Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Infernal Affairs II Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 13, 2022

Alan Mak and Andrew Lau's "Infernal Affairs II" (2003) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include archival audio commentary; deleted scenes and bloopers; archival audio commentary; and more. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Infernal Affairs

Lau (Andy Lau, Running Out of Time), an ambitious Hong Kong cop, is ordered to track down a mole in his department who has been leaking crucial information to Sam (Eric Tsang, Bullet and Brain), an influential local gangster. Chan (Tony Leung, In the Mood for Love) is an undercover cop who has been with Sam for years. He reports to Wong (Anthony Wong, Vengeance), the only person in the entire Police Department who knows his true identity. Chan and Wong often meet to discuss various strategies.

After years of pretending to be a gangster, however, Chan is beginning to realize that he is slowly becoming one. Wong believes in Chan and has no doubts that he can complete his mission, but understands that there are powerful personal demons his man is struggling with.

Lau is Sam’s mole. Like Chan, he is beginning to feel that his life is changing. Because of Sam he has accomplished a lot but is now having second thoughts about the future of their relationship. Soon, Lau and Chan’s paths will cross.

Infernal Affairs II

A little over ten years earlier. The leader of the triads is assassinated. His son, Hau (Francis Ng, Juliet in Love), a soft-spoken and elegant man, immediately takes over his father’s empire. Mary (Carina Lau, Days of Being Wild), who is responsible for the death of Hau’s father, becomes upset that her husband, Sam (Eric Tsang), who has decided to remain loyal to Hau’s family.

Lau (Edison Chen, Sex and Beauties) and Chan (Shawn Yue, Dragon Tiger Gate) are recruited by Sam. After their training is completed, Lau enters the Police Academy and then begins working with Wong (Anthony Wong), while Chan becomes a cop because he is unable to fit in Sam's organization. Eventually, both men become moles.

Infernal Affairs III

Shortly before and after the events seen in Infernal Affairs. Lau is under investigation for his involvement in Chan’s death. Sam (Eric Tsang) is in the middle of a tricky business reorganization, partially directed by Shan (Chen Daoming, Aftershock), a cocky mainland gangster looking for a partner in Hong Kong. Yeung (Leon Lai, Fire of Conscience), a highly motivated superintendent, is on a secret mission. Despite respecting and admiring each other, Wong (Anthony Wong) and Sam realize that their relationship is doomed.

***

What makes the films in the Infernal Affairs trilogy so good is their ability to produce very diverse material with numerous outstanding characters. Though many of the key characters reappear in the second and third films, most have different roles, expanding their narratives in new directions.

The first film is a masterful character study overflowing with sizzling action. It has the polished look of a big-budget blockbuster but its narrative is uncharacteristically dark and gritty. This has been a popular concept amongst contemporary Hong Kong directors shooting action films, but Alan Mak and Felix Chong's work feels special.

The cast is loaded with stars. Lau and Leung are terrific as the two moles whose personal lives are slowly beginning to spin out of control. Wong delivers one of the very best performances of his career playing the tough but also emotionally brittle veteran cop.

The second film is even darker. It is also notably slower and moodier. Its action is toned down substantially but the depiction of the game of crime remains unchanged.

Hong Kong remains an important character as well. There are various observations about its upcoming historic transfer to China, its rapidly evolving corrupt political system, and the uncertainty everyone feels.

The third and final film is shockingly good. It looks as well polished and sleek as the first film, and the cast is simply fantastic. Key revelations from the first film, typically introduced as scattered flashbacks, are used to link various subplots and add plenty to important relationships that may have previously appeared exhausted. For example, there is a lot more to learn about Sam and Wong’s complex relationship, so familiarity with the first film is crucial. Many former secondary characters, such as Kelly Chen’s Dr. Lee, are also brought forward.

In 2003, Infernal Affairs won seven Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Film, Best Director (Andrew Lau and Alan Mak), and Best Actor (Tony Leung). The film also won Film of Merit and Best Actor Awards at the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards.

In 2004, Infernal Affairs II won Hong Kong Film Award for Best Original Song (Beyond), and Best Film Award at the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards.

In 2004, Infernal Affairs III won Film of Merit Award at the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards.

Infernal Affairs II Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Infernal Affairs II arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet that is provided with this Blu-ray release:

"These 4K digital restorations (for the three films) were undertaken by Media Asia from the 35mm original camera negatives at L'Immagine Ritrovata's facilities in Bologna, Italy, and Hong Kong. The original 5.1 surround soundtracks were remastered from the digital audio master files.

Transfer supervision: L'Immagine Ritrovata, Asia, Hong Kong.
Color grading: One Cool Production."

The technical presentation of the second film has the exact same issues that I highlighted in our review of the first film. This means that the second film looks softer than it should as well. I spent more time today testing it on my TV and then projecting it and now I am very comfortable stating that the softening and flattening of the visuals were initiated during the color grading. So, once the native dynamic range of the visuals was destabilzied, sharpness, clarity, and delineation were immediately impacted as well. For example, a lot of the areas where the whites are toned down or even replaced by creamy yellows reveal that familiar digital gray flatness. You can see obvious examples in screencaptures #2 and 23. But even in darker footage, where light could be restricted in unique ways, the effect(s) of the destabilizing of the native dynamic range of the visuals are easy to observe (see screencapture #1). There is still plenty of detail and depth, but the new 4K makeover does things that clearly alter the original theatrical appearance of the film. Also, on this release, some of the darker areas could have benefited from encoding optimizations as well, though I have to make it clear that the gray that ultimately softens the visuals has a digital origin and produces anomalies on the 4K master. (To understand how improper grading can dramatically destabilize the native dynamic range of a film/visuals and introduce unnatural softness, take a look at the 2K restoration of Wake Up and Kill, which had two very different presentations on Blu-ray in the United Kingdom and Germany. This release retained the color grade that was prepared in the lab where the film was restored. This release was sourced from the exact same restored master but was regraded to recover the native dynamic range of the visuals). Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks spotless as well. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Infernal Affairs II Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

While viewing the film, I did not encounter any anomalies to report in our review. The dialog was very clear, sharp, and easy to follow. There were no stability issues. Dynamic intensity was excellent, but this shouldn't be surprising considering that Infernal Affairs II was completed in 2003. The English translation is outstanding.

Infernal Affairs II Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making of - an archival featurette with plenty of raw footage from the shooting of Infernal Affairs II and clips from interviews with several cast and crew members. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles. (22 min).

• Confidential File - an archival program with additional footage from various locations seen throughout Infernal Affairs II, as well as more raw footage from key scenes. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles. (6 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Infernal Affairs II. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles. (3 min).

• Deleted Scenes and Bloopers - In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles.
  
  1. Scene One (3 min).
  2. Scene Two (2 min).
  3. Scene Three (5 min).
  4. Scene Four (2 min).
  5. Bloopers (2 min).

• Commentary - this archival commentary was recorded by directors Andrew Lau Alan Mak and screenwriter Felix Chong. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles.

• Booklet - 34-page illustrated booklet featuring Justing Chang's essay "Double Blind", details for each film, and technical credits.

Infernal Affairs II Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Even though this three-disc set has the best technical presentation of Infernal Affairs II, it is not a perfect technical presentation. Like the first film in the Infernal Affairs trilogy, the second film has been regraded and there are some very familiar issues on the 4K makeover. Now, each of the three films has a lot of unique stylizing and as a result many of the changes could be easy to ignore, but this is not an ideal situation and trained eyes will spot the issues that were introduced during the color grading process. To be honest, just like Police Story and Police Story II, the three Infernal Affairs films should have been treated better. RECOMMENDED.