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Two cops, one on the road to hell the other on the road to
heaven, meet with mistrust and enmity. Following the death
of a fellow police officer Yan investigating moles in the
police, Ming finds himself separated from his wife and reassigned
to administrative work, but as a former star player in the
force he cannot remain there long. He starts an investigation
into Yeung whose meteoric rise seems to have mirrored his
own career, but the stress of his clandestine investigations
takes a heavy toll on his psyche, as he spirals mentally out
of control his personality merges with that of the dead Yan...
I have to admit to not having seen Infernal Affairs
One or Two,
a situation I hope to rectify, this causes no little difficulty
when watch the third film. It is so self referential to the
first two films that it feels more like a tying up of loose
ends than a film in its own right, but stick with it and it
turns out to be well worth the watch. The film stars Andy
Lau who has recently been seen staring in House of Flying
Daggers and Tony Leung who was great in Hard Boiled.
The extras aren't too bad. There's a short, twelve minute,
Behind the Scenes documentary, in part it's the usual self
congratulatory pat on the back but it is also an indispensable
watch if you haven't see the first two Infernal
Affairs films.
You get a bit of information on the characters and their relationship
to each other as well as some of its underlying structure
and intent of the film makers. Also included are the original
trailer and an Asia Extreme promo reel.
In the sound department the film is no lightweight, providing
a subtitled stereo version as well as 5.1 and DTS - and this
film really does need to be heard in DTS if you have it. There
is a lot of good use of the rear speakers not only in the
action scenes but also through the body of the movie.
The
cinematography, lighting and direction of the film are all
excellent. Shot like a very stylish thriller, the look and
feel of the movie is far better than your average contemporary
Hollywood fare. The soundscape and composition add beautifully
to the general feeling or tense foreboding.
Another great release for Tartan on their Asia Extreme label.
As a company Tartan have done much to bring the best of Asian
cinema to our homes before Hollywood steals the stories and
produces very average remakes. Though in the case of Infernal
Affairs we may be pleasantly surprised as the remake,
The Departed, is being handled by Martin Scorsese staring
Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and Mark Wahlberg (ah
well three out of four isn't bad).
So
a great film, if a little confusing if you haven't seen the
first two. Maybe, with luck, Tartan will release a special
edition of the whole trilogy. If not pop down to your local
high street or online store and get all three. If this was
the weakest of the bunch, god knows how good the other two
are.
Charles
Packer
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