Reset (2017) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The story primarily unfolds at Nexus Corporation Laboratory, a cutting-edge research facility developing wormhole technology. The conflict also involves IPT Lab, a rival agency seeking to steal Nexus's research, along with settings like the Nexus building, a hospital, and various parallel universes created by the time-travel experiments.

• nexus corporation
• ipt lab
• laboratory
• settings
• locations

The movie takes place in a contemporary era with near-future science. While not set in a specific year, it features advanced wormhole technology and parallel universe exploration, placing it in a near-future timeline where such technology has become possible.

• time period
• contemporary
• future
• setting
• era

Nexus Corporation is the cutting-edge research facility where the story's groundbreaking time travel technology is developed. The lab creates wormhole technology that enables travel between parallel universes, making it the target of corporate espionage and the center of the film's central conflict.

• nexus corporation
• laboratory
• research
• wormhole technology

The Identity theme explores how multiple versions of the same person exist across parallel universes, forcing characters to question which version of themselves is real. Xia Tian's doppelgängers embody competing desires, protective love versus ruthless pragmatism, using this multiplicity to examine loyalty, choices, and personal accountability.

• identity
• doppelganger
• parallel universes
• multiple selves

The Time theme presents time travel not as a power fantasy but as a containment mechanism that compounds risk, altering one moment can unravel others. The one-hour-to-one-hour-and-fifty-minute travel loops create a tense race against consequences, with the climax hinging on how many versions can survive within the timeline.

• time travel
• time loops
• consequences
• parallel timelines

The Ethics theme examines how corporate competition and scientific ambition push researchers toward morally gray decisions, including kidnapping, deception, and willingness to sacrifice others for the greater good. The film highlights the dangers of unchecked power and prompts reflection on responsibility toward human life when technology can rewrite reality.

• ethics
• corporate
• ambition
• morality
• sacrifice

Xia Tian is the protagonist, a determined Nexus scientist played by Yang Mi. Her drive to rescue her kidnapped son Dou Dou compels her to travel across universes. Throughout the film, she confronts multiple versions of herself, torn between maternal love and the ruthless pragmatism required to protect her child.

• xia tian
• protagonist
• scientist
• mother
• main character

Tsui Hu is a hired operative played by Wallace Huo, tasked with stealing Nexus's research for IPT Lab. He embodies ruthlessness and cunning, using any means necessary including harming innocents. His own tragic backstory as a test subject adds depth to his antagonism, making him more than a simple villain.

• tsui hu
• operative
• villain
• ipt lab
• antagonist

Dou Dou is Xia Tian's young son whose kidnapping serves as the catalyst for the entire conflict. His fate underscores the human cost of scientific pursuit and corporate rivalry. His safety becomes the emotional center that propels Xia Tian through her perilous multiverse journey.

• dou dou
• son
• child
• kidnapped
• bait

The Director is the leader of Team Nexus who is fired from the project and later colludes with Tsui Hu, revealing corporate politics and personal vengeance. His betrayal exposes the hollow ethics of those who wield powerful technology, and his fate underscores the cost of ambition without accountability.

• director
• nexus
• corporate
• villain
• betrayal

The central corporate conflict pits Nexus Corporation's research team against IPT Lab, a rival agency that hires operatives to steal their groundbreaking wormhole technology. This competition drives much of the film's tension, leading to kidnapping, deception, and a willingness to sacrifice others for technological supremacy.

• corporate conflict
• nexus
• ipt lab
• competition
• espionage

The film carries a predominantly tense atmosphere rooted in life-or-death stakes, interwoven with heavy emotional weight from profound grief and maternal sacrifice. The intensity stems from the central trauma of a child's danger and the constant threat of failure across timelines, creating a pervasive sense of desperation throughout.

• tone
• emotion
• tension
• grief
• sacrifice
• desperation