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

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

Returner was a huge hit in Japan, but this would- be sci-fi epic is soporific, shamelessly derivative and barely coherent by American standards.

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.