Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Returner

Play trailer Poster for Returner R 2003 1h 56m Sci-Fi Action Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
38% Tomatometer 34 Reviews 65% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
In 2084 a female warrior travels back in time to thwart an alien invasion of Earth.

Critics Reviews

View More
Ted Fry Seattle Times 10/17/2003
3/4
This irresistibly over-the-top delight remains truly original in spite of its debt to an array of cinematic chestnuts. Go to Full Review
Peter Hartlaub San Francisco Chronicle 10/17/2003
2/4
With little room for new ideas, the film must rely on the strength of its actors, and they're excellent across the board. Go to Full Review
Lou Lumenick New York Post 10/17/2003
1/4
Returner was a huge hit in Japan, but this would- be sci-fi epic is soporific, shamelessly derivative and barely coherent by American standards. Go to Full Review
Jae-Ha Kim Jae-Ha Kim 07/28/2023
3/4
Threatened by extraterrestrials who are taking over what's left of Earth, the commanders send a young girl back in time to stop the aliens and thwart the threat. In Takashi Yamazaki's stylish "Returner," we see elements of films we've seen before. Go to Full Review
Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 06/04/2012
C
At its worse when it tries to get serious, emotional or to just end the damn film. Go to Full Review
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 10/03/2005
2/5
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
DanTheMan 2 12/01/2023 Takashi Yamazaki's Returner is an absolutely bonkers riff on Sci-Fi staples like Men in Black and The Terminator, so much of it is borrowed it's almost like watching a tribute band perform the greatest hits. It's pretty much carried by its incredible cast of actors, brilliantly violent tendencies and brisk pacing that help you deal with the awful colour grading, hid the gaping plot holes and accept so-so VFX. Gonna be interesting to see what he does with the next Godzilla film in a year. See more john p 03/02/2022 First half had plenty of story line/plot set-up, flashback, faux-emotional vignettes which were somewhat awkward, at time boringly stilted with character dialogue/interaction more suited to Cartoon Network fans and Anime-addicts. "Mothra is coming to save us!" -- you catch my drift. Yeah, you see parallels to Matrix, Terminator, Independence Day and other well-known Box Office Blockbusters of the ilk but that didn't detract from enjoying this flick. Once the action levels, chase scenes, stunts, fights, shoot-outs and "save the alien -- save the future" intensity kicked in, Returner was fun to watch, (less dialogue helped). My fav part was the surprising time-travel twist and epilogue to Returner. It was foreshadowed but I never expected it once all the action died down. Worth the rental folks. But watching it w/English dubbed caused some laughably weak dialogue. Hopefully the original language flow was less stilted and less high school play level. "Hi-yahh, Blam Blam!" Transformers anyone?? See more 10/19/2020 I actually liked the movie. See more 09/03/2016 This movie is very, very 2000-ish. It is fun until you realize that it's a mashup between Terminator, Independence Day, The Matrix, E. T. and Back to the Future. See more 12/01/2015 Kung fu science fiction at its best. You will see a man catch a bullet! See more 09/12/2014 It is the year 2084 and the last pocket of human resistance fighting against the invading alien race 'Daggra'--A Fun Exciting Sci-fi Ride to Wacko Cinema!! See more Read all reviews
Returner

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Movie Info

Synopsis In 2084 a female warrior travels back in time to thwart an alien invasion of Earth.
Director
Takashi Yamazaki
Producer
Toru Horibe, Chikahiro Ando, Akifumi Takuma
Screenwriter
Takashi Yamazaki, Kenya Hirata
Distributor
Samuel Goldwyn Company, Destination Films
Rating
R
Genre
Sci-Fi, Action
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 17, 2003, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 24, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA)
$69.9K
Runtime
1h 56m