Mou gaan dou III: Jung gik mou gaan (2003)

Directors:

Wai-keung Lau
Alan Mak

Writers:

Alan Mak (written by) &
Felix Chong (written by)

Release Date:

12 December 2003 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Months after the events of the original film, Ming suspects a police superintendent as being a new mole for the triads, while years earlier, Yan embarks on his first mission.

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts | Flashback Sequence | Told In Flashback | Part Of Trilogy | Trilogy

Awards:

2 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Tony Leung Chiu Wai	...	Chan Wing Yan (as Tony Leung)
Andy Lau	...	Inspector Lau Kin Ming
Leon Lai	...	Inspector / SP Yeung Kam Wing
Daoming Chen	...	Inspector Shen Chen (as Chen Dao Ming)
Kelly Chen	...	Dr. Lee Sum Yee
Anthony Wong Chau-Sang	...	SP Wong Chi Shing (as Anthony Wong)
Eric Tsang	...	Hon Sam
Sammi Cheng	...	Mary
Carina Lau	...	Mary Hon
Edison Chen	...	Young Lau Kin Ming
Shawn Yue	...	Young Chan Wing Yan
Chapman To	...	Tsui Wai-keung
Waise Lee	...	Chun (as Lee Chi Hung)
Ka Tung Lam	...	Inspector Billy (as Lam Ka Tung)
Ting Yip Ng	...	Inspector Cheung (as Ng Ting Yip)

Also Known As:

Infernal Affairs III (Hong Kong: English title) (Singapore: English title)
Infernal Affairs 3 (Australia)
Infernal Affairs: End Inferno 3 (USA)
Wu jian dao III: Zhong ji wu jian (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)

Runtime:

Argentina:118 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival) | Hong Kong:107 min (theatrical version)

Country:

Hong Kong | China

Language:

Cantonese | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Taiwan:R-12 | Iceland:12 | Malaysia:U | Australia:M | Hong Kong:IIB | South Korea:15 | Germany:16 | UK:15 | New Zealand:R16 | Finland:K-15 | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:PG | Argentina:13

Company:

Media Asia Films

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Inspector Lau is looking at the cameras which he placed in Yeung's office through his mobile, you can see a timeline at the bottom of the screen of the mobile. Thus revealing it is a pre-recorded shot.

Quotes:

Inspector Lau Kin Ming: I'm a cop too!

Movie Connections:

Remade as The Departed (2006)

Soundtrack:

ROAD TO INFERNO

An effective film if you love the series and the characters; an OK one if you have seen the first two films and a pointless one if you haven't seen anything

Where Scorsese's recent version of Infernal Affairs all the loose ends pretty much got tied up during the film whereas with the original we were left with an open (but much more emotionally impacting) conclusion. The first sequel was a prequel so part III was left to pick up afterwards while also going back over the original film and filling in more detail. In doing this it marks itself out as one that is aimed at the fans rather than being just out for money. The downside of this is of course that if you are not a fan you might find this hard to follow along with (and if you have not seen the first film then just forget it totally). Personally I thought the first film was an enjoyable cop thriller but I didn't think it was brilliant or developed characters that well but the tension was great. With the third film the focus was very much on the characters rather than the tension – with the fate of Ming being the modern thread that holds the film together.

If you are into the characters and the parallels with the original film then it is worth seeing because it does do it pretty well. It does ask you to pay attention but it rewards you if you do and have been. There is action but mostly it is the Ming's ongoing struggle with who he is that the film pays most attention to. I quite liked this but must confess that this film still didn't do a great job of bringing out the characters that well and it is more the events and revelations that kept me interested rather than an emotional buy-in with the characters. Lau is perhaps partly to blame for this because I thought he was buttoned a bit too tight – it was understandable in some regards but the third film should have been the point where he shows more of a breakdown (which he does, but again it is events rather than emotion). Leung is good again but his scenes don't seem as relevant or as interesting within this film – again it is probably to do with the lack of emotional buy-in I felt with his character; his performance is natural and engaging though. Outside of these two the rest of the cast are pretty good. Again I didn't think much of the use of Chen but Wong and Tsang are both solid in their small returns.

Overall then an effective and enjoyable film if you love the series and the characters; an interesting one if you have seen the first two films and a pointless one if you are looking to join in at the last minute. Tying up the loose ends of the series, the film isn't tense enough or emotionally impacting enough to be worth a look unless you are really already into the characters but it is an interesting way to bring things to an end – with restraint and tragedy rather than excess.