The extremely hit “Infernal Affairs” which loaned itself to the Hollywood piece of Martin Scorcese’s “The Departed” bring its second installment as a prequel. The story goes back when both Ming (Edison Chen) and Yan (Shawn Yue) were still budding moles in cop world and underworld respectively. The first one is a rapid pace entertainer with substance forming a thin layer. There existed emotions but those were basically overshadowed by the consistent cat and mouse game with thrills, chills and twists. Once I watched the first one, I actually saw the “Infernal Affairs – III”. It is the sequel to the first one and moves very slow, careful and detailed. It lacked the pace but went in depth into the guilty filled Ming. And the mood of the third installment gets from this movie.
Directors Andy Lau (who plays grown up Ming in first and third part) and Alan Mak imply the plot twists from the first and dig one more layer in to the convoluted world of Cops and Criminals. The very first scene is the casual friendly conversation between Inspector Wong (Anthony Wong) and Sam (Liu Kai Chi). And we come to know that actually these two were good friends from opposite worlds. Also Sam is not the king of the drug business. The story goes back ten years from the original. We learn that the Triad leader Kwun is killed by Ming who is assigned by wife of Sam, Mary (Carina Lau). Sam is not informed about this. In the meanwhile Yan is dismissed from the academy for lying in the application. He is the half brother of Hau (Francis Ng) who is the successor of Kwun. Wong assigns Yan to infiltrate the gang, his only chance of being a cop.
For the first half an hour we are totally riddled by the new characters. The problem is the instinct to tie up the knots ourselves. And directors pat us softly to say that they will do it perfectly and asks to sit and enjoy the ride. Directors took time off these two characters that we seen considerable amount in the first part and concentrate on the rest. The dirty game of politics and the negligence of the means to achieve the goal which is surprisingly convincing and that moment we realize that the game is never going to end. Couple of characters says that they have crossed the point of no return. We know what they are saying. They have been sucked into this world of outsmarting others. Loyalty means nothing and it is all survival game. They know that there is no redemption and the only way to be peaceful is to die.
Many highly anticipated this movie due to its predecessor’s success. Lot of people would have been disappointed expecting a riveting thunder speed film. For me it shows that both the directors matured. They knew that they could never recreate the same motion of screenplay with no stops but constant logical interesting twists. If this movie would have followed the same style of first one, it would have been a debacle. There are definite “Godfather” moments and you know what, all Gangster movies are impossible to take without the shadows of it. They do not take it for granted and apply it properly.
The story is an organized chaos. Everything looks planned and yet goes berserk. And it flourishes the reasons and joins the plot. When the movie ends, we are convinced and the easing up by the directors in the start makes sense. Because after a while it is no more about how they arrive to the start of the “Infernal Affairs”. It branches and again connects. It deviates but with a sense for plausibility and reasonability. As I said, the chaotic organization is how in reality would have worked. When a bunch of people break the trust and plays with bullets, it is all unpredictability. And when it takes one more layer of taking it personal, there is the infinite loop of vengeance.
At the end when Sam says to shoot him to Hau, we know he means it. He wants to die because he knows he is addicted into this wretched game. He cannot survive seeing the loved ones executed as currency exchange of powers. Especially the friendship between Wong and Sam is complex and the only trustworthy in the movie. Both know their worlds and yet respect each other. They remain friends because they do not take it or use it for their advantage. They cross it in a very indirect manner and that is the end of their relationship. For the time they meet and have chats, we see Sam as an individual with Wong as another individual. They share their pains but without uniforms and guns. What they did not understand is those conversations were temporary and they remember where they come from. When Wong takes on the uniform, Sam has to take his gun. Yes it is an organized chaos.
No comments:
Post a Comment