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Amazon.co.uk Review
With Infernal Affairs, Hong Kong filmmakers Wai Keung Lau and Siu Fai Mak have successfully taken a smart script and a great cast, added some stylistic cinematography, and dual-fistedly given a new twist to a formulaic genre. Lau Kin Ming (Andy Lau), a young, loyal gangster, is ordered by his Triad boss Sam (Eric Tsang) to join the police force. While on the inside the young mole can keep a close eye on police activity, ensuring the gang's activities will not be interrupted. Police Superintendent Wong (Anthony Wong Chau-Sang) has a similar plan. He takes a bright, ambitious police cadet Yan (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) and makes him an undercover cop with plans to get him inside the Triads. Years pass and both are now deep into their assigned roles. Undercover cop Yan, more or less living the life of a gangster, is now a member of Boss Sam's group, and "Officer" Lau has all the appearance of a good cop trying to bust up the Triads' drug ring. During a bust that could finally bring down Boss Sam, the moles inadvertently become aware of each other's existence, and each is left wondering who is on the inside. What follows is a unique and exciting twist on the classic cat and mouse chase in which each man is not fighting for his life, but for his anonymity. In addition to its plot twists, what lifts Infernal Affairs above the standard cop story is its subtle exploration of the relative nature of good and evil. Part action, part psychological examination, Infernal Affairs is a sharp and fresh take on the classic crime story, and the inspiration for a 2006 Martin Scorsese remake (The Departed). Not to be missed. --Rob Bracco
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Im a huge fan of chinese cinema, but this movie takes it to another plane for me. Infernal affairs follows the strory of two men, played by Tony Leung and Andy Lau, who lead secret lives behind the facet of their everyday roles. Leung is an undercover cop who has for years been a member of triad leader Eric Tsang's gang, to the point that he is questioning his own identity. Lau is the reverse article-a triad mole set into the Hong Kong PD from a very early age to ensure trust.
The Plot is not all it seems, even from a passing glance,and the twists and turns that follow (obviously not going to spoil them here for you) put this in the same league of the likes of the usual suspects in terms of potboilers. Some elements of this film pay tribute to John Woo's action packed Hard-Boiled(1992), which also starred Leung and Anthony Wong(Leung's boss here.)Though if you are used to the high bodycounts in those films, you will get a surprise here.
Th acting is all-round spectacular, rewarded justly at the Hong Kong film awards of 2002, and the scenery and cinematography are also top-notch.
I dont want to reveal much,if any, of the pictures reason for being, just suffice to say that I have never read a bad review of this masterpiece, or even heard a bad word uttered about it. it was followed by a prequel (excellent) and a sequel (a decline but still good), as well as Martin Scorsese's US remake The Departed earlier this year. Seek this one out first, undoubtedly one of my favourite films of all time.
The Plot is not all it seems, even from a passing glance,and the twists and turns that follow (obviously not going to spoil them here for you) put this in the same league of the likes of the usual suspects in terms of potboilers. Some elements of this film pay tribute to John Woo's action packed Hard-Boiled(1992), which also starred Leung and Anthony Wong(Leung's boss here.)Though if you are used to the high bodycounts in those films, you will get a surprise here.
Th acting is all-round spectacular, rewarded justly at the Hong Kong film awards of 2002, and the scenery and cinematography are also top-notch.
I dont want to reveal much,if any, of the pictures reason for being, just suffice to say that I have never read a bad review of this masterpiece, or even heard a bad word uttered about it. it was followed by a prequel (excellent) and a sequel (a decline but still good), as well as Martin Scorsese's US remake The Departed earlier this year. Seek this one out first, undoubtedly one of my favourite films of all time.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This stylish Hong Kong thriller was recently remade (or helped influence, if you believe the director) in the form of Martin Scorsese's The Departed. While both versions of the movie are excellent in their own ways - The Departed is excellent if only to watch it for Jack Nicholson's powerhouse performance - it is the original that shines brightest.
Infernal Affairs is a compelling case study of two sides of the one coin. Tony Leung and Andy Lau counterbalance each other perfectly as the triad mole in the police force and the police mole in the triads respectively. The tale of the two morally ambiguous protagonists is beautifully crafted and the film is infused with an emotional weight that examines the inner state of the two characters and what affect there individual tasks are having on their lives - where does the line stop between cop and criminal? As Jack Nicholson's character says in the new version: "you can become cops or criminals; but when you're faced with a loaded gun, whats the difference?"
Unlike Joh Woo's action packed movies, Infernal Affairs is a more subtle, phsychological examination of the two leading men. This refined study of good and evil is remarkabely fresh and deserves to be seen by as many as have seen The Departed.
Infernal Affairs is a compelling case study of two sides of the one coin. Tony Leung and Andy Lau counterbalance each other perfectly as the triad mole in the police force and the police mole in the triads respectively. The tale of the two morally ambiguous protagonists is beautifully crafted and the film is infused with an emotional weight that examines the inner state of the two characters and what affect there individual tasks are having on their lives - where does the line stop between cop and criminal? As Jack Nicholson's character says in the new version: "you can become cops or criminals; but when you're faced with a loaded gun, whats the difference?"
Unlike Joh Woo's action packed movies, Infernal Affairs is a more subtle, phsychological examination of the two leading men. This refined study of good and evil is remarkabely fresh and deserves to be seen by as many as have seen The Departed.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Firstly to the reviewer above, this is a CHINESE (Hong Kong) movie with CHINESE actors and is in the very best of CHINESE cinema tradition. Not Japanese.
Hong Kong cinema has been accused of being in decline recently, but the tide has been turning and amazing films such as Infernal Affairs (Infernal Affairs is a trilogy and this is film one).
The plot involves two undercover moles (infiltrators), one a triad in the police force and the other an undercover cop who is deep in with the triads. Questioning the morality of their respective positions and finding the lines between their real and undercover lives blurred, the film follows their story and the effect that their decisions take on their respective "careers".
The acting in this movie is INCREDIBLE. Every single actor works in this film with no weak links. (My favourite performance was that of Anthony Wong Chau-Sang who plays the superintendant of the undercover triad.)
This film is soon to be re-made as an Hollywood release, but do watch this version as it will surely be the definitive version. This movie is intelligent and more involving than most Hollywood thrillers I have seen for a long long while.
Highly Recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The reason you need to be watching world cinema.
Infernal Affairs is the first of a super smart, breath-taking crime trilogy. Some may even say it's Asia's answer to the West's Godfather trilogy, and yes, it is good enough to... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Jack
The original Infernal affairs / reference The Departed.
This original film is a classic thats been copied and changed by the Americans....ie reference The Departed. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Mr. D. WALTERS
Wow
A must see film before you die. This is perhaps one of the best films ever and has an all star cast. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Lichinbo
Excellent Thriller
I wanted to see this having seen (and loved) The Departed that is based on this. As usual, there are aspects in which each version outshines the other, but if you've also seen and... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Richard Preston
Not your usual East Asian crime movie
This action drama is set in Hong Kong. A criminal organisation sends one of their members to join the police academy and become a mafia spy in the police force. Read more
Published on 24 April 2010 by Printul Noptilor
......" I can't finish the novel, I don't know whether he's good or...
Infernal Affairs (Mou Gaan Dou) is a cop thriller set in Hong Kong focusing on undercover agents on both sides of the law. Read more
Published on 3 Jan 2010 by Current Account
"Within reason but beyond expectation"
Not my usual cup of tea, this is the original and best of the `Infernal Affairs' series of films and is also far better, in my opinion, than the slower and overblown Scorsese... Read more
Published on 16 Dec 2009 by Nicholas Casley
Not a masterpiece, but an excellent thriller
Today Infernal Affairs seems to be caught between perhaps unsustainable claims of flawless brilliance and comparisons - both flattering and negative - to Martin Scorsese's bloated... Read more
Published on 17 Sep 2009 by Trevor Willsmer
Truly Amazing
This is Hong kong's Godfather and any other screen masterpiece you can think of. Rivetting from start to finish I suggest you watch this film with those that love true cinema... Read more
Published on 1 Dec 2007 by Lan
"You've never been a mole, you won't understand."
"Infernal Affairs" is one fascinating movie with a great premise. This has been a reasonably popular movie that had generated huge buzz when it came out, and since been talked,... Read more
Published on 29 Jun 2007 by Jenny J.J.I.
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