re:mote voices

Title: Infernal Affairs II

Cast:Edison Chen, Shawn Yue, Francis Ng, Eric Tsang, Carina Lau

Director: Wai Keung Lau, Siu Fai Mak

Despite being the second in the series of Infernal Affairs films, it is actually more of a prequel than a sequel. Infernal Affairs set up what could be described as the end of the story, with a certain amount of the start to flesh it out. The head of the organised crime division of the Hong Kong police and the head of organised crime in Hong Kong are head to head. Each trying to catch the other out. To this end each has a mole within the other’s organisation to help them get the upper hand. But as things keep getting out of hand, both sides realise they are playing the same game. Putting the moles to the front, as they try and discover their opposite number’s identity.

In the first film the two lead roles were taken by two of Hong Kong’s star actors – Tony Leung and Andy Lau. Neither of whom is present in this second film, though Lau is involved behind the scenes. Rather the action in Infernal Affairs II focuses on the two men who become the respective bosses and their clashes on the way. In the first film there were flash backs to the start of the story – the selection of the moles. Here we go from that point to just before the original film. With the two young actors who played the young versions of Lau and Leung joining the two bosses from the first film in a reprise of these four roles.

By the nature of Infernal Affairs II there is a certain overlap of events with the first film, down, I’m sure, to reusing some of the same scenes. Fitting into the spaces of Infernal Affairs would seem to be a tricky business in terms of narrative continuity. With the result that I would need to see the two together to determine just how successful the results are. But from this point of seeing the two with some distance between them, I suspect that perhaps we reach point where the characters should have become Lau and Leung?

Regardless of that, Infernal Affairs II is a reasonably Hong Kong thriller. Though not as good as it’s predecessor, which had a greater sense of tension, as well as a more contemporary edge – being set in the present, rather than throughout the 1990’s. Infernal Affairs II particularly loses tension at points because we know certain characters have a role in Infernal Affairs – such that putting a gun to one of their heads creates a sense of redundancy.