Infernal Affairs Trilogy (2002-03)

Infernal Affairs (2002)

Dirs. Andrew Lau / Alan Mak

An excellent Hong Kong crime thriller in which a dedicated police officer (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) risks life and limb to go deep undercover in Triad society.

Similarly, a member of the Triad group (Andy Lau) enrols in the HK police service.

Both men eventually become aware of the other's existence, but neither one knows what his counterpart actually looks like.

The nerve-racking race for one mole to expose the other first is often tense as hell, as if walking a knife edge, with a feeling that even during quiet times there may be someone watching, waiting for the mole to slip up and expose himself.

The higher-ups, each man's superior, police superintendent Wong Chi-shing (Anthony Wong Chau-sang) and the criminal gang's leader Hon Sam (Eric Tsang), also have an important role to play; they too are like opposites/adversaries.

Infernal Affairs II (2003)

Dirs. Andrew Lau / Alan Mak

Prequels are rarely as good as the story they precede. Case in point: the first IA film is a class act, but its prequel (Part II) definitely isn't. The first time I attempted to watch it I turned it off before the halfway mark. The second time I tried I drifted off to sleep about 50 minutes in.

On a third attempt, having now endured everything it has to offer, I feel that it's severely lacking in thrills or charm. There's a notable action scene around that halfway mark, but the rest if it is woefully dull.

The original two moles, police force infiltrator Lau Kin-ming (Andy Lau) and undercover cop Chan Wing-yan (Tony Leung), are now played by younger actors Edison Chen and Shawn Yue, respectively.

It's the same two actors that played younger versions of the two lead characters in the first film, but the change is still an Achilles heel. Furthermore, the script, covering each man's rise from rookie to their previously (i.e. eventual) established positions, is largely forgettable; it wasn't worth staying awake for.

Infernal Affairs III (2003)

Dirs. Andrew Lau / Alan Mak

Serving as both a sequel and a prequel (of sorts) to the first film, Part III brings back actors Tony Leung and Andy Lau to their respective mole-roles, which makes all the difference, at least for a short while.

It jumps around in time quite a bit, but it's simple enough to follow if you're familiar enough with Part I. But as the story goes on it becomes clear that very little of it is worth learning about, and some parts of it are so contrived as to be just plain bad.

Ultimately, while the extra info about certain events will no doubt please a percentage of viewers, I felt it was an unnecessary and painfully overlong addition to the first film's taught story.

- Tony Leung (left) and Andy Lau (right) in a scene from the first film. -