable that was used by the crane to lift the car up into the air so they could drop it again is visible as the vehicle crashes to the ground.

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Quotes

Xie: Humans are good at lying. Especially guilty ones.

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Connections

References Gorgo (1961)

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Soundtracks

"Dig In"
Performed by Lenny Kravitz

User Reviews

One of the better recent Japanese live-action movies

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.