Organnall
Too much about the plot just didn't add up, the writing was bad, some of the scenes were cringey and awkward,
SparkMore
n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.
Adeel Hail
Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.
Erica Derrick
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
KineticSeoul
This is an enthralling and riveting crime movie that is thrilling from beginning to end. There is investigation and quite a bit of mobster talk but it's fast paced and for the most part gets to the point. I remember watching this for the first time in theaters and was blown away at how cool and clever the execution was. The plot revolves around a ballsy undercover gangster that is basically a mole within the triad gang. And a cunning and meticulous triad gang member that is a mole in the intelligence on the other side. And how they are trying to figure out each sides plans and sniff each other out before time runs out. It's actually a clever premise and executed quite well. I really enjoyed the cat and mouse premise in this, with each side trying to track down the mole on the other side while trying to out-think one another. It's not a action packed Hong Kong thriller but it's a thriller with a lot of clever elements. This is a engaging film from start to finish and it's a film that I want to watch again later down the line. It's basically a cult classic from China and for good reasons that I can highly recommend.9.3/10
MartinHafer
This film begins with two men in the police academy. Yan (Tony Leung) is drummed out for some rules violation--though he is actually going deep undercover to join the mob and infiltrate it for the police. Lau (Andy Lau) is the opposite--a seemingly exemplary cop who's been planted in the academy by the mob! Soon the mob plant is an important inspector working for Internal Affairs and sending his mob boss all the police moves against the organization and the only one who seems to have a prayer in finding him is Yan...and both are looking to unmask each other. But who will find out the identity of the other first? Plus, Yan's job soon becomes a lot more difficult when his one and only police contact, Superintendent Wong, is murdered! Now no one in the police force knows who he is or can offer him any help...and everyone thinks Lau is beyond reproach and the full power of the Force is behind him...as well as the mob.This film surprised me. After all, I'd already seen the Americanized version of this film, "The Departed" and didn't love the film (despite it's many Oscars). However, "Infernal Affairs" was a much, much better film--with characters that made more sense as well as a profoundly sad and moving ending. Overall, it's one of the best films from Hong Kong I have had the pleasure of seeing and strongly recommend you give it a try.
santosheflu
It was a watchable movie. I am not a Chinese. So my review does not get swayed by any emotional attachment with Hong Kong cinema. I feel a lot of Hollywood movies from the same genre have done much better. In this movie, the setting is good, actors are excellent but the plot is too predictable. I lost the excitement in the midway. Nothing edge-of-the- seat about it! As there is little to be revealed, the climax is also quite obvious. However, the movie has an extended climax (if you agree) which is a little more effective. Buddha's message sits well with the intended message the director wishes to convey. You will be made to think for a while about what exactly may happen next at the very end of the movie. That's one good thing about the movie.
gavin6942
A story between a mole in the police department and an undercover cop. Their objectives are the same: to find out who is the mole, and who is the cop.Some of the film's brilliance is lost in translation. The Chinese title means "The Unceasing Path", a reference to Avici, the lowest level of hell in Buddhism, where one endures suffering incessantly. Translations tried to give the English title a reference to Dante's Inferno, a parallel that Westerners would understand. But is it really the same?The film gets increased American attention because it was remade as "The Departed". This extra attention is good, but the comparison of the two is not. While it is, indeed, a remake, they are not exactly the same film. Martin Scorsese moved away from the Triad theme and used Whitey Bulger as his background instead, at a time just before the Bulger story really broke. The context and connotations are completely different.