DVD
Review | Returner
Written by: Kage
Alan
I attended a convention about a year ago where
scenes from this film were being played prominently around in areas
where the latest imports could be purchased. Now, whether or not they
were bootleg, I have no idea. It’s difficult to tell when it comes to
a foreign release, but I remember thinking how cool it looked! Well,
lo and behold, look what just got released from Columbia Tristar
Entertainment? A film like this just goes to show that we don’t need
Keanu Reeves or “The Matrix” to make a decent Sci-Fi action movie.
Also, considering the ridiculously moronic “Matrix: Revolutions,” I’ll
take “The Returner” any day.
Miyamoto (Takeshi Kaneshiro) is the kind of guy you
want on your side. He’s the coolest of the cool, a martial arts
gunman/assassin who’s keeping the worst elements out of his area of the
city. While he may not be the most social guy in the world, he does
mean well. Irritate him, however, and he’ll totally kick your ass (if
he doesn’t kill you). Well, he’s about to get his hands full when a
young girl named Milly (Ann Suzuki) shows up claiming to be from the
future. You see, the future is a VERY bad place because an alien race
has seen fit to invade the planet and kill off every human being on it.
If her story holds up, they have 72 hours to stop the upcoming war from
ever happening.
There’s always one ass clown who stands in the
way. In this case, it’s crime lord and all around jerk Mizoguchi (Goro
Kishitani). This is a guy who could care less that the future is like
in 75 years or even 20 as long as he’s rich and powerful right here and
now. Yeah, he’s got to go. It’s a huge uphill battle for Miyamoto and
Milly to unravel the mystery of what started the war so they don’t
repeat it while also saving their own collective butts. Part action,
part sci-fi, part “ET” and part “Transformers,” “Returner” plays out in
several different genres and fairly successfully to boot.
If there’s a weakness in this movie, it’s probably
in the editing and overall running time. At just under 2 hours,
“Returner” overstays its welcome and could have benefited from some
tightening in the editing department. Also, while this might not be the
most original film in the world, it does offer some nice twists and
turns and even a few surprises. Because of this and combined with a few
cool effects, action sequences and an appealing cast, it’s easy to
overlook these flaws. Again, I’ll take this over that damned third
“Matrix” film any day of the week.
Sony has released “The Returner” in its original
Widescreen format. Believe me, you need it. Full Screen just wouldn’t
do this one justice…at all. Video quality is fairly solid with only a
minor amount of grain. The original Japanese audio is the best while
the English dubbing leaves something to be desired. Don’t be lazy.
Read the damn subtitles! Unexpectedly, Sony has included some extras on
this disc. Aside from some trailers (which are fairly standard), there
are some featurettes (“Action Coordination” (5 min), “Art Direction” (6
min) and “Visual Effects: Before and After” (8 min)) and a Production
Diary (with or without commentary) (54 min) that provides an excellent
look into the making of the film.
Don’t be mislead by the cover art. While there is
definitely action in the film, there is a huge sci-fi element to it that
may put off some viewers expecting a “Die Hard” rip-off. Hollywood
might just be in trouble because while the Japanese made this one on a
tight budget, you would most likely never see an American equivalent
being made for less that $75 million. We definitely have things to
learn from our friends overseas.
Film Rating:
B
DVD Special Features: B
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