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. When I saw that the R3 version was available online for the princely sum of 5 pounds, (after the judicious application of vouchers that is) I figured it was just like renting, but without having to give the disc back. And so my nightmare began. The centre of the disc was gouged, but the playing surface looked fine. However, my player decided to wage a vendetta against this particular disc. This may be a matter of quality control, or lack thereof. The disc will actually play only one time out every three, and the first time through it played perfectly up to the layer change, when my player quit in disgust. No amount of cajoling would get it to restart, until I gave the disc a polish, and let my player have a breather for half an hour. This time round, a nail-biting 2-second layer change accompanied by a worrying grinding noise, and the rest of the film played, with the occasional glitch. Of course my DVD-ROM, supposedly locked to Region 2, plays the disc perfectly well. Taking the better part of 3 hours to watch a 2-hour movie does nothing to endear me to the process so that may have tempered my opinion somewhat.

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.

It`s a shame then that the transfer fails almost in every respect to convey that. The 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer is variable at best. The image is given an earthy tint or occasionally washed out to evoke a certain style; it does make you wonder whether the prevalent grain is an artistic choice, however while grain is there throughout, the extent varies from scene to scene. The image is uniformly soft, and the contrast is lacking. There are some minor artefacts including image ghosting, certainly in the darker scenes, and black levels are certainly wanting. Most disappointing is a lack of detail. Again this is noticeable in darker scenes, where detail levels are so low as to induce an absolute murk. One scene where Miyamoto is preparing some spaghetti is incomprehensible as he places the pasta into a steaming pan, rendering the screen a fleeting grey morass. However, brighter scenes certainly live up to the standard of the film, the future flashbacks and the climax of the film are certainly clear and almost sharp. Strangely the image is much better for the extras and especially on the trailer.

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 where the disc has the edge over the European and US releases. The soundtracks available are DD 5.1 and DTS Japanese, as well as a DD 2.0 Cantonese dub. R1 and R2 (Euro) only have DD 5.1 tracks in Japanese as well as local 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. Subtitles are available in English, Chinese and Simplified Chinese.

Features

The trailer is here in its 1.85:1 letterbox glory, and looks clearer and sharper than the film itself.

There are text filmographies for the stars and the director, in Chinese though.

There are interviews with the stars and the director lasting 14 minutes. There is also some 6 minutes of B-Roll footage. Both this and the interviews are subtitled.

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!

I must admit that before purchasing I had read that the quality of Universe Laser & Video discs was variable, but at the price it was a cheap risk. Alas, my own personal woe with the disc aside, the image transfer does nothing for the visual splendour of the movie. The Region 3 is cheapest, and has DTS sound for those who are interested. The R1 and UK R2 discs lack this and the extras (not sure about R1 here) but have additional language soundtracks. For those of you willing to shell out, the Japanese R2 Special edition comes on two discs with almost three hours of extras, but make sure you understand Japanese first as only the film is subtitled. As for myself, I`m waiting for the UK disc to drop in price.