Infernal Affairs II is among Ann Hui's top 5 HK films of all time in a recently published list.
Does this mean I need to look back on a film I thought was pretentious mess the first time around?
A film that wants so much to the "The Godfather part 2" but doesn't realise that just because you are doing a prequel, when you don't have Robert DeNiro and have Edison Chen and Shawn Yue, the results won't quite be the same. "Infernal Affairs" was tight, compact thriller that had little fat and could have easily have told the story in 90 mins if we trimmed the superfluous love interest scenes with Sammi and Kelly. Even with those scenes, it was completed in 100 mins or so (101 in HK and probably just under 100 mins if you watch the Mainland edited version, also, if you did see the Mainland edited version then you will be wondering what IA3 was all about). Whereas IA2 was flabby and sprawling in a misguided idea that this equates epic.
Ambition shouldn't be dismissed wholeheartly even if it fails. However, the main problems with IA2 are the complete disregard for anything that took place in the original. It's as if the makers never even watched the original, which is unlikely since they are the same writers and directors.
There are a number of things that just don't make sense or fit right in the universe.
Chapman To's character is apparently Eric Tsang's "go to guy" in IA2. He is basically is right hand man and was with Eric in his rise to power. Whereas in IA, he just seemed to be a regular foot soldier. Just a dumb henchman, who doesn't seem to be that close to the boss. My theory is that Chapman's stock had risen considerably since the first movie and his character was an audience favourite so they just found a way to bring him back and give him a much more prominent role.
The Thai gangsters in IA2 are tight with Eric Tsang. They even help him in his rise to power. However, in the original, the opening scene of the drugs exchange there is tension and a level of mistrust between Eric and the Thais. This change in relationship in IA2 betrays what IA was trying to do in whole scene of Tony testing the drugs etc etc.
Tony Leung's half brother, Francis Ng is a major mob boss. This was never mentioned in IA. You would think that such a major connection might have be referenced unless of course, the prequel was an afterthought and you are making all this up as you go along.
At the end of IA2, Tony Leung's character hates Anthony Wong for killing his half brother. You can see it in Tony/Shawn's eyes. But in IA, they are mates. In fact, since Anthony is the only one who knows he is undercover, he is probably his closest friend. Funny how Tony never mentions the fact that Anthony killed his brother at all. Unless of course this never happened and you decide to make IA2 as an afterthought because of IA's success.
Those are the only major inconsistencies I can think of at the moment but there are other irritations like the characters quoting lines from the first movie like references to speaker quality or having a ugly masseuse in a sauna, which is a bit too "wink wink" and feels like they are a bit too pleased with themselves. It's not as bad as Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert coming from the planet Zeist even thought Macleod was born in Scotland and had parents and everything.
In conclusion, even though Ann Hui has made some great and varied films, such as "Boat People", "A Simple Life", "The Secret" and "Romance of Book and Sword". Infernal Affairs 2 is still pants.
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