This Japanese Sci-Fi thriller is actually quite good, and it starts out in a fairly good pace and keeps rolling forward at that pace. The movie is driven by an equal amount of story, action and character development. There are some similarities to the "Terminator" movie though."Returner" (aka "Ritânâ") is about Milly (played by Anne Suzuki) who is living in a war-torn future, the year is 2084 and aliens are waging war on mankind, and mankind is losing. In a desperate attempt, Milly flings herself through a vortex, traveling back in to to the days prior to the incident that sparked the war. Here she gets help from a reclusive gunman named Miyamoto (played by Takeshi Kaneshiro).Story-wise then "Returner" is entertaining and fast paced. The dialogue is good and the characters are alive and colorful.The effects were good and passes as believable, although I was puzzled at how the driver and gunman disappeared from inside an exploding car as it came crashing down on the road.Fun and action-filled entertainment, "Returner" is well worth watching, regardless if you like Japanese movies or not.

I looked forward to seeing this one, but the only thing good about it is the special effects, and those are to few.Asian films often tend to have a strange, childish humor, that does not fit in properly, and this is a typical example of one of those film. In other film (like Oldboy) the humor stands for something, and suits the mood, but here it's just stupid.I don't know a word of Japanese, but I can tell that these are no superior actors. It's sad really to see a nice layout to a plot become so destroyed. Next film up is Casshern, and I have very high hopes for this one.

This is definitely worth seeing if you're into Japanese action/sci-fi films, there are a lot of cool CGI moments and some pretty slick fighting/gun-play as well. One of the main drawbacks is that the overall style of Returner almost feels like a culminated homage to many of America's popular action/sci-fi films (there are scenes in here that almost seem to be pulled right out of The Matrix, Mission Impossible 2, etc.) and at times, this factor comes off as kinda "hokey" and leaves you unimpressed due to a lack of originality. But, with the subject of "original style" aside, it does carry a pretty entertaining storyline and even completes with a cool shock ending.(Note: I rented it on DVD and personally decided that it was way more fitting to view it in Japanese with the English subtitles on because the English voice-over track was just a little too annoying and badly timed in spots.)

I loved this film. I am aware, however, that it is a bit of a cult film, so you will either love it or hate it. Returner has excellent actors (Takeshi Kaneshiro, from House of Flying Daggers; Anne Suzuki, from Moon Child; Goro Kishitani, plays one of the best movie 'bad guys'; and Kirin Kiki the supplier (of weapons/information) with attitude) Returner has beautiful photography, flawless animation, and really cool action scenes. Oh, yeah. And trench coats. So through in a grown up street kid out for revenge, a villain who buys children for their organs, a girl from the future on a mission to save the human race, and, of course, aliens, and what do you have? The Returner.