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Starring
:
Takeshi
Kaneshiro
Ann
Suzuki
Kirin
Kiki
Goro
Kishitani
Yukiko
Okamoto
Mitsuru
Murata
Producer
:
Toru
Horibe
Director
:
Takashi
Yamazaki
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RETURNER
(2002)
A.K.A.
- The Returner
Reviewed
by Phil Mills
Miyamoto
(Kaneshiro) is an expert gunman who witnessed the kidnapping
of his best friend when he was a child. Since that day,
he vowed that he would find the man responsible and has spent
his years battling through all the underground gangs in Japan.
On one fateful night, he finally encounters his nemesis
but just as he is about the dish out the fatal blow a kid
distracts him and his enemy escapes. Angry and
distraught, Miyamoto still manages to help the kid and then
tries to send her packing but it appears she has a tale of her
own. This mysterious girl by the name of Milly (Suzuki)
says she has come from he future where an alien race is on the
verge of destroying humanity and she has traveled back in time
to stop the attack at its source. Of course, this
information is a little much for Miyamoto to take in but with
Milly's bizarre gadgetry he finds himself beginning to believe
her story. His problem now though is, does he continue with
his vendetta or take the fate of the whole world into his
hands?
With
Hollywood so regularly taking it's cues from Eastern cinema
these days, an American inspired Asian film seemed like a long
overdue prospect. However, that is all about to
corrected courtesy of 'Returner' - a Japanese film that
blatantly flaunts it's American influences and boasts high
budgeted special effects, a popular homegrown star in the form
of Takeshi Kaneshiro and lots of slow motion gunplay.
Unfortunately though, the marketing is perhaps more successful
than the finished product as what we are actually presented
with is a poorly scripted blend of Science Fiction and action
that is never quite committed enough to either genre for it to
appeal to true fans.
Borrowing
elements from 'Independence Day' and 'E.T.', director Yamazaki
attempts to craft out his own vision of a "big"
movie but apart from a few stylish camera tricks the film
really struggles to create anything new or all that exciting.
Instead we are punished with numerous flashbacks in an attempt
to build depth within the characters and an extremely forced
bonding between the leads that never quite seems to make much
sense. Acting-wise it also disappoints with Takeshi
Kaneshiro, a very competent performer in the past, looking
bored with the material and delivering every line with a
pained expression on his face. His sidekick comes in the
form of a young girl who isn't a particularly bad actress,
it's just she has to play the token kid role who either gets
in the way or looks extremely uncomfortable performing in the
fight sequences. As for the action itself, it is very
'Matrix' inspired and even features bullet time in one
sequence but what few battles there are are very short-lived
with little room for anything substantial to expire.
Overall,
'Returner' is a very wasted opportunity as with such a high
budget the filmmakers should have been capable of so much
more, especially when you view some of the quality films that
have emerged from Japan in recent times. Scarily enough
though, it is probably a much more accurate assimilation of
the American blockbuster style than it would have ever wished
to be.
Rating:
 
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