Infernal Affairs II (2003)

In this prequel to Mou gaan dou (2002), Chan Wing Yan has just become an undercover cop in the triads while Lau Kin Ming joins the police force. Both the triads and the police find an enemy in a rival crime boss.

Directors:

Andrew Lau, Alan Mak

Writers:

Alan Mak, Felix Chong

Stars:

Edison Chen, Shawn Yue, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong

6 wins & 25 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Chau-Sang Wong	...	SP Wong Chi Shing (as Anthony Wong)
Eric Tsang	...	Hon Sam
Carina Lau	...	Mary Hon
Francis Ng	...	Ngai Wing Hau
Edison Chen	...	Officer Lau Kin Ming
Shawn Yue	...	Chan Wing Yan
Jun Hu	...	SP Luk
Tung Cho 'Joe' Cheung	...	Kwun (as Joe Cheung)
Henry Fong	...	Gandhi (as Ping Fong)
Peter Ngor	...	Negro
Arthur Wong	...	Wah
Teddy Chan	...	Ching
Chung-yue Chiu	...	Mary (as Yu Chiu)
Phorjeat Keanpetch	...	Sunny
Say Ping Yap	...	Socialites (as Shi Pin Ye)

Storyline

In the prequel of Infernal Affairs. Chan Wing Yan has been expelled from police academy in cause of his relatives to the triad. Now SP Wong give him a chance to undercover the triad family controlled by his half brother Hau. Besides of Ming. He has been ordered to killed Hau father and infiltrated the police department. The story get complicated when Wong's related to Hau father's dead. The avenge is begin when Mary. Sam's wife is the hit order. Now everything is complicated and related

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Plot Keywords:

hong kong | 1990s | bloody violence | mobster | neo noir | 

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Taglines:

The Birth Of A Legend (Yi Ge Chuan Qi De Dan Shen)

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The line that SP Wong says, "Evil prevails. Only the good die young," is a simplified translation of what he actually says in Cantonese which is an old Chinese saying.

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Goofs

Towards the end of the movie, during the montage of the Handover Ceremony, an Australian flag is shown on Lau's desk instead of the Hong Kong flag. (The Australian flag is very similar to the colonial flag of Hong Kong, both featuring the Blue Ensign and Union Jack).

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Quotes

Chen Wing Yan: I only want to be a good man.

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Connections

Followed by Infernal Affairs III (2003)

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Soundtracks

FORGIVE AND FORGET
Composed by Kwong Wing Chan
Lyrics by Gabor Gombai
Performed by Hungarian Choir

User Reviews

Interesting – a very different movie from the first film but sadly an inferior one too

Set before events in Wu Jian Dao, the murder of the head of the Ngai family see his son, Hau, stepping up – immediately upsetting the power balance in the region. Small time boss Sam has a close relationship with officer SP Wong both of whom wish to see the Ngai family removed from the scene. Meanwhile, triad Lau Kin Ming is sent to infiltrate the police force and gradually work his way up with help from Sam while Wong sanctions Chen Wing Yan (the half brother of the Hgai family) to infiltrate the triads and work his way up to Hau.

I approached this film wondering what it would do – how would it manage to be interesting given that we already know (from part 1) how it goes. I also expected it to be roughly the same as the first film in terms of being an enjoyable thriller – however this was not the case and it was hard to get into the film for what it was. The story is not really about Yan and Ming so much as it is about the leading figures behind them – this film belongs to Sam, Wong and Hau and this was a bit of a surprise but one I was able to get over quickly and settle into a pretty interesting story where we see the shift of power in the HK crime families – unsurprisingly framed by the shift of political power from Britain to China. However interesting it is the film lacks in several areas. Firstly the praise for the first film seems to have got to the makers' heads and part 2 is a much more overblown affair that injects every scene with a sense of overblown drama that it tries to create as oppose to earn. This is a little tiring as it seems to be forcing us to accept the film as some sort of epic where it would have been much more effective to underplay the story and let it stand on its own. Making this more annoying is the fact that the script doesn't really help the audience much and only the sharpest viewer will make it through the first 20 minutes without struggling to get hold of the story and work out who everybody is.

In stark contrast to the tight thriller of part 1, this film is a much bigger story and, as such, occasionally struggled to keep me emotionally involved. Sure, the politics of crime were interesting and produced plenty of good stuff but only occasionally did I get behind the characters and struggle to know who to support like I had in part 1 – in fact the film could have easily lost Yan and Ming without losing much story. However it is still worth seeing as it does manage as a bit of a twisty crime story (but not a thriller) but even as this it doesn't really stand out as being that great. The loss of the great performances from Lau and Leung is a massive hole that neither Chen or Yue ever get close to filling – the fact that the material gives them no help either is not their fault. As before, Wong and Tsang are both good and they benefit from being the focus of the prequel. Ng is a good addition as Hau and he is suitably professional, cold and has a powerful presence suiting his character – it also helps that he was very easy on the eye too! As with the prequel, the female parts are pretty thin and the potential to use Lau's Mary better is not taken.

Overall this is not a bad film by any means; in fact it is an OK story of crime between the ruling families (as shown by a few individuals) however the film hurts itself by trying to force itself into the shape of a 'sprawling crime epic' when nothing in the material actually justifies this aim. The poor use of Yan and Ming is a problem that is only slightly helped by the increased focus on Sam and SP Wong. An OK film but not a scratch on the original and not even necessary viewing to enjoy that better film.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Hong Kong Singapore China

Language:

Cantonese English Mandarin Thai

Release Date:

1 October 2003 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Infernal Affairs II

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,244,410

Company Credits

Production Co:

Media Asia Films, Mediacorp Raintree Pictures, Eastern Dragon Film Co. Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min 110 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1