Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
2.5/4
Hong Kong Crime Thriller
cacb3995 - wrote on 05/17/2018
Andrew Lau and Alan Mak direct “Infernal Affairs”, a 2002 crime thriller that takes place in Hong Kong. A hit at the time of its release, it achieved a certain level of international success, enough to catch the attention of american film legend Martin Scorsese. He then went on to remake the film with Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson in 2006; the title of the remake was “The Departed”, what propelled Scorsese to his first ever Best Picture and Director Oscar in his career, and the rest is history. Being a big fan of “The Departed” I wanted to watch the original version for quite some time now, and now I’ve finally gotten around to do it. While I did find Lau’s and Mak’s film to be pretty good and entertainment, I can’t deny that it pales in comparison …
Rating of
3/4
"Infernal Affairs" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 07/02/2012
Two cops face off against each other in a race against time to discover their respective identities; one honest, working within a drug runner's gang and the other corrupt, working for the criminals. The inspiration for The Departed, this is one of the seminal Asian crime dramas of the last few years. Well, ever, in fact. My main problem with it is that I REALLY wish I'd seen it first. The difference between this and The Departed highlights the difference between HK and US movie-making in general; The Departed was full of colourful language, brutal violence and macho posturing, while this is a far more understated affair. Unfortunately this means it is far more reliant on the twists and turns of the very cleverly written plot, and so anyone who has seen The Departed already will know …
Rating of
4/4
An affair to savour
Bribaba - wrote on 05/04/2011
Asian film have gradually been slipping into mainstream distribution channels, as people begin to realise that reading sub-titles isn't so bad after all, especially if it means being able to see something different instead of the usual mulitiplex franchises. But American studios are not going lose revenue to a bunch of guys who don't speak English, so what do they do, they remake films like Infernal Affairs, thus killing two birds with one stone: helping to nullify the Asian threat on one hand, and get cheap 'new' material of proven worth on the other.
Nothing if not original, it's the Chinese who are first to see the dramatic potential of mobile phones. In this Wai-Keung Lau film, both cops and robbers have a mole in their midst, but has one or both turned like the proverbial worm? …
