Review of Returner

Introduction

A few months ago, I saw a trailer that piqued my attention. One and a half minutes of footage that looked more Matrix than the Matrix, and a 747 that was some kind of Transformer. It looked, for all intents and purposes like a live action anime, something that I had to see. The film was Returner, and it has been released on DVD worldwide in various formats. I have already reviewed the Region 3 disc and personal woes aside, was less than impressed by the image quality. Columbia Tristar have released the disc in the UK, and while it is a barebones release that lacks the DTS soundtrack, the image is a definite improvement.

It`s 2084 and the Earth is beleaguered by an implacable foe. The alien Daggra have decimated the world and are intent on exterminating the human race. The last surviving resistance is operating from Tibet, and a plan is hatched to use time travel to stop the war before it begins. However, before the plan is put into action the Daggra overwhelm the resistance, and the machine has to be activated prematurely. As the last warriors fall, the only one remaining that can make it to the time portal is 13-year-old Milly, and she is sent hurtling back in time.

October 19th 2002 and gun for hire Miyamoto is aboard a ship violently interrupting some human traffickers, when he finally comes face to face with the man that has haunted him since his childhood. Mizoguchi, a Japanese crime boss working for the Chinese Triads kidnapped Miyamoto`s friend to sell his organs and finally he`s earned his revenge. But their face-off is interrupted when Milly arrives in the past only to be shot for her troubles. Mizoguchi escapes and Miyamoto takes his unconscious victim (thanks to body armour) back to his flat. The next morning, Milly awakens to ask for Miyamoto`s help. She has two days to find a crashed spaceship and kill the alien pilot before the war begins. Miyamoto is naturally sceptical, but Milly uses her battle-hardened street smarts to convince him. So the unlikely pair begins the search for the alien, but trouble lies ahead, as Mizoguchi has learnt of the crashed spaceship and believes the alien technology will bring him unlimited power. Also Milly has to learn a shocking truth about the war that she has fought all her life.

Video

Returner is an amazing visual triumph, relentless wire-fu action, stylish gunplay and special effects to die for. Bullet time makes another cinematic appearance with the aid of a futuristic gizmo that speeds up human reactions, and makes for several of the films stunning set pieces. The alien is adequately realised, he isn`t asked to do much, but the alien technology is stupendous, especially the ability to disguise their spaceships. Gunfights, explosions, fast cutting action; this is a film to be savoured with the eyes, a veritable feast of eye candy.

The UK Region 2 release of Returner has a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer that is a revelation when compared to its R3 counterpart. This release is thankfully free of artefacts, and the brightness and contrast levels are far more pleasing to the eye. The film`s colour palette tends to earthy browns and rich golds, and there is a deliberate stylistic choice to give the film a level of grain. While the detail levels are far greater than the Region 3 disc, the image still tends towards an overall softness. The UK release of Returner is a delight to watch though.

Also while the action and the special effects are certainly up to scratch, the production values in sets and props leave a little to be desired. The sight of a space ship on the back of a trailer wrapped in a large piece of shiny material is one of the tackier moments in the film, especially as the silhouette bears no resemblance to the CGI craft.

Audio

This is a Euro friendly disc with DD 5.1 soundtracks in the original Japanese as well as Italian, Spanish and English dubs. This film makes powerful, vibrant use of the surrounds, really immersing you in the story. The action sequences are certainly punchy, and with all that happens in this film it`s an aural treat. One moment sticks with me, during a car chase when bullets are flying, a spent cartridge falls back past the camera, and you can just feel it whoosh past. I dipped my toe into the English dub, and found the lip synch to be excellent. Unfortunately the dubbed dialogue is atrocious. It`s a relief then, that the subtitles are translated from the original Japanese, rather than reflecting the dub. What gets translated as "Goodbye, Sewer kid!" is dubbed as "Goodbye, Manhole kid!" turning a tense scene into an absurdity. There is a monumental choice of foreign language subtitles.

Features

This disc is lacking in the extras department. You`ll find the trailer for Returner, Cowboy Bebop and Terminator 3 if you look.

Conclusion

If there is one word to describe Returner, it`s `derivative`. If you`re being polite, you can say it`s paying homage, if honest you can say heavily influenced by, being brutal it`s nothing less than a shameless rip-off. Off the top of my head, the story is 2 parts Terminator to 1 part Independence Day, seasoned liberally with dashes of The Matrix, ET, Back To The Future and of course Transformers. But as Hollywood has been doing it for years, turnabout`s only fair play. Besides it`s not what you do, it`s how you do it, and Returner does it with panache. Indeed, Returner is ultimately a complete triumph of style over substance.

What make Returner worthy of note though are the performances of the central characters. Takeshi Kaneshiro is excellent as the anti-hero Miyamoto, a ruthless urban warrior who has no qualms about doing what needs to be done to attain his vengeance. Yet he also has a gentle side that Milly manages to bring out. With the shades and the long coat he`s cooler than Neo and a better actor than Keanu. Ann Suzuki is star material as Milly and her winning performance steals the picture. Milly has street smarts and maturity beyond her age that if done wrong would look precocious, but she is able to convey the character with innocence and hope that belies the outward cynicism. The two characters naturally rub each other the wrong way, and it turns what is a derivative sci-fi actioner into an enjoyable if unconventional buddy movie. Also while Goro Kishitani doesn`t have that individual spark and eccentricity to make the character of Mizoguchi a classic cinema villain of the Rickman School of acting, the performance is certainly theatrical and meaty enough to make him a worthy adversary of the two protagonists.

However the downside to this is some woeful English language acting. While much of the action takes place in Japan, the future war is depicted in Tibet, with a predominately Western cast. The dialogue here is truly abysmal, badly written and poorly performed. While the English subtitles are necessary for the Japanese language, they are no less necessary at these moments as well. Fortunately, there`s not a lot of this to suffer, and it is leavened by a great action set piece. There is the occasional plot hole too.

Returner is nothing new, and if you are looking for originality and an intelligent script look elsewhere. But while the material isn`t fresh, the lead actors certainly are. The performances are invigorating and entertaining, and it`s an entertaining thrill ride from beginning to end. Brilliant fun!

After the indistinct image of the Region 3 disc, the comparative clarity of the UK release is a godsend, and watching the film again was a far greater pleasure, enough to warrant an increased mark. I feel the loss of a DTS track is a small price to pay for a clear image. So now the choices stack up like this, a barebones UK R2 disc with a decent transfer or R3 DTS disc with a few featurettes that looks terrible. I haven`t seen the R1 disc, which has even more featurettes and an audio commentary, neither have I seen the cream of the crop, the Japanese R2 Special edition that comes on two discs with almost three hours of extras, but make sure you understand Japanese first as only the film is subtitled. But if you want just the film, the UK R2 is the perfect option, one that you`ll return to time and again.