|
 i-myung Lee's "2009: Lost Memories" is a science
fiction movie in the guise of an action flick. Its main premise hangs on a Time
Travel concept of altering past events in order to shape the future ala the
"Terminator" movies. Of course there are a number of Time Paradoxes
that immediately spring to mind, but that's for another discussion. (And since
most Time Travel movies avoid tackling these Paradoxes anyway, why bother
bringing them up?)
"Lost Memories" stars Dong-Kun Jang ("Nowhere
to Hide") as Sakamoto,
a Korean federal agent who exists in an alternate reality where the Japanese
didn't lose World War II, but instead retained control of Korea. Sakamoto
and his Japanese partner Saiko (Toru Nakamura, "Purple
Butterfly") works for the JBI (Japanese
Bureau of Investigations), and their job is to eliminate a terrorist
organization made up of Korean nationalists fighting for Korea independence. The
terrorists believe that the reality they know is in fact an altered one (altered
by a secret Japanese conspiracy, no less), and they plan on going back in time
to put things right. But first they have to get their hands on a Time
Machine…
Hopefully I am not spoiling any major secrets with the plot
points above, because for nearly half of its running length (the film is over 2
hours long) "Lost Memories" never comes close to touching the Time
Travel plot point. Up to the introduction of the sci-fi angle, the movie plays
out as a standard action film, with Sakamoto's investigation bringing him closer
and closer to The Truth and The Conspiracy, and finally his road to
self-discovery and redemption.
It's all standard fare, and although the action scenes are
handled with energy, the film is saturated with a pretentious soundtrack that
thinks "more is more" and "less be damned." It gets quite
irritating after a while, especially since the score is so interchangeable and
seem to have no rhyme or reason for being except to scream at the audience,
"Pay attention, this is an action scene!" Also, on more than one
occasion director Si-myung Lee forgoes continuity in order to deliver
an emotionally impact scene to the viewer. They're nice, but I'd rather have a
movie that flowed correctly, not stopping in fits and starts so I can be
"affected." When a character stands out in the open during a massive
gunfight for what seems like an hour "feeling", it gets a little
ridiculous.
The film's main draw is actor Dong-Kun Jang, who seems to
be channeling Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun Fat in every scene. Jang is somber
and brooding, his Sakamoto constantly wondering if he really fits in with the
Japanese-dominated JBI. He is a Korean with a Japanese name, and everyone is not
hesitant to remind him of this fact. Even his partner and best friend Saiko is
very much aware that he is partnered with a "lesser" cop. Add to that
Sakamoto's history with the police force and the death of his father, a cop
accused of corruption, and its not surprising that Sakamoto is the only realized
character in the whole film.
As an action movie, "Lost Memories" works, but as
a sci-fi film, its Time Travel angle is ineptly written and executed. For
example: there is a device that can send people through time and alter history,
but the people who have it are hauling it around in metal crates without
an army to protect it? Gee, people just don't treat time travel machines the way
they use to.
"Lost Memories" also lacks any form of subtlety
whatsoever. The Japanese characters (except for Saiko, for the most part) are
cold-blooded killers who shoot anyone and everyone, all the while maintaining an
evil smile on their evil faces. (And they also shoot kids in the back, too!).
Meanwhile, even the most minor Korean characters are shown as heroic figures,
given hero's deaths at every turn. Needless to say, Japanese audiences probably
won't be very happy with the film.
Slick, expensive, and loud – three words that describes
"Lost Memories." It's also brainless, avoiding anything
intelligent like the plague. But it's a good, mindless action film that manages
to overcome cartoonish villains with a generous amount of bloodshed and flying
bullet casings.
Actor Dong-Kun Jang is a star in the making, and the film's best
scenes concern Jang's Sakamoto and his partner, Saiko. The two have a
particularly heart-wrenching confrontation in an interview room that leaves me
to wonder how it can be that the film is so clueless about everything else when
it got that one scene so right?
|
