Infernal Affairs

Infernal Affairs is a high-quality crime drama with standard subject matter, but with an unexpected outcome. The motif of a duel between two men on opposite sides of the law, each empowered by the other, is Woo-esque, albeit without amazing Woo-eque action. The characters are thoroughly well developed, as is the dynamic visual aspect, even in the peaceful scenes. One of the exemplary works of its kind, enhanced with an intellectual dimension that won’t exactly put a smile on your face. (25/04/2005)

A little bit The Departed... by which I just mean this much: it's really a shame that I saw that movie before the "original". I guess even the ratings would have turned out differently. Perhaps. I really liked it and I'm glad I finally sat down to watch it. If I had been standing... :-) Definitely for those who like crime and aren't afraid of a familiar story. In short, a complete acting concert by the famous "four" (Andy, Tony, Anthony, Eric). (01/01/2009)

A truly excellent thriller, which pleasantly surprised me by keeping the action in the background and pulling out the perfect direction, which, with few exceptions, is sufficient without brutality and wild shootings and works only with hints and "independent" blurring of the narrative line into a seemingly incoherent stream of cuts and space-time jumps. The exposition part may be "shattered" too much and it takes a long time for the viewer to get oriented in the tangle of retrospectives and details, but then the perfectly balanced story of two double agents (each on a different side of the barricade) gets going wonderfully. The central duo is probably best captured by the environment in which they live - Inspector Lau in a well-furnished household with a pretty girlfriend, the heron Yan always on the run, from which he finds escape only on the roofs of houses and in the chair of his psychologist. The perfect atmosphere is ensured by a very specific and modern camera, as well as excellent acting and the musical undertone. Infernal Affairs is not a straightforward thriller. It plays with decent hints, it does not lead to a linear ending, but it questions good and evil and it can even surprise us with a quality twist. Although it is no colossus of thought or a particularly thoughtful labyrinth, it works exactly like a watch and is able to engulf via its special civil tone. (03/04/2006)

There’s hardly any action, which I consider a fatal flaw in an action movie. And it’s not even saved by the interestingly constructed, though in essence banal, plot. The characters are well portrayed and you’ll whether you like Eastern mysticism and gimmicks or not, but that is the only positive aspect I found, the rest is boredom and mediocrity. Very average movie, I don't understand the high ratings, but that's normal here. (27/02/2010)

This really delivered. Ever since I watched The Departed, I kept telling myself I had to add Infernal Affairs to my list of films to watch, and now I finally got around to it. To be honest, this might be the first full-fledged Chinese film I’ve ever seen. I wasn’t entirely sure about the high ratings, as films from this region had eluded me so far, and the actors weren’t particularly familiar to me. But all of that disappeared within the opening minutes, which confirmed that Infernal Affairs is an excellent film. From a storytelling and detective perspective, there’s nothing to criticize. Even though the film only features a single shootout, and not a particularly grand one at that, the atmosphere throughout the entire runtime is gripping and, at times, chillingly intense, leaving the viewer on edge. I found the characters more appealing here and better developed than in The Departed, which I definitely didn’t expect. The only minor issue, which the film can’t really help, is that the characters can sometimes be a bit hard to follow. The ending, accompanied by powerful and emotional music, reaffirmed that this film stands on par with even the most grandiose Western productions. I give it 84%. (08/04/2017)