Infernal Affairs II (2003)

This sequel was good but it can never be as good as the first Infernal Affairs.

This is practically a prequel instead of a sequel; we get to go in depth of Yan and Ming’s past as well as Sam, Wong and many other characters. So you can guess that this movie will explain the beginning and the background of our characters. As much as I hated the premise at the beginning, I came to enjoy it afterwards because of one reason only: The idea was pretty well executed!

The writers succeeded at making the past stories interesting even though we know all of their destinies. The main reason why this movie felt intriguing to watch is because of the new obstacle that the screenwriters were successful at integrating it without ruining the future story (what we already know from the first movie). The fact that the younger Yan has to spy on his half-brother as his first mission was really absorbing. And let’s not forget the gangs and the fights to take over the reins of Hong Kong’s triad.

Just like the first Infernal Affairs, this movie had absorbing action, good thriller as well as pretty cool suspense which I highly appreciated it. Just a heads up though, I believe that this movie was more violent than the first one but I still wouldn’t consider it a “Violent movie”.
The negative point that I found about this movie’s storyline is the fact that we know almost all the characters’ destiny from the first movie so no matter how hard the screenwriters tried to manipulate their fate, we would know that nothing will happen until it’s the first movie’s era. I thought that was somehow handicapping on the suspense level.

Now let’s talk about the acting, Yue Shawn and Chen Edison can’t be at the same level as Andy Lau and Tony Leung but they were surprisingly convincing. I do believe that they did a good job as the younger versions of Yan and Ming. Besides, Anthony Wong and Eric Tsang were left untouched which was relieving. As for the added actors, they were also good enough.

The characters were well-written. The younger versions of Yan and Ming were nice to follow but I must admit that the younger version of Yan was way more interesting than Ming’s no matter how much you think about it. That’s because Yan was involved with his half-brother Hau, who I believe is the best written character in this movie and the reason behind its fascinating events. Hau is such an attention-grabbing character! He’s so calm, intelligent, well-mannered and never acts without thinking twice. He’s the villain alright but I never managed to hate him; actually, I came to love the way his character was executed. So the fact that Yan was spying on him was highly cool to watch. Other than that, there were other characters that I didn’t appreciate their addition especially Mary who ruined Ming’s character for me.

Basically, if you saw the first Infernal Affairs then you should give this prequel a shot. You will be able to understand the characters’ motives and you will get to know many behind stories as well as new events that will keep you interested.

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"Retribution takes its own sweet time"

Infernal Affairs II was a prequel to the successful Infernal Affairs, this time without Tony Leung and Andy Lau. Anthony Wong and Francis Ng carried much of the movie on their veteran shoulders. There were few surprises and less suspense given that after watching IA we already know the fates of all of the primary characters.

Chan Wing Yan is shown on his path to becoming a mole in the triads while Lau Kin Ming straddles making his work life balance with answering to the triad and his police boss. Yan must deal with illicit family ties and Ming courts death with his crush on the wife of his dangerous triad supervisor. Their stories often linger in the background. Officer Wong Chi Shing takes center stage as a cop who plays outside the rules in his efforts to bring the triads under control. When Ngai Wing Hau’s father is assassinated, he takes over the reins of the crime family. Smooth and soft spoken, his distinguished exterior belies his ruthless interior. Hon Sam is merely a flunky whose wife is the brains behind his actions.

Much as Infernal Affairs forced the main characters to answer the question, “Who am I?”, Wong’s actions propelled him head long into criminal activities for the greater good. At some point his conscience began to question those actions. Hau had no such qualms. He had anyone who stood in his way or betrayed him brutally eliminated. Hon Sam used whoever was around him to stay alive and move up the deadly ladder until one fateful decision causes him to burn the ladder down.

IA2 had the same high production values as IA. The acting was more mixed in this one relying on weaker actors and characters. Wong and Ng anchored the film with strong performances, though Wong was hampered by one over-zealous scene. The story was interesting but didn’t neatly align with its predecessor. The first film was so well made it was hard to take a step back to see how minor and supporting characters found their places in the scheme of things. I can see the allure of wanting to further flesh out the characters and make more money off the original, it just didn’t add anything to my enjoyment overall of Yan and Ming’s destructive journeys.

16 February 2025

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