There's not a single original idea in Returner, but that doesn't stop this Japanese sci-fi action thriller from being a whole lot of fun. Combining elements of (what else?) The Matrix , E.T., The Terminator, and Independence Day, plus a dash of Back to the Future (among others), the mayhem begins when scruffy survivor Milly (Anne Suzuki) uses a time portal to leap from 2084--when humans are being systematically wiped out by invading aliens--to 2002, where she hooks up with a gun-slinging maverick (Takeshi Kaneshiro) whose swirling overcoat and hair-trigger attitude make him the live-action equivalent of the quintessential anime hero. Together, they thwart a Yakuza psychopath (played with hilariously laconic nihilism by Goro Kishitani) who's attempting to steal a recovered alien spaceship to exploit its highly advanced weaponry. In its race to avoid an end-of-the-world scenario, Returner throws in just about everything from the sci-fi anime repertoire, and director Takashi Yamazaki blithely and blatantly shifts from juvenile sentiment to violent brutality, resulting in a clash of tones that makes Returner wildly entertaining but decidedly not for children. Utterly derivative but worthwhile for sci-fi and anime fans, it's a noteworthy case of clever recycling, with energy and ammunition to spare. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

this film could have been sooooo much better
its pretty good as it is...brainless entertainment....lots of explosions and kung fu...the only downside is that inbetween the rucking the film slows to a crawl and they let the actors try to act which they really shouldnt have!!!!
its not helped by a terrible dubbing job!!!
when it does let rip it is fantastic eye grazing stuff with a frantic soundtrack and explosions all over the place and bodies flying everywhere
its just a shame that there wasnt more of that!!!!!
but if you want some great popcorn explosion definately worth giving this a spin

A brilliant time travel plot which mixes elements from terminator, aliens, the matrix and transformers to produce a top quality popcorn movie. The acting, storyline and special effects are all high quality and rival anything hollywood can produce.

After reading other reviews on here just thought I'd be a little bit more honest about this film. This isnt "non-stop action", and ground breaking special effects, but that isnt a criticism.

I love this film and found it totally enjoyable, simply because its a totally original, out there story, done in a simple extremely fun way. If this was a Hollywood movie, it would probably be dubbed "the Action event of the decade, coming this fall" and you would be sick of hearing about it by the time they actually got round to releasing it. Then to find out it was about as groundbreaking as double-sided sticky tape.

The two main charachters are perfect, and something Ive found in many Asian movies is that no matter how cheesy, cliched or corny a scene is, Asian actors/actresses seem to be able to pull it off without you cringing. Theres always emotion, without the stereotypical hero types we see all the time.

There is action and its well done, would have been nice to had a bit more but then would rather watch a film with characters you learn about and grow to like, than a story with characters you know little about, spouting out annoying "one liners" and performing gravity defying martial arts on anyone who "gets in their way".

All in all, this is a film you can watch over and over again, hate to use the term, but this is Pop-corn fodder. The sort of film home cinema was made for. Just sit back, forget all the stress and seriousness in your day and enjoy just under 2 hours of great entertainment.

I saw an advert for this film and instantly told myself i HAD to watch it! And what a film!
Basically, girl travels back in time, meets cool-dude hitman Miyamoto and tries to save world from alien invasion squads. How can you go wrong?! Well, with Takashi Kaneshiro as the lead you can't!!
It does have echos of previous movies but Returner just pulls off the moves with so much more style than 'Mr. Neo' could ever do.
All in all, this is a film you can watch again and again. It's just so clever!
BRAVO!!

...And Takashi Kaneshiro is fantastic!

I like this one, no boring moments, and very watchable. If your someone who looks at a film and says there are bits from other films, then a)stop watching films cause thats always going to happen b)go elsewhere. But if you are not like this and like a good film with a good plot with excellent effects then get this. im glad i bought this one.