Infernal Affairs II
Reviewed by YTSL
In his review of the first “Infernal Affairs”,
Brian vouchsafed that Hong Kong cinema’s 2002 box office champion was “a
film for grownups”; and not least because its “four main stars are all
veteran actors that allow you to sit back and watch how real actors go
about their work”. Although Edison Chen and Shawn Yu were expected
to take center stage in the Andy Lau and Tony Leung Chiu Wai -- as well
as Sammi Cheng and Kelly Chan -- bereft movie that followed (but actually
is a prequel rather than sequel; and, more specifically, one whose events
take place between the years 1991 and 1997), this second Andrew Lau and
Alan Mak co-directed crime drama turns out to be one more effort that’s
largely carried by its older, experienced and, frankly, considerably more
distinguished actors.
To be sure, Edison Chen and Shawn Yu do reprise
their “Infernal Affairs” roles as, respectively, the younger, more hotheaded
versions of the Triad mole among the police named Lau Kin Ming and the
undercover cop asked to masquerade as a Triad who’s known as Yan.
Also, fans of Chapman To will be pleased to know that his “Infernal Affairs
(I)” character does resurface in INFERNAL AFFAIRS II (and that some background
information is given as to his relationship with Yan). However, it’s
the additionally returning Eric Tsang (as the mercurial Triad identified
as Sam in the movie’s English subtitles) and Anthony Wong (as the “Wong
Sir” who is more apt to keep cards up his sleeve than wear his heart on
it) who are this ambitious feeling offering’s two top billed actors.
Something that more than one viewer of INFERNAL
AFFAIRS II will come away feeling is that this production -- with the consistently
overly bombastic musical score -- possesses the air of a wanna-be epic.
What with the sprawling effort’s cast including the more than able likes
of Kara Hui Ying Hung (though only in a really minor “blink and you’ll
miss her” role), Roy Cheung (as the not always loquacious -- for a good
reason -- Law) and the unfortunately Cantonese dubbed Ho Jun (as a friend
plus colleague of Officer Wong), this 2003 film’s makers looked to have
gone all out to enlist quite a few big guns to further their cause; and
this already prior to also factoring in the guest appearances by certain
senior movie industry men who are better known for their behind-the-scenes
work but still are recognizable to Hong Kong filmophiles (e.g., Henry Fong
Ping, the elder Joe Cheung (as Kwan, the big Triad boss whose violent death
sets off a multi-stranded series of events) plus veteran cinematographers
Arthur Wong and Peter Ngor).
Despite his part not necessarily being the largest
or flashiest of all those that are to be found in INFERNAL AFFAIRS II,
Francis Ng easily stole the show as the deceptively mild mannered Triad
boss named Hau who was not only the successor as well as son of the murdered
Kwan but also the brother of police officer Yan. As one might expect,
some senior members of the police force are not too happy when the biological
relationship between the vengeful Hau and Yan gets revealed. However,
certain more astute and/or daring others (notably Officer Wong) decide
to look upon this as an opportunity for the promising cadet officer who
they trusted to place his duties as a cop above that of a brother (and
son) to infiltrate the Triad and net them some of the underworld’s biggest
fish.
Around the same time, the apparently similarly
malleable Ming’s life gets forever changed after he carries out a killing
on the order of the first Mary that he loved (Not the author character
played by Sammi Cheng in the original “Infernal Affairs” but, instead,
the more mature personality essayed in INFERNAL AFFAIRS II by Carina Lau).
As it so happens, this far less scatty Mary also was the woman of the rotund,
yet not entirely unattractive, Sam. Since she appeared to be an influential
figure in her own right, however, it would be unwise to assume that her
man was aware of, never mind condones, all of Mary’s movements plus machinations;
and this even when they were enacted with the purpose of benefiting the
man she really did love above all others (and who loved her back just as
deeply).
In discussing the original “Infernal Affairs”,
Andrew Lau offered that: “The one dangerous factor, as far as the market
was concerned, was that we didn’t have a female lead” (See the HKIFF’s
“Hong Kong Panorama 2002-2003”, 2003:66). To some extent, the inclusion
of Carina Lau’s Mary character in the INFERNAL AFFAIRS II “gang” may be
seen as a way of trying to ensure that this would not be the case with
regards to the prequel. Although this move may have satisfied some
people, it’s actually not one that I am inclined to view all that favorably.
One reason for this is that Mary is a character who usefully defines others
but is herself sadly underdeveloped. Another is that the fate that
befell her is one that is all too predictable, especially if it were to
be considered to be so that this Andrew Lau produced movie is definitely
much more of an Andrew Lau than Alan Mak work.
My rating for the film: 7.