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A look at INFERNAL AFFAIRS!!!!
Hi Harry here and I've heard nothing but great things about INFERNAL AFFAIRS. Word has it this movie is just... the bee's knees. From the sound of this review, I'd have to say... I need to see this now!
While Asian AICN mentioned about the blockbuster Hong
Kong movie INFERNAL AFFAIRS some time ago, citing that
it earned more than 60 million Hong Kong dollars in
the local box office, nobody followed that up and
talked about the movie. I saw this movie last week and
I felt obligated to recommend this film to you and
your readers! As we all know, many recent Hong Kong
films are like crap (with the exception of Johnnie
To's THE MISSION but almost two or three years ago).
But this INFERNAL AFFAIRS is like bringing us a
rejuvenated hope for Hong Kong films. Watching this
exciting and wonderful Hong Kong flick with a strong
cast, I felt my heart filled with delirium and
trembling with excitement. Very well directed by
Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, this is the Hong Kong film we
have been salivating for! Oh man, I have been waiting
for this kind of decent film for a damn long time!
First of all, you got to love the brilliant idea of
this film. We have seen thousands of movies about
undercover cops. INFERNAL AFFAIRS is not an ordinary
undercover cop film but ALSO THE OTHER WAY AROUND:
This time, it's the gangster boss who also sends a
bunch of teenagers to the cadent school and infiltrate
back into the police force! Perhaps my movie
experience is not long enough, but have you heard of
this idea before? I was immediately excited by this
setup of the story! INFERNAL AFFAIRS, then, is about
two heroes: One is an undercover cop played by Tony
Leung Chiu-wai (who often stars in Wong Kar-wai's
films, such as IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, which got him the
Best Actor Award at Cannes) and another one is an
"undercover gangster" played by Andy Lau Tak-wah (a
Hong Kong superstar who plays the Chinese killer in
Johnny To's FULL TIME KILLER, a movie Harry put it as
the tenth best film last year? HARRY NOTE: Actually it was in my list of best films of 2001). Although they don't
know each other, their lives are somewhat similar and
they both suffer an identity crisis after being in
their misplaced surrounding for 10 years.
Ming (Andy Lau) is a mole in the police force set up
by a powerful gangster boss, Sam (Eric Tsang), when he
is just a young adult. In the cadent school, another
bright kid, Yan (Tony Leung), is discovered by
Inspector Wong (played fantastically by Anthony Wong,
another familiar face you know if you are a Hong Kong
film fan) and thinks he has the greatest potential to
become an undercover cop. After 10 years, Ming, as an
undercover gangster, works his way up to become a
sergeant working beside Inspector Wong and on the
other hand, Yan, as an undercover cop, also works his
way up in the Triad and becomes the most trusted man
by Sam. Simply put, while Superintendent Wong and Sam
are enemies to each other, they respectively don't
know the man beside them is actually betraying them!
But this secret is finally out in a drug bust and now
both sides find out that they have traitors inside.
Now, Ming and Yan have to find who the mole is on each
side and reveal each other's true identity as quickly
as possible to save their own lives.
This drug bust scene, without a fire of gunshot, is
one of the breath-taking action sequences I haven't
seen for a long time. The Triad knows they are watched
by the police and the police also knows their target
is prepared. While the Triad and the police are
calculating each other's next move, Ming and Yan, as
the informants, have to use their wit and
improvisation to communicate with their own boss
although they're on the enemy side. The editing is
superb and the background music just makes your heart
beat with fear.
As a matter of fact, there're not many gun fights in
the entire film. What I love about INFERNAL AFFAIRS is
its unexpected twist (there is really an unexpected
development in the middle of the film that totally
shocked me), professional and effective cinematography
(advised by world acclaimed Christopher Doyle) and
lightning-quick editing, and surprisingly, its
profound messages and lingering thoughts that bring to
the audience. Despite a few flaws in the script,
INFERNAL AFFAIRS is a thriller that just does not give
you a second to take your eyes off screen. You feel
restless and worried for the characters and meanwhile,
you will find yourself totally immersed into the
character's world. This is the kind of movie you want
to discuss with your friends and recommend to people.
Of course, such a good movie cannot be without good
acting. Tony Leung is really a natural born actor.
Gee, I just can't describe his acting in words. His
performance is so natural, so genuine, and you just
know he is a suffering undercover cop. However, Andy
Lau's character is even more interesting. Although he
is working for the Triad, he is not really an evil
person. In fact, he wants to become a real cop. His
character is so hard to define. I would say he is a
good person who does bad things in order to become a
real good person (sounds contradictory but that's
exactly who he is). And Anthony Wong, oh man, what can
I say? He is one the best Hong Kong gem actors that
every move he makes and every word he says catches
your attention and I know he is going to win the Best
Supporting Actor in the upcoming Hong Kong Academy
Award for sure. And the final half of the movie is
just sensational - the two heroes have to cooperate
and meanwhile going against each other in order to get
the identity they want. The final confrontation scene
on the rooftop is so stylish and so mind-imprinting
that I think itÃs one of the coolest moments in the
recent Hong Kong cinema. (If you are a Hong Kong film
fan and have been charmed by Andy Lau and Tony Leung,
you'll love it even more!)
Lastly, I have to remind you that there are two
endings of the film. WATCH THE HONG KONG VERSION,
which is more unsettling and makes you feel somewhat
sad and uncomfortable. Another version is old
fashioned. The reason they have two versions because
Mainland China and some Asian countries think the Hong
Kong version is not "bringing appropriate messages" to
people. But again, I URGE YOU TO WATCH THE HONG KONG
VERSION, PLEASE! That Hong Kong's ending is perfect
and it will stay under your skin.
Final Note: Warner Brothers bought the remake right of
this film and Brad Pitt is on the casting list. (I
don't think it's a good idea, for some reason, this
story has to happen in Hong Kong. If they put the
background in New York or Detroit, it's just weird.
For example, in the final rooftop scene, the camera
captures not only the two characters but also the
Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong with all those glass wall
buildings in the background and itÃs cool! But if the
background is the Brooklyn Bridge or those Detroit
expressways - Well, just weird). And, there is a prequel
on production right now for INFERNAL AFFAIR about what
happened to Ming and Yan in those 10 years. So,
there's some unsolved storyline in the movie but I
guess they will be explained in the prequel. Anyway,
just go see this Hong Kong flick! If you can't get a
VCD or DVD, just hope the upcoming Toronto Film
Festival will play this film in their Midnight Madness
Section in September.
Jan Chik
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THIS movie kicks ass, and yes a remake could be made in america, there are plenty of bridges with nice backdrops to throw people off of, lol. i'm from new york but i think boston is the ideal setting for a remake, especially regarding how the city is run, very tight nit,as far as politics, police,and underworld are concerned.
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Just purchased the dvd today and just finished watching the movie as I'm writing this. This movie really rocks. Please watch the hongkong ending, the China ending really sucks. It's a really cool movie without having alot of action.
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Infernal Affairs become so wildly popular in HK, due to its star power. Andy Law and Tony Leung Chiu-wai are 2 of the top box office draws in Hong Kong. Along with Sammi Cheung,the queen of HK films, who had a bit part as Andy Lau's girlfriend. If Hollywood wants to replicate IA for the US market, cast Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise as the leads and as their bosses Paul Newman and Robert Redford. And I'm sure on the WB there are some suitable actors to play the leads as kids.
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I'm a Korean living in Seoul and I saw this movie yesterday. The film is amazing. It has heart and soul, which is all due to Tony Leung Chiu-Wai. Brad Pitt would never pull it off. He might be able to pull off the role of Andy Lau..but he doesn't even come close to Tony's acting ability. Tony really broke my heart, which made the film so special. I can easily see this film re-made by starstudded Hollywood cast. It would make a slick blockbuster but never a soulful, brooding, damn good film the original is. Just go watch the original.
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This film is sooo freakin' great... I wonder, why Hollywood lacks of somethin' as masterpiece as this? Hope the Hollywood remake will gonna work... And I suggest, Pitt should be in Lau's role and for Leung's: Colin Farrel or Guy Pierce.... err, Nic Cage anyone?
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see? hollywood is too dumb! they take this great movie and plan to remake it only half a year after the original release. fucking remakers. they just wanna make money. why dont they just dub it and release the HK film in usa, but nooooooo they dont do that, because they are afraid it doesnt make money, so they take brad pitt and re-release it. that sucks so much
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China government lick my a$$!!!!
I'm a Hong Konger. The reason that this movie has another "China version ending" is because China government don't like the ending. And in order to let this movie to enter mainland China, we have to change the ending. WTF?
Shaolin Soccer and So Close has already been banned to enter mainland, and I'm sure there are lot more, Hollywood movies too.
They not only monitor movies, also emails, websites and phone conversation, and much much more, they just don't allow people to "anti" or disobey them. They just want to be the God. Talking of "God", please go to http://www.religiousfreedomforchina.org/English/index.htm
The human right is just terrible! -
Then again, I'll watch just about anything with Anthony Wong in it... Now, on a side note, totally off-topic: Is THE Anthony Wong the guy playing Ghost in THE MATRIX RELOADED??? The NEWSWEEK article at the beginning of the year mentioned that the character of Ghost would be played by "Hong Kong actor Anthony Wong". Well, there are something like five of six Anthony Wongs working in HK, but there's only one Anthony Wong Chau-Sang. He just rocks. If he's in the MATRIX sequels, I'd be one happy fanboy.
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hell yes baby.. i wanna see that teamup again! Pitts plays Andy, and Norton plays Tony!!
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Quote: "As we all know, many recent Hong Kong films are like crap (with the exception of Johnnie To's THE MISSION but almost two or three years ago)."
Where has this reviewer been living and why are they unloading a cart full of nature's finest? To each their own, but this blanket statement is offensive and the writer comes off as uninformed and narrow-minded.
There are a variety of wonderful Hong Kong and "Eastern" films available and more being produced every day. Feel free to take a gander at resources aimed specifically at this audience to get a better feel for what you may and may not enjoy. To say that this film is one of the only decent HK films of late is utter bunk. -
There have actually been a bunch of good HK films lately...Maybe not as much as in the past, but I thought MY LIFE AS MC DULL, SHAOLIN SOCCER, MY LEFT EYE SEES GHOSTS, and A CHINESE ODYSSEY 2002 were all really great.^^ True, they aren't making as many of the tight, gritty, ultraviolent films as they should be, but I haven't given up on HK movies either.^^
(That being said, INFERNAL AFFAIRS is a really good gangster flick, reminiscent of Johnnie To's stuff of a few years ago. And yes, please ignore the Mainland version, it is totally braindead and evidence of what a bunch of pathetic squares the Chinese gov't is.=p) -
Get the name straight people! The movie is called Internal Affairs.
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When I hear "Affair" in a title, it just puts me to sleep. No offense to Thomas Crown.
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Well done Chinpoko Mon.. how to make an arse of yourself in 1 easy step.
The film's name is inFernal affairs, NOT inTernal affairs. Do yourself a favour and look the film up and you'll find out what the name is. Just cause Internal Affairs sounds like it should be the title, doesn't mean that it is. I got the DVD, and it clearly says Infernal... -
It's out now on region 0 DVD, it's great and if you want it, just drop me a line at marshy00@hotmail.com - US$20 including delivery worldwide!!
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degeneration, ColtVSTangLung: damn!! you guys are right!
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Picked this up on from Hong Kong website for about UK
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The Chinese title refers to the lowest level of hell according to Chinese mythology where people who commit the most hideous act go. Hence the English title.
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Now, i think Brad and Johnny fit the roles. But fuck the hollywood remake, they gonna screw it up...might as well show the original in the US theathre...it is time to let all to see what HK best actors can do...I like the film but i even love all my favorite actors in one film...tony, andy, anthony, and eric...this is hard to come by...i think eric tsang performed really good...very convincing as a Big Boss...but WTF, they all are very convining...lol...go buy the DVD, worth the money
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