As many have said, Returner steals wantonly from The Terminator (girl sent back in time to prevent alien invasion before it happens), Independence Day (really really huge alien craft), The Matrix (wirework mixed with slo-mo-gunplay), ET (the alien just wants to go home), and even Escape from New York (the girl compels her modern day hero to help her by planting an explosive device on his neck).
Still, it's a fun movie to watch, mainly BECAUSE of all that shameless idea-theft, and also because, in spite of it, its director realizes what kind of dopey movie he has on his hands and decides to just have fun with it. The action scenes are energetic, appropriately gory, and often full of the kind of politically incorrect black humor you only see in Asian cinema. In the opening scene, arch-villian Mizoguchi (Goro Kishitani, who's awesome) shoots a screaming child in the head and then shrugs and says, "Hey, at least he's quiet."
CGI FX are fine despite the lower-than-Hollywood budget and there are naturally many visual concepts, like the great-looking alien armor, inspired by anime and manga. The two leads have loads of charisma, even if long black leather coats have become the ultimate action hero fashion cliché. For a popcorn-muncher's action movie, you could do worse than to pop Returner into your DVD player.
Still, it's a fun movie to watch, mainly BECAUSE of all that shameless idea-theft, and also because, in spite of it, its director realizes what kind of dopey movie he has on his hands and decides to just have fun with it. The action scenes are energetic, appropriately gory, and often full of the kind of politically incorrect black humor you only see in Asian cinema. In the opening scene, arch-villian Mizoguchi (Goro Kishitani, who's awesome) shoots a screaming child in the head and then shrugs and says, "Hey, at least he's quiet."
CGI FX are fine despite the lower-than-Hollywood budget and there are naturally many visual concepts, like the great-looking alien armor, inspired by anime and manga. The two leads have loads of charisma, even if long black leather coats have become the ultimate action hero fashion cliché. For a popcorn-muncher's action movie, you could do worse than to pop Returner into your DVD player.