Review of Infernal Affairs (2002) by Garrett R — 02 Mar 2011

INFERNAL AFFAIRS is a smart, savvy and satisfying Hong Kong crime thriller. Its premise is the hook, line and sinker for the film. A mole from a Hong Kong crime syndicate earns his way up to the Hong Kong Police to be the syndicate's eyes and ears within the system, and a cop from the Hong Kong Police goes undercover within the crime syndicate to be the eyes and ears within their system. The premise is the same as Martin Scorsese's 2006 Academy Award-winning thriller THE DEPARTED.

INFERNAL AFFAIRS was the inspiration for Scorsese's Boston-set crime drama, with plenty of f-bombs and graphic violence. On the flipside of THE DEPARTED's profane and violent nature (I'm making a comparison, I live in America after all!), INFERNAL AFFAIRS is more emotional and, thanks to the lead performances, unpredictably psychological. Andy Lau as undercover cop Yan and Tony Leung as undercover gangster Inspector Lau are very solid together, and the inevitable confrontation is downright awesome.

The screenplay to INFERNAL AFFAIRS is as taut and realistic as an international or national crime thriller gets. Believable relationships, dialogue, and characterizations along with very memorable "whoa!" moments allow INFERNAL AFFAIRS to be one of Hong Kong's brightest modern crime thrillers.

It is worth mentioning that the score to INFERNAL AFFAIRS can feature at times very modern thriller music, but at other times a sound that feels dated back a decade. A minor aside, but still worth mentioning.

If you're curious to see the film that inspired THE Martin Scorsese to create his own version of it, then be the guest! It's 50 minutes shorter than THE DEPARTED (101 compared to 151 minutes) and it's just as watchable and intriguing as Martin Scorsese's version. A crime thriller with a unique premise and a realistic and taut screenplay accompanied by very solid lead performances, INFERNAL AFFAIRS is one of Hong Kong's premier modern crime thrillers, and it's easy to see why.