Film: Infernal Affairs II
Release date: 10th January 2005
Certificate: 15
Running time: 150 mins
Director: Andrew Lau Wai-Keung & Alan Mak
Starring: Anthony Wong Chau-sang, Eric Tsang, Carina Lau, Francis Ng, Edison Chen
Genre: Action/Crime/Drama/Thriller
Studio: Tartan
Format: DVD
Country: Hong Kong/China/Singapore
That there was a sequel to Infernal Affairs is not a surprise. In Hong Kong, if something works, odds are it will be sequelised, or simply ripped off. Even so, the bar was high for Infernal Affairs II. Did directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak clear it, or did their endeavours fall short?
In Infernal Affairs II, Andrew Lau and Alan Mak take us back ten years, to the origins of their tragic tale. Expanding on the first film’s prologue, we see how Yan (Shawn Yue) fared once thrust into the Triad underworld, and how Ming (Edison Chen) wormed fell inextricably under the spell of Sam (Tsang).
As the drama unfolds, and the characters’ fates inch inexorably closer to the emotional and existential carnage of the first film, we see how Yan was damned by family connections he could not escape, and how Ming came to enjoy power and influence just a little bit too much…
The first Infernal Affairs was an expertly crafted, intelligent and sophisticated thriller, full of low-key suspense and underplayed tension. Part II - a prequel covering the years 1991-1997 (though any wider, socio-metaphorical relevance of the latter year is unexplored) - retains the character-first storytelling of its predecessor, but the emphasis is placed more heavily on drama than on tension. This is an origin story, showing how Yan and Ming came to be in the “continuous hell” in which we found them as grown-ups. As such, there is less of the ingenuous set-pieces and stunning plot twists, and much more emotional conflict and angst. The cat-and-mouse aspect of Part I is missed, but what is here is absolutely enthralling - because what made the first film work so well was its strong, multi-layered, contradictory characters. Lau and Mak, returning as co-directors, know that they can’t pull off the same cinematic miracle twice, and go in a brand new, exciting and fascinating direction with their saga, which begins to take on an operatic dimension.
This time, the co-protagonists are played by younger actors Shawn Yue and Edison Chen (both of whom made fleeting cameos in the first film’s establishing prologue, the continuity one of the most pleasing elements of Part II). Both are lightweight in comparison to their older counterparts - Yue’s younger Yan is a restless ball of energy, wide-eyed and more outwardly conflicted; Chen’s Ming is a sullen young man, almost eagerly accepting onto his shoulders the weight of his double-life, even as it is only just getting underway. It is a sharp contrast with the performances of the older actors, but a smart choice by the cast and filmmakers - this is our conflicted protagonists at the beginning of their long and tortuous roads. The contrast makes the prequel less of your usual quickie Hong Kong cash-in, and more of a necessary expansion of the characters and urban mythology.
The chief appeal of this second film in the saga is the performances of Anthony Wong and Eric Tsang, playing younger versions of their characters, before they became deadly enemies. To see them on friendly terms is arresting, and instantly fascinating, their straight-faced jousting of the first film replaced by a more jovial verbal sparring, drowning in tragic subtext. As cop and crook (in both generations) find themselves in ever deeper holes, the tension felt by the audience lies in not in the fears for their safety (because we know all four must survive this film to make it to the original), but in the anticipation of how they make their escape - the audience feels the dread of the “continuous hell” that we know is just beyond the horizon for them all.
Elsewhere, new faces play new characters, broadening the scope of the film to an almost epic degree. Francis Ng and Roy Cheung (both veteran villains of Andrew Lau’s Young And Dangerous series) bring acting muscle to brand new roles un-hinted at in Part I. Ng, in particular, whose reluctant Triad contains clear echoes of Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone in the first two Godfather movies (to which some have compared Infernal Affairs as a Hong Kong equivalent), and brings a new dimension to series. Ng’s performance is an affecting one, and serves to give deeper meaning to much of Tony Leung’s performance in the original movie. Cheung, in an almost wordless role as Ng’s imposing right-hand man, is a dynamic physical presence, prompting an audience to realise just how under-utilised he is in other movies.
In its writing and casting, Part II even manages to correct the glaring flaw of the first film by including a plum role for an actress. Carina Lau almost walks away with the whole film as Mary, girlfriend of Sam, whose curious, pseudo-oedipal relationship with Edison Chen’s Ming is the most compelling aspect of the film. Given that it is a relationship not hinted at in the original film, Lau and Mak work cinematic wonders to ensure that it enhances the characterisation of Ming, as played by Andy Lau.
And this gem of a screen pairing just about sums up the second film in the trilogy - a thrilling surprise of a picture that enriches repeat viewings of the (mildly superior) first film, making the viewer appreciate it even more, and not simply by favourable comparison. Andrew Lau and Alan Mak are beginning to reveal the width and breadth of the canvas on which they are painting an epic Hong Kong crime drama - the question remained, could they pull it off one more time?
A superb achievement, to offer something different while remaining faithful to the original film. Comparisons to first two Godfather movies is not hyperbole. JN
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