The Infernal Affairs Trilogy DVD Review

Many film fans know that Martin Scorsese’s brilliant gangster film The Departed was actually a remake of Hong Kong film, Infernal Affairs. In truth Scorsese took a little from Infernal Affairs 2 as well in order to make a slightly longer and slow burning film. Although the sequels don’t manage to come close to the brilliance of the first film in the series, the box set has three great versions of the films which are all worth seeing at least once if you are a fan of good gangster dramas.

Infernal Affairs (2002) The first in the series is a brutal, slick and quick thriller. It is a brilliant examination of good guys and bad guys when the boss of a Triad crime ring manages to get a mole in a high position inside the police department. At the same time Chan Wing Yan (Tony Leung) is sent undercover in the triad gang under command of a high ranking police official. Each side has a mole worked deep in, so that they are constantly foiled of their plans to commit crimes or catch a crime. It is a brutal deadlock that can only end violently. The DVD has an alternate ending, and a making of featurette for the film. There is also a behind-the-scenes look at the film and two trailers; International and the original Chinese trailer.

Infernal Affairs 2 (2003) Just as good as far as the drama is concerned, there just isn’t the same compelling setup to keep this prequel as good as the original. The extra backstory can be fun and it adds to the first film, but this stuff is basically a subplot to the real film, which involves a gangster dispute, which the cops end up getting involved in as well. The story tends to focus more on the police officer and mob boss who face off in the first film, and the moles take supporting roles in this film. They are still present, reminding us that it is the same film series, but it is actually more of a spin-off film than a conclusion of the same story. The DVD has a making-of featurette and a few deleted scenes, but the real treat of the special collector’s edition DVD is the commentary track with the filmmakers and cast, in Cantonese with subtitles.

Infernal Affairs 3 (2003) With so few important characters left alive at the conclusion of the first film, there wasn’t far to go with the plot, which may have been why a prequel was easier to do first. In order to keep many characters alive, there are far too many flashback in Infernal Affairs 3, most of which jump back and forth so quickly that it begins to become a challenge to figure out what is going on in the present time. Although there are some great sequences within the flashbacks, the film really begins to take off when the corrupt cop, Lau, is threatened with being exposed by a cop assigned to digging out the moles left by Sam, the triad boss. At the same time there are dramatic gangster showdowns culminating, making the city a dangerous place to be. The DVD has a featurette for the making of the film and a number of teasers and trailers.