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The Returner
2005.07.17. 09:43
 English only
THE RETURNER
Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment
 More
like a live-action anime than strict sci-fi actioner The Returners primary asset
is an overabundance of charm that shields it from the fact that it is composed
of bits from lots and lots of better movies.
The convoluted plot is almost impossible to describe casually and
involves Millie, an orphan from the future, a solitary gun-for-hire, a brutal
ambitious gangster and a race of aliens that may or may not be bent on evil.
These characters are thrust into a story that involves time travel, lots of
matrix styled gunplay and martial arts and a hefty dose of cheesy looking CGI
effects. Also present are liberal doses of humor, beautiful cinematography, and
a cheeky sort of entertainment
value that is refreshing in a film that probably wouldn't have survived taking
itself much more seriously than it does.
Takeshi Kaneshiro is one of those
guys that can look kick-ass and cool while doing absolutely nothing; kind of
like Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, and Steven Seagal (LAUGH! That Steven
Seagal bit is a joke!).
I mean, just look at that movie poster... trés stylish. In fact, that poster
is everything Jet Li's The One wanted to be and wasn't. And I'm just
talking about the poster, mind you. (To this day, I still don't understand who
would advise Jet to turn down the The Matrix sequels in favor of The
One.)
Guns and aliens and time travel, oh my!
Let's
take a step back for a moment and bask in the wonderful hodge-podge of keywords
our pals at Poker Industries use to classify The Returner.
Action, Alien, Apocalypse/Post-Apocalypse, Bomb, Bullet Ballet,
CGI/SFX, Crime/Criminals, Japan/Japanese, Martial Arts, Quest, Scientist, Time
Travel, UFO, War
If that list included the words Strong Bad, Angelina Jolie naked, and
lightsabers, I might consider nominating this flick for an Oscar (not that it'd
do any good), but just the same, I found The Returner thoroughly
entertaining.
Spoiler Free
As you might have noticed, I'm
staying away from any specifics. I feel a little guilty about busting out the Return
of Jason Todd spoiler last week. But what I will say is, The Returner
steals openly from the Termninator, Escape from New York,
E.T., Independence Day, The Matrix, and Back to the
Future, among others.
While cheesy and largely cliché, it all works out in the end as the
characters are likeable, the FX are reasonable, and the action is enjoyable.
Though not at all thought provoking, The Returner is definitely worth the
price of admission.
The
DVD
Edition
Details: Region 2 encoding (Europe, Middle East & Japan
only), PAL, Colour, Dubbed
Movie:
* * ½
Disc: * *
 You can’t describe this 2002 live action Japanese movie
involving time travel and alien invasions without the word “derivative”. Uhm,
actually come to think of it, I did exactly just that in my original review
. . .
Anyway, watching the film you’d
be counting off the, ahem, “influences” one by one: The Matrix, The Terminator, E.T., Independence Day and so
forth. Not particularly original then, but Returner boasts some nice
special effects and a fresh-faced cast not creaking at the sides of age like a
certain bodybuilder-turned-governor of California. Returner tends to drag
slightly from the midsection on (the movie is just too long) but it would make a
decent rental for a slow night, or as part of a double bill. Maybe along with
that other paragon of originality, Equilibrium. You’ll
certainly be getting the action movie fix that the recent Terminator 3 – Rise of the
Machines and the Matrix sequels couldn’t
deliver on. Besides, the plot - although crammed with subplots – is more
comprehensible than The
Matrix Revolutions . . .
THE DISC: This is the
Region 2 and 5 disc. If you’re a purist, you can watch the movie in its
cinematic wide screen aspect ration with its original Japanese soundtrack with
English subtitles. I didn’t, opting for the English language soundtrack instead
– hey, we’re not talking Kurosawa here after all. Besides, the English dub is
actually quite good.
In the line of extra features
you get . . . some trailers. Besides a trailer for this movie, there are also
trailers for Cowboy Bebop –
the Movie and Terminator 3.
WORTH IT? Not a
particularly great disc, but not bad either. A bit like the movie
itself.
RECOMMENDATION:
Returner is a live-action anime movie for all intents and purposes. Not
particularly original, anime fans and action movie junkies still ought to check it out for undemanding viewing. Rent it.
Watch the Trailer at Sony pictures!!
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AJÁNLOM AZ OLDALT
