Infernal Affairs II (2003)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Masterful Cinema

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

This is the second of the 'Infernal Affairs' trilogy, and is a prequel to the events portrayed in the 2002 film Infernal Affairs. Concentrating more on the Triads and the power struggle that ensues when one of their bosses is assassinated. In particular the rise of Hon Sam is portrayed here along with the relationships he develops within the Hong Kong police. More of this later, here's a brief summary first (summary haters, and those that don't wish to know about the plot, please take out another crime boss while I write the next paragraph).When the main Triad boss, Father Kwun is killed, his son, Ngai Wing Hau takes over the business. The other bosses don't agree at first but soon fall into line when they realise Hau is no pushover. Lower down the pecking-order, Hon Sam is just waiting for the opportunity to move up the ladder. He already has contacts inside the police force, including Inspector Wong Chi Shing, who would dearly love to take him down. Chan Wing Yan is an undercover cop installed in the gang to gain information on their activities. Sam is also grooming a young cop to be his inside man in the Police not realising that this young cop has a serious crush on his wife, Mary. As events progress more and more of the Triad bosses meet grizzly ends and it soon becomes a show-down between Sam, who has survived an attempt on his life in Thailand, and Hau. Will the Police have a say in the outcome though? I'll leave it there so as not to upset the Hong Kong Spoiler Police.This is a pretty well made film with some good performances and quite a nice soundtrack. It is quite violent and some of the violence is quite graphic in places. As I said, good performances, particularly from; Anthony Wong Chau-Sang as Inspector Wong Chi Shing, Eric Tsang who was excellent again as Hon Sam, Carina Lau as Mary Hon, Francis Ng as Ngai Wing Hau, Edison Chen as Officer Lau Kin Ming and Shawn Yue as Chan Wing Yan.Because it concentrates on the workings of the criminal elements, I felt this film was almost trying to be a Chinese version of 'The God Father'. It's clearly not as good as that, but there's enough double-dealing going on to make it a good candidate. I did find it a little too long, but it did keep my attention. Not as good as the first one, but still quite watchable… Recommended.My Score: 7.1/10

Although this is the second film in the trilogy it is not necessary to have seen the first instalment to enjoy this, as it is a prequel. Set in the years leading up to the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China we are shown how each of the protagonists from the first film got to where they were in that film. Of course this means we know that everything will work out for them; it doesn't mean this film is without its tense moments though as there are plenty of new characters; not all of whom survive. While the two main characters from the earlier film feature prominently it is their bosses who are the protagonists this time. We see how Triad member Sam rises to the top while most of his contemporaries and seniors end up dead and policeman Inspector Wong Chi Shing manages to advance despite being implicated in a murder several years previously.While this film missed the two main stars of the first film it was still well acted and the characters were just as believable. I had been worried that it would suffer from the problem that all prequels face; namely that anybody who has seen the first film will know who will survive, amazingly this managed to convince me that at least one character who I knew should have survived died; I assumed I'd been confused about who was who till we later learnt what had happened. There is plenty of action and anybody who enjoyed the first film is likely to like this too; I'd certainly recommend it to fans of action films in general and Hong Kong films in particular.

excerpt, more at my location - That there was a sequel to Infernal Affairs is not a surprise. In Hong Kong, if something works, odds are it will be sequelised, or simply ripped off. Even so, the bar was high for Infernal Affairs II. Did directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak clear it, or did their endeavours fall short?A thrilling surprise of a picture that enriches repeat viewings of the (mildly superior) first film, making the viewer appreciate it even more, and not simply by favourable comparison. Andrew Lau and Alan Mak are beginning to reveal the width and breadth of the canvas on which they are painting an epic Hong Kong crime drama - the question remained, could they pull it off one more time?A superb achievement, to offer something different while remaining faithful to the original film. Comparisons to first two Godfather movies is not hyperbole.

Time hopping and "Godfather" homages are the order of the day in this prequel to the masterpiece of Infernal Affairs 1. Helping to flesh out the back story of Ming, Yan, Inspector Wong and future Triad boss Sam. Sam's rise to power is damn good, and Francis NG really came into his own with this film and proved he definitely has the chops as a rival Triad boss whom both sides want taken down. Also it's interesting to see how the rising of the 'bad guys' corresponds with the downfalls and hardships of the 'good guys'. Lines are blurred further then they were in the first film. But this film is very impenetrable if one hasn't seen the first film (and if you haven't, shame on you go buy/rent it NOW), hell it's still a tad confusing even if you did. And the original's fast pace is replaced by more of a methodical slow-burn (not to be mistaken for boring as this film is definitely not that). Despite the differences, this film remains the same awesome quality as the original and comes highly recommended My Grade: A