Infernal Affairs
2002 Directed by Andrew Lau Wai-Keung, Alan Mak
Synopsis
Loyalty. Honor. Betrayal.
Chan Wing Yan, a young police officer, has been sent undercover as a mole in the local mafia. Lau Kin Ming, a young mafia member, infiltrates the police force. Years later, their older counterparts, Chen Wing Yan and Inspector Lau Kin Ming, respectively, race against time to expose the mole within their midst.
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Sadly, in the States this one is known more as the film that The Departed is based on than for it's own greatness. In a lot of ways, this is paced much better than Scorcese's copy and it manages to tell a fantastic story without bogging itself down with acting of the lowest common denominator (yes, I'm looking at you Matt Damon).
There's not much to dislike here and more than a few things to celebrate. Tony Leung turns in an outstanding performance and the noir aspects of the film are really brought into a sharper focus due to the way Wai-keiung Lau puts the whole thing together. It really manages to pull you in.
A great watch for those…
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Probably one of the best thrillers of the last decade, and to my mind, still far superior to the Scorsese remake. Brilliantly put together, with a constant pressure piled on as the ironic plot twists snake around each other right up to the shattering conclusion. Anyone seen anything remotely as good as this recently?
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I became confused about who was who and which side they were on, but really enjoyed this film. It is far far better (in my opinion) than The Departed, the rather boring remake of the same story.
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ONE OR TWO SPOILERS
I used to be a massive Hong Kong film fan about 12-13 years ago, but when things inevitably slowed down after the colony was handed back to Chinese rule, my interest faded, too.
So having heard how Infernal Affairs had apparently reinvigorated Hong Kong cinema and given it the kick in the arse it had needed for quite a while, I decided to finally give it a go. And it was good. Really good, in places. But just not THAT good.
The story is superb. The subplot about Chan's daughter is pointless and adds nothing, otherwise it's really tight and well paced and actually surprisingly gun-less, I thought. It's also brilliantly acted, and it was great…
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Poor Martin Scorsese.
One of the greatest Directors of a generation. A master craftsman. Arguably THE greatest Gangster Movie director. After being snubbed by the academy (the OSCARS... not "Police"), for decades, he finally wins the coveted "Best Director" award for a remake of this classic movie. Now, I'm in no way snubbing The Departed. It's an excellent remake, which does well to transpose the Asian setting with a very American Boston. Which is the other kicker. An Italian American Director famed for his mafia-based gangster movies, wins his OSCAR for his only Irish American Gangster flick! Poor bugger.Anyways...
Infernal Affairs.
Ideally, I probably should've seen this before The Departed, but never mind. The plot isn't entirely similar to… -
People blabbering on about the "masterpiece" that is The Departed, should take a break from this nonsence, and watch this. IMO of course.
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bang bang bang! better than your average city roof-top action movie i guess. guns and cops, mob bosses, cigars
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The Departed was a remake of this Hong Kong crime thriller. Personally, I prefer this version but I need to give The Departed another viewing. This movie is much more than the "opposite sides of the law" story, and the twist that each side has a mole embedded within the other and they each are trying to figure out the others identity lends to an intense game of cat-and-mouse. The slow-burning suspense and mental fragility of our protagonist is palpable. Entertaining, exhilarating and effective. The only thing I have to say negative about it are the two sequels it spawned.
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A good plot but average for everything else.
Highlights: Musical score.
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I was familiar with (and a fan of) 'The Departed' before viewing the first installment of the 'Infernal Affairs' trilogy, and I feel this probably lessened my enjoyment of the latter. The story was familiar but the surrounding film did not quite reach the greatness of Scorsese's remake. Tony Leung Chiu Wai is a very good actor, but he doesn't seem desperate enough in his role; in fact, 'The Departed' expanded everything and ratcheted up the tension in such a manner that the original is dwarfed. Does the remake lack subtlety? Maybe. But the performances and popular music soundtrack are captivating and make the 150 minutes fly by. The 100-or-so minute 'Infernal Affairs' feels comparably underdeveloped. Still, it is a great piece of source material.
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Surveillance tech
can still be trumped by
Morse Code. -
Perhaps I’m being harder on this movie than I should be, but I can’t get over how inferior this is to The Departed. Especially since this has been hyped as a “great” film and some people actually think it’s better than The Departed. There’s little to no character development, the script is weak and by regularly using short flashback sequences to remind us of the most obvious and memorable plot details, the filmmakers treat the audience like we’re morons.
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I finally got around to seeing this because of how much I like The Departed. I did enjoy this original and can see what Scorsese saw in it and why he wanted to remake it, and improve it in my mind.
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Curieux après avoir vu The Departed.
Très bon acteurs et scénario (préfère la fin) mais manque un petit quelque chose du coté du réalisateur bien que certains plans intéréssants.
Scorcese a repris les meilleures scènes et fais mieux.
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I wish I had of seen this flick before watching The Departed. While it is still a good movie, I don't think it's as polished as The Departed. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had of seen it first.
Having said that, it's a tense thriller with some great acting. Good flick.