Returner (2002)

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, Gorô Kishitani

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
Mitsu Murata	...	Mizoguchi's Henchman
Kisuke Iida	...	Mizoguchi's Henchman
Kazuya Shimizu	...	Mizoguchi's Henchman
Chiharu Kawai	...	Liu's Interpreter
Dean Harrington	...	Dr. Brown
Xiaoqun Zhao	...	Slave Merchant
Masaya Takahashi	...	Liu Laoban
Kenji Motomiya	...	Mizoguchi's Henchman
Hôshi Ishida	...	Shifan (as Hoshi Ishida)
Misako Nagashima

Storyline

In 2084, the mankind is near total annihilation by alien invaders. Milly, a young woman from the Earth resistance, uses a time machine and returns to October, 2002, trying to avoid the beginning of alien invasion and the war. In her arrival in a ship, she is rescued and saved from the Yakuza evil boss Mizoguchi by a hit-man called Miyamot. Using unconventional methods, Milly forces Miyamoto to help her to save the human race.

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Plot Keywords:

hitman | alien | time traveler | time travel | post apocalypse | 

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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:

YouTube - trailer #1 [HD] (Flash) (English)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese English Mandarin

Release Date:

31 August 2002 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Returner

Filming Locations:

Himeji, Japan

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$29,214, 19 October 2003, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$69,886, 2 November 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 name of the aliens in this film, the "Daggra", is the Tibetan word for "Enemy".

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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

Miyamoto: El dente won't be the same without you

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Connections

References The Terminator (1984)

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Soundtracks

Dig In
Performed by Lenny Kravitz

User Reviews

0% originality, 100% awesomeness

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