2009: Lost Memories has a lot of promise. A sci-fi action/mystery (mild on the sci-fi) set in an alternate universe where Japan sides with the Allies during World War II, Corea never gained independence from Japan and becomes part of the empire. Pretty cool setting, no? In fact, the first half of the movie, despite the occasional logical flub and inconsistency, manages to be quite interesting. And then you hit the midway mark and the film crashes into mindless melodrama and sinks to the point where even its otherwise gorgeous action sequences can't save it.
But, it is quite a pretty film. Lots of wonderfully shot scenes grace this film, even if you can see strong traces of John Woo present in many of them. But this picture is cleaner and slicker than Woo's earlier productions. The sets and costumes are wonderful. The lighting and editing however does run a little heavy-handed. And in fact, the film's preoccupation with aesthetics, instead of strengthening its story, sinks the film. There's also a bit of a mood-killing plot twist halfway through the film as well, which really doesn't help.
In terms of lighting, the film is shot dark and while it definitely makes things seem fairly "cool", at the same time, everything is so awash in blues most of the time that it's hard to keep believing in it. It tries a little too hard to be cool. There's also the obnoxious abuse of slow-motion and extreme close-up reaction shots. Honestly, during an action sequence, I really don't want to see 15-30 second bursts of watching as characters react to other insignificant characters' deaths. It frustrated me to no end. And then there's the logical jumps. Not only is one character's story not tied up, but it conflicts with itself logically and the film probably would have been helped having removed that character altogether.
Because the film couldn't shore up its story and resorted to overenthusiastic melodrama and manipulation, it went from being quite interesting to a bit of a chore. I give it credit for great aesthetics and premise, even if in the end the story becomes chaotic and inconsistent, but the degree of the films abuse of melodrama to substitute for story keeps it from staying afloat. People that can get past story and enjoy the slick presentation and action, might enjoy this. Everyone else should consider giving it a pass. 6/10 (purely on the merits of its aesthetics and premise).
But, it is quite a pretty film. Lots of wonderfully shot scenes grace this film, even if you can see strong traces of John Woo present in many of them. But this picture is cleaner and slicker than Woo's earlier productions. The sets and costumes are wonderful. The lighting and editing however does run a little heavy-handed. And in fact, the film's preoccupation with aesthetics, instead of strengthening its story, sinks the film. There's also a bit of a mood-killing plot twist halfway through the film as well, which really doesn't help.
In terms of lighting, the film is shot dark and while it definitely makes things seem fairly "cool", at the same time, everything is so awash in blues most of the time that it's hard to keep believing in it. It tries a little too hard to be cool. There's also the obnoxious abuse of slow-motion and extreme close-up reaction shots. Honestly, during an action sequence, I really don't want to see 15-30 second bursts of watching as characters react to other insignificant characters' deaths. It frustrated me to no end. And then there's the logical jumps. Not only is one character's story not tied up, but it conflicts with itself logically and the film probably would have been helped having removed that character altogether.
Because the film couldn't shore up its story and resorted to overenthusiastic melodrama and manipulation, it went from being quite interesting to a bit of a chore. I give it credit for great aesthetics and premise, even if in the end the story becomes chaotic and inconsistent, but the degree of the films abuse of melodrama to substitute for story keeps it from staying afloat. People that can get past story and enjoy the slick presentation and action, might enjoy this. Everyone else should consider giving it a pass. 6/10 (purely on the merits of its aesthetics and premise).