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Movies / On DVD / Infernal Affairs
Infernal Affairs

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Infernal Affairs (2003)

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Reviews Counted:59

Fresh:56

Rotten:3

Average Rating:7.6/10

Consensus: Smart and engrossing, this is one of Hong Kong's better cop thrillers.

Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for violence

Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Theatrical Release:27-02-2004

Synopsis: Directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, INFERNAL AFFAIRS is a tense thriller featuring Hong Kong superstars Andy Lau and Tony Leung. The film follows the parallel lives of Ming (Lau), a cop who... Directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, INFERNAL AFFAIRS is a tense thriller featuring Hong Kong superstars Andy Lau and Tony Leung. The film follows the parallel lives of Ming (Lau), a cop who secretly reports to ruthless Triad crime boss Sam (Eric Tsang); and Yan (Leung), an undercover police officer who poses as a Triad member in Sam's gang. For Yan, the years of living in the criminal underworld have taken their toll, and he longs to return to regular police duty. However, the only person who knows Yan's true identity is his mentor Superintendent Wong (Anthony Wong), also the unsuspecting superior of Ming. When Wong's officers come face to face with Sam's gang, both leaders realize there are moles in their midst. Soon Yan and Ming must track each other down, leading to an inevitable confrontation. Unlike many contemporary Hong Kong films, INFERNAL AFFAIRS steers clear of over-the-top action in favor of a more stylized and subdued story that builds on emotional and psychological tension. Leung is riveting as the undercover cop who desperately wants a normal life, while Lau instills his corrupt character with confidence and charm that mask his deep inner conflict. These two stellar turns are ably supported by veteran actors Wong and Tsang, along with Sammi Cheng and Kelly Chen. A huge blockbluster in Asia, INFERNAL AFFAIRS is a landmark of Hong Kong cinema that deserves the same status abroad. [More]

Starring: Andy Lau, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang

Starring: Andy Lau, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Sammi Cheng, Kelly Chen, Edison Chen, Shawn Yue, Elva Hsiao

Director: Wai Keung Lau, Alan Mak

Director: Wai Keung Lau, Alan Mak
Screenwriter: Alan Mak, Felix Chong
Producer: Wai Keung Lau
Studio: Miramax Films

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Reviews for Infernal Affairs

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21 - 40 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 >> >|
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I appreciated the filmmakers' conviction to keep the story as gutsy as possible. The film doesn't flinch.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
12/31/04
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
12/27/04
JoBlo
JoBlo
JoBlo's Movie Emporium

Beauty in its consistent, washed-out blues and silvers, grace in its understated, intense male performances and energy in its unyielding commitment to tone and tension.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
12/24/04
Allison Benedikt
Allison Benedikt
Chicago Tribune

What makes it special is the inner turmoil caused by living a lie. If everyone you know and everything you do for 10 years indicates you are one kind of person, and you know you are another, how do you live with that?

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
12/24/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

More reasonably plotted than most films of the action genre.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
12/20/04
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A blistering thriller and an intelligent character study and a comic take-off on the conventions of thrillers.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
12/09/04
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

This is the type of movie Asian action fans talk about when they say they love the genre.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
12/07/04
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
eFilmCritic.com

The twists offered in Infernal Affairs ... take the genre to enthralling new heights, guaranteeing that any future such efforts will have an entirely new bar for which to aim.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
12/05/04
Wade Major
Wade Major
Boxoffice Magazine

A beautifully crafted, exciting story that keeps on surprising you to the very end.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
12/02/04
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Infernal Affairs is the combustible Hong Kong fever dream that would emerge from a night spent watching Heat and Donnie Brasco back to back.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
12/02/04
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

This is what movies are supposed to feel like -- provocative, exciting, chilling, complex and fully engaging.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
11/29/04
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News

A great cop yarn.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
11/27/04
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

Skilfully directed by cinematographer Andrew Lau Wai-Keung, Infernal Affairs has the feel of a made-for-prime-time U.S. police thriller.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
11/27/04
Susan Walker
Susan Walker
Toronto Star

Asia is seizing another of our taken-for-granted, creatively neglected staples, the cop movie, and again shows us how relevant and entertaining it can be when given proper respect.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
11/24/04
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
11/20/04
Boston Phoenix
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
11/19/04
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[Infernal Affairs] isn’t a good guy versus bad guy film but one that shows good and bad, both, in the makeup of the players.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
10/11/04
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

A high tension police drama set in Hong Kong where the operations of both the police and crime syndicates are hobbled by moles within their organizations.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
10/10/04
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

One of the truest American gangster films of all time.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
10/06/04
Stephanie Zacharek
Stephanie Zacharek
Salon.com

It offers a fairly fresh variation on a done-to-death genre.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
09/30/04
Mike Clark
Mike Clark
USA Today
 
 
21 - 40 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 >> >|
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Latest News for Infernal Affairs

August 05, 2008: Sam Jackson's Top 10 New Classic Asian Films Opens in new window
Wondering if you've seen the latest, greatest Asian movies? Samuel L. Jackson is here to help: he's drawn up a list of his Top 10 New Classic Asian Films for Entertainment Weekly. More...

February 08, 2007: Mark Wahlberg Dishes Some Dirt on "Departed 2" and Maybe "3"!
Anyone who's seen all three of the "Infernal Affairs" flicks had to know this was coming: Word is that we'll probably be getting a sequel to "The Departed,"... More...

January 22, 2007: Pre- (and Re-) "Departed"?
Martin Scorsese's "The Departed" is nearing the end of its successful box-office run, and already rumors have started that not one, but two films may be appended to... More...

October 09, 2006: Box Office Wrapup: Leo and Matt Face Off at #1 with The Departed
Martin Scorsese scored the best opening of his career, and his first number one film in fifteen years, with the star-studded gangster thriller "The Departed," which... More...

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