Takashi Yamazaki	...	(Director)
Takashi Yamazaki, Kenya Hirata	...	(Writer)
Takeshi Kaneshiro	...
Anne Suzuki	...
Gorô Kishitani	...
Kirin Kiki	...
Yukiko Okamoto	...
Akira Sako	...	Cinematographer
Kôzô Shibasaki	...	Cinematographer

Summary: There's not a single original idea in "Returner", but that doesn't stop this Japanese sci-fi action thriller from being a whole lotta fun. Combining elements of (what else?) "The Matrix", "E.T.", "The Terminator", and "Independence Day", plus a dash of "Back to the Future" (among others), the mayhem begins when scruffy survivor Milly (Anne Suzuki) uses a time portal to leap from 2084--when humans are being systematically wiped out by invading aliens--to 2002, where she hooks up with a gunslinging maverick (Takeshi Kaneshiro) whose swirling overcoat and hair-trigger attitude make him the live-action equivalent of the quintessential anime hero. Together, they thwart a Yakuza psychopath (played with hilariously laconic nihilism by Goro Kishitani) who's attempting to steal a recovered alien spaceship to exploit its highly advanced weaponry. In its race to avoid an end-of-the-world scenario, "Returner" throws in just about everything from the sci-fi anime repertoire, and director Takashi Yamazaki blithely and blatantly shifts from juvenile sentiment to violent brutality, resulting in a clash of tones that makes "Returner" wildly entertaining but decidedly "not" for children. Utterly derivative but worthwhile for sci-fi and anime fans, it's a noteworthy case of clever recycling, with energy and ammunition to spare. "--Jeff Shannon"