Infernal Affairs (2002/Miramax/Lionsgate Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: B Film: B+
It’s not
about the guns; it's not about drugs or even the money, but the intelligence. Both the Police and the Triad had inserted
moles years ago into each other's organization to gain advantage over one
another. Officer Chan and (Tony Leung)
and inspector Lau (Andy Lau) play key figures for the police chief and mob boss
in their game of wits, but after a failed drug buy and botched up drug bust,
both sides now realize there is a mole within each other's ranks, now both
moles are ordered to find out who the other mole is... a game of skill and
intelligence begins and whoever loses first ...is dead. This is the world of Infernal Affairs, the film that inspired Martin Scorsese’s The Departed.
Officer
Chan is a long time undercover agent within the mob, and the only one who knows
he is really an officer is Police Chief Wang. Meanwhile, Lau is rises quickly through the
ranks police department but he really reports back to mob boss Sam. Ten years later, both moles want out, Chan
stop in mob and return to a normal life, while Lau want to remain a cop and
stop working for the Triad, but soon neither of them have a choice, when their
path and goals collide, each one of their dreams can only come true when they
reveal who the other mole is.
This is a
great cop film, hailed by critics in international film circles. The story of two men with dual identities,
does a man (men) who wears a mask long enough does he really forget the man
underneath the mask? Can a good cop
who's pretending to be a bad man forgive a bad man pretending to be a good cop,
and can a bad man truly become a good man by killing the one man who
can reveal who he really is? This
is a somewhat older HD master, but looks pretty good considering and is better
than any previous DVD version, while the DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless
mix tries to upgrade the original sound as much as it can, but the age of the
film still shows, but this is admirable just the same, so the combination is
pretty good overall. Extras include
making of featurette, behind the scenes, alternate ending and trailer.
- Ricky Chiang
