After Infernal Affairs basically revived Hong-Kong cinema single-handedly, the moviemakers announced that they would produce two more movies. Since the backstory involving the two moles was as fascinating as what they did in the “present”, Infernal Affairs 2 was drafted as a prequel. Infernal Affairs 3 details events following what happened in the first Infernal Affairs. Not only did these decisions provide a before-and-after appraisal of the characters’ lives, they also gave the characters a defining sense of closure. By the end of the trilogy, everyone related in some way to the two main undercover moles is either dead or has nothing left to do but mourn the dead. Perhaps the sense of finality is too pat and neat for some viewers, though the resolutions reflect the movies’ insistent references to Buddhist teachings about karma and fate.

Infernal Affairs 2 can be understood as a stand-alone movie, and you can watch the movies in narrative order without undesired side effects. (In fact, the R0 Hong Kong Limited Edition from Media Asia even includes a five-hour cut that arranges ALL of the movies’ scenes into strict chronological order.) Obviously, the three movies enrich each other, though taken individually, I think that Infernal Affairs 2 is the best of the bunch.

Infernal Affairs and Infernal Affairs 3 are focused on two themes--people smoking out other people and psychological disintegration. Infernal Affairs 2 places the moles’ story in the context of Hong Kong’s return to China. Since the moles are young men during the 1991-1997 period, they are actually small cogs in a war between the police and an ambitious triad boss who is determined to become the Chief Executive of Hong Kong after the territory’s handover. Anthony Wong and Eric Tsang reprise their roles as a mentor in the police force and a gangster, but as terrific as they are, they are overshadowed by Francis Ng, who plays the ambitious triad boss.

Superstars Andy Lau and Tony Leung Chiu-wai don’t appear in Infernal Affairs 2, but one never misses them. The young actors who play Lau and Leung’s roles--Edison Chen and Shawn Yue, respectively--initially look generic attractive models and pop singers (which they are). However, the script gives Chen and Yue many different shadings, which allows them to amplify the empathy that viewers felt for the characters in the first movie. Before Infernal Affairs became a phenomenon, the movie was just another job for Andy Lau and Tony Leung. Therefore, although the movie is much-celebrated, Lau and Leung don’t completely own their characters. However, Chen and Yue knew that Infernal Affairs 2 would define their careers, so they inhabited their roles with so much conviction and authority that I hoped that the third movie would feature them instead of Lau and Leung.

Yunda Eddie Feng

(Genius Products/The Weinstein Company - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Media Asia (Limited Edition Trilogy Box Set) - Region 0 - NTSC - RIGHT)

DVD Menus
(Genius Products/The Weinstein Company - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Media Asia (Limited Edition Trilogy Box Set) - Region 0 - NTSC - RIGHT)

Screen Captures

(Genius Products/The Weinstein Company - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. Media Asia (Limited Edition Trilogy Box Set) - Region 0 - NTSC - BOTTOM)

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