RETURNER has the makings of a good science fiction film. It has all the ingredients in all the right doses. The cool, loner hero; the hot chick from the future; and a big enough budget that it's never lacking for visual treats. And yet, the whole thing is built from a poor script that lacks coherence, logic, and most of all, fails on every conceivable level.
It's bad enough that there are so many awful movies out there nowadays, but you really hate to see a film like RETURNER, which has so much going for it, failing so badly. Even if it had reached the level of dumb action movie, it might have been more successful than it currently is.
As it stands, the poorest element of RETURNER is its juvenile and logic-defying screenplay. With another script, this could very well be the best Japanese sci-fi of the millenium. As it stands, RETURNER is just an impressive failure. Impressive visually, but atrocious when it comes to story.
4 out of 10
(go to www.nixflix.com for a more detailed review of this movie and reviews of other foreign films)
It's bad enough that there are so many awful movies out there nowadays, but you really hate to see a film like RETURNER, which has so much going for it, failing so badly. Even if it had reached the level of dumb action movie, it might have been more successful than it currently is.
As it stands, the poorest element of RETURNER is its juvenile and logic-defying screenplay. With another script, this could very well be the best Japanese sci-fi of the millenium. As it stands, RETURNER is just an impressive failure. Impressive visually, but atrocious when it comes to story.
4 out of 10
(go to www.nixflix.com for a more detailed review of this movie and reviews of other foreign films)