A failed assassination attempt in 1909 means that Japan retains colonial control of the Korean peninsula, fights in WWII alongside America, leading to atomic attacks on Germany in 1945, and by 2009 is still in firm control in Seoul - now the third largest city in the Japanese empire. While most Koreans have accepted this state of affairs, sporadic terrorism by groups such as the Hurei-Sei-Jin continues to be the thorn in the side of the Japanese Bureau of Investigation (JBI).

Underneath this sci-fi veneer, Lost Memories uses every buddy-cop movie cliche going. Saiko (Toru Nakamura) is the happy cop, a Japanese family man with obligatory wife and daughter. Sakamoto (Dong-Kun Jang) is the unhappy cop who lives alone, a Korean-Japanese with a dead, traitorous father. As they begin to investigate an attack by Korean seperatists, Sakamoto starts to realise that his ethnic background counts for more than he thought. After his father-figure mentor is assassinated, Sakamoto is framed and forced to go to ground. Saiko is put in charge of his pursuit and ultimately, you know one of them is going to have to kill the other.

Killing is definitely on the cards, as Lost Memories is almost absurdly violent from the outset. The JBI's anti-terrorism tactics are to fight fire with even more fire, and no visual punches are pulled showing the effects of assault weapons on hapless terrorists. Alongside this are Sakamoto's less hectic moments of self-discovery, dreams and flashbacks. There are also some glaring inconsistencies in the action, with characters able to reflect, lips trembling, on fallen friends while guns blaze all around.

With unconvincing special effects, no near-future detail to speak of, wonky pacing and an over-indulgent collection of slow motion drama shots, Lost Memories is hardly the best action film ever made. The setting is thought provoking, however, and with similarities to the world of Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle, worth checking out if alternate history stories stamp your ticket.