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Returner (Ritana) (2002)

tomatometer

40

Average Rating: 4.1/10
Critic Reviews: 10
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 6

No consensus yet.

audience

63

liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 12,043

My Rating

Movie Info

In the year 2084, when humanity is decimated by a ruthless alien force, all hope lies in Milly (Anne Suzuki), a hardened young soldier, as she goes back in time to stop the invasion before it's too late. Ending up in present-day 2002, she appears in the middle of a gunfight as Miyamoto (Takeshi Kaneshiro), a mysterious mercenary, is breaking up a child-slave ring headed by Mizoguchi (Goro Kishitani), a ruthless Triad member with an uncanny thirst for blood. With bullets flying left and right,

Feb 10, 2004

Samuel Goldwyn Films

Cast

All Critics (34) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (13) | Rotten (20) | DVD (16)

With little room for new ideas, the film must rely on the strength of its actors, and they're excellent across the board.

October 17, 2003 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | Comment
San Francisco Chronicle
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Returner was a huge hit in Japan, but this would- be sci-fi epic is soporific, shamelessly derivative and barely coherent by American standards.

October 17, 2003 Comment
New York Post
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This Japanese sci-fi actioner copies so many Hollywood hits that it should win an award from the Xerox Corp.

October 17, 2003 Comment
Hollywood Reporter
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The real reason to see this film is the scrappy rapport between Kaneshiro and Suzuki. They are so good together, you won't know whether to cheer or cry.

October 16, 2003 Comment
San Jose Mercury News
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Returner is a smorgasbord that seems to have been picked out of a Dumpster.

October 16, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
New York Times
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Returner goes on far longer than such a derivative movie has a right to, but it maintains enough of a balance between its human elements and its propulsive action sequences to keep us going.

October 16, 2003 Full Review Source: Newsday | Comment
Newsday
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Worth catching for fans of the genre, just to whet the imagination of what this talented director could do with a coherent screenplay.

December 11, 2003 Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | Comment
Arizona Daily Star

A watchable, if somewhat absurd, sci-fi stir fry.

October 22, 2003 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | Comment
Filmcritic.com

A fourth-generation Terminator hand-me-down.

October 22, 2003 Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | Comment
L.A. Weekly

Ransacking films like Independence Day for ideas is one thing. Restaging E.T. The Extraterrestrial, right down to the cuddly alien, is another matter entirely.

October 22, 2003 Full Review Source: Film Journal International | Comment
Film Journal International

Yamazaki has made himself into a cover band, content to play Van Halen classics for middle-aged boys looking for a trip down memory lane.

October 20, 2003 Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | Comment

Director and co-writer Takashi Yamazaki mines familiar territory and does nothing especially new with it.

October 17, 2003 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

This irresistibly over-the-top delight remains truly original in spite of its debt to an array of cinematic chestnuts.

October 17, 2003 Comment
Seattle Times

An action party for bored fifth graders.

October 17, 2003 Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | Comment
San Diego Union-Tribune
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Returner (Ritana)

This Japanese sci-fi action thriller may lack originality but it still manages to be a very entertaining movie! The story consists of a young woman from a war-torn future who travels back in time 82 years to 2002 to prevent an alien invasion of earth summoning the help of a local hitman. It's got some super-cool action

February 1, 2011
WrenchLT
Lee ?

Super Reviewer

A young woman returns from the future and enlists the unwilling help of a hitman to stop an alien invasion. The Terminator meets Independence Day with a dash of Transformers in a highly derivative but fun pulp sci-fi actioner. It borrows heavily from a lot of sources and the effects can occasionally feel a little

February 17, 2007
garyX
xGary Xx

Super Reviewer

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