About Infernal Affairs (2002)
An award-winning crime thriller in the intense tradition of Heat and Reservoir Dogs … critics everywhere have hailed Infernal Affairs for its gritty action and international superstars. Chan Wing Yan (Tony Leung – Hero) is a hard-nosed veteran cop sent undercover to infiltrate the notorious Triad crime ring. An expert at bringing down violent syndicates, Chan thinks it’s going to be a routine mission. What he’s not prepared for is the discovery that the Triad’s boss (Eric Tsang – The Accidental Spy) has planted a mole (Andy Lau – The Legend of Drunken Master) in the police department … and now Chan is being hunted down. In this battle of wills, only one cop can win!
Starring: Andy Lau, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Eric Tsang, Kelly Chen
Directed by: Alan Mak, Wai-keung Lau
Runtime: 101 minutes
Studio: Miramax Lionsgate
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Review: Infernal Affairs
Wai-keung Lau and Alan Mak’s 2002 thriller was well received on its release but is now better known as Martin Scorsese’s Hollywood remake The Departed (2006). I’d seen The Departed previously but was intrigued to go back to Hong Kong and see where it all began. The remake has stayed quite faithful to the original. Chan Wing-yan (Tony Leung) is an undercover police officer who has infiltrated a notorious gang known as the triad. The intention is to bring down the boss Hon Sam (Eric Tsang). However, Sam has sent numerous of his men to try and join the police force as moles and one, Lau Kin-ming (Andy Lau) has succeeded. When the police interrupt a drug deal Sam is conducting with Thai associates both the triad boss and Superintendent Wong Chi-shing (Anthony Wong) are aware they each have a mole in their midst. It becomes a race against time for Chan and Lau to find the identity of the respective moles.
This is a tense and well-acted thriller with Leung and Lau complemented one another well even though the meetings between them are saved mostly for the final reels. The two protagonists are a perfect contrast. Chan is the good guy who is broken by the years he has spent undercover, almost ten in all, with three of those serving Hon Sam. He longs to have his identity back but Superintendent Wong Chi-shing, who is the only one that knows his real identity, keeps putting Chan off. In contrast, Lau is from the ruthless triad gang and is meticulous and calculating in all that he does. At home he has a normal life that Chan doesn’t, a girlfriend who is writing a novel and focusing on the good and bad in a person. Things take a dark turn for Chan when he is almost exposed as the mole when meeting with Wong Chi-shing. He somehow gets away but the Superintendent is not so lucky. It might seem inevitable how this film ends but the conclusion is anything but what you might expect.
I really enjoyed Infernal Affairs. It’s a solid and gripping thriller throughout and has a few additional elements that were absent in The Departed. At the same time, Scorsese’s film has added some things of its own too. This is actually a trilogy of films which I look forward to exploring further. Having seen The Departed first, many elements of Infernal Affairs did not surprise me and there were moments I knew exactly what was going to happen. This doesn’t mean the film should be marked down. It’s a testament to how faithful Scorsese was with the remake. As much as I love Hollywood I do think it’s a shame that the remakes of films from the Far East get more recognition than the originals. In this case some film lovers will know Infernal Affairs but many won’t. Most will be familiar with the Oscar-winning The Departed though.
Infernal Affairs, for me, is as good if not better than The Departed. This is a well crafted thriller with some great performances that relies on tension more than elaborate action scenes. I’m loving forward to the two sequels which are said to enhance the story even further.
Verdict: 4/5
(Film source: reviewer’s own copy)
Film Review: Infernal Affairs | Thank you for reading Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave
