Welcome back to another edition of Adam's Reviews!! **queue in intro music**
Today's movie review is the Hong Kong crime thriller sequel Infernal Affairs II (2003), a prequel to the first flick. This where we kind of understand how and why Yan becomes an undercover cop in the triads and why Ming joins the police force. Both young men have their own agendas, which will shape the course of the Hong Kong underworld. The movie in itself, completely stands on its own and unlike the first film where I was intrigued by both acting, story and cinematography - I feel this film is more intriguing with the story and has more emphasis with character driven themes. The flick starts off with Ming gunning down the main boss of the triads who is actually the father of Yan. This death sends waves of anxiety through the ranks of other bosses of the city's underworld triads. The main boss's eldest son Hau takes up the reins and swears he will never forget the day his father was murdered. What happens next is Hau slowly plots his stance and we see a series of betrayals and brutal executions within the triad world.
In this prequel, we get to see a different relationship between Sam and Wong where Sam is depicted as a small-time crime lord who is madly in love with his partner called Mary and police officer SP Wong, is actually playing different angles regardless of how ruthless it may be, while working with Mary undercover. Both men do what they do not only to see better times in Hong Kong but also win the affection of one woman. To me honestly, is a movie really about Sam and Wong, which I didn't mind. What did fell through in this flick, is the overblown dramatic scene after scenes as it tries to create an epic tapestry linking to the original. Personally this would have been effective if it was underplayed and let it stand on its own. Carina Lau playing as Sam's wife Mary, should have had more screen time with many of the major and minor characters along with having more dialogue of her own. To me she is the major character that shifts the equilibrium. The actor who portrays Hau, does an awesome job as a man who must do what is best for his family regardless of the repercussions, which ironically is quoted by himself "whatever comes around, really comes around." A strong presence in the film, I would of liked to see more of him around his relationship with Yan. The film has a lot of throwbacks to the original including the song that has echoed throughout the first flick. I certainly wouldn't recommend watching this before the first one. Overall 6.5/10.
Today's movie review is the Hong Kong crime thriller sequel Infernal Affairs II (2003), a prequel to the first flick. This where we kind of understand how and why Yan becomes an undercover cop in the triads and why Ming joins the police force. Both young men have their own agendas, which will shape the course of the Hong Kong underworld. The movie in itself, completely stands on its own and unlike the first film where I was intrigued by both acting, story and cinematography - I feel this film is more intriguing with the story and has more emphasis with character driven themes. The flick starts off with Ming gunning down the main boss of the triads who is actually the father of Yan. This death sends waves of anxiety through the ranks of other bosses of the city's underworld triads. The main boss's eldest son Hau takes up the reins and swears he will never forget the day his father was murdered. What happens next is Hau slowly plots his stance and we see a series of betrayals and brutal executions within the triad world.
In this prequel, we get to see a different relationship between Sam and Wong where Sam is depicted as a small-time crime lord who is madly in love with his partner called Mary and police officer SP Wong, is actually playing different angles regardless of how ruthless it may be, while working with Mary undercover. Both men do what they do not only to see better times in Hong Kong but also win the affection of one woman. To me honestly, is a movie really about Sam and Wong, which I didn't mind. What did fell through in this flick, is the overblown dramatic scene after scenes as it tries to create an epic tapestry linking to the original. Personally this would have been effective if it was underplayed and let it stand on its own. Carina Lau playing as Sam's wife Mary, should have had more screen time with many of the major and minor characters along with having more dialogue of her own. To me she is the major character that shifts the equilibrium. The actor who portrays Hau, does an awesome job as a man who must do what is best for his family regardless of the repercussions, which ironically is quoted by himself "whatever comes around, really comes around." A strong presence in the film, I would of liked to see more of him around his relationship with Yan. The film has a lot of throwbacks to the original including the song that has echoed throughout the first flick. I certainly wouldn't recommend watching this before the first one. Overall 6.5/10.