Infernal Affairs

One's an undercover cop inside a Triad, the other is a undercover Triad inside the police force. Which one will expose the other first? Riveting drama throughout. Included in the package is a top-notch cast at the peak of their powers and expert direction. Did I mention this is also an allegory for a Buddhist hell? (If you don't know what hell is, just take a look at the surviving character at the end of the movie and you'll have a fairly good concept) Just when you think a genre has been done to death, something like this takes you by surprise. This is a must see film for anyone interested in delving much deeper than standard cop versus crook fair.

I'd say the most amazing thing about INfernal Affairs is that it shows that Hollywood's greatest accomplishment is not its ability to make truly terrible movies. No, Hollywood's greatest accomplishment is its ability to take a great movie and remake it into something infernally inferior. If you haven't seen either of these films, ignore The Departed and watch Infernal Affairs. After you watch Infernal Affairs, continue to ignore The Departed. In IA, the story is tighter, there are no wasted or superfluous scenes seemingly thrown in to give the top-billed some extra face-time, the romantic appendage is simpler and actually logical, unlike the hack-job in The Departed, and the ending is better. What more could you ask for? Oh yeah, there is more ... no Nicholson over-acting, no bad Boston accents and the cops don't all act stupid all the time.

Scorsese's version is far better than the original. I watched this because of the overwhelming good reviews. Unfortunately, i didnt see any good in it. The acting was mediocre at best and the flow of the story was sloppy. I dont know, maybe if you're from hong kong or china you'll be able to really appreciate this film.

Vastly overrated, INFERNAL AFFAIRS is the kind of film that deserves all of the recognition it gets for the acting ... but, in the story department, the film is arguably deficient. The story of a crime lord using cops as 'moles' has been explored hundreds of times, and the film is really little more than variations of a theme. Why so many critics have been duped into thinking this an original "and never explored idea" continues to confound this viewer. However, anyone deserving additional praise is Andy Lau, as the criminal mole serving within the police force. Lau has been showcased in many Hong Kong actioners as of late, but here, his reserve -- the visible mental debates about whether or not he's truly serving the right side -- give this picture its spine. While many great Hong Kong faces can be recognized in the cast, Lau proves -- once and for all -- that he's a formidable presence in this formula cop picture.