B+/A-


When I saw the first film and found out there was a sequel made to it, thought that it was a bad idea since the first film ended on a perfect note and didn't need any kind of expansion...After having seen the prequel (which is what Infernal Affairs II is), I still can say that it was unneeded...but it doesn't change the fact that is was a great film on its own, trying to make something bigger of the two films than the first film suggested. While the original was just a very clever and brilliant cat-and-mouse cop thriler, the prequel makes a crime saga out of it, like a Hong Kong The Godfather. It achieves what it tries to mostly, giving the viewer a sense of epic, but with its ambitions also come some contrived plotlines and some stuff that doesn't match with the original. The acting my Eric Tsang and Anthony Wong is still as top notch as it gets and the film flows just perfectly despite a 2+ hours length. Could have used some work on the screenplay, but it is still a very fine flm. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the third one at last!