Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Infernal Affairs II Blu-ray Movie Review

The sequel to Hong Kong's greatest film is a treat for the ears and eyes on BD, but a letdown overall.

Reviewed by Greg Maltz June 19, 2008

Sequels don't live up to expectations. That rule holds true for the second film in the Infernal Affairs saga. The original won seven Hong Kong film awards, compared to only one award--best song--for the sequel. Infernal Affairs II is actually a prequel, set 11 years earlier than the events of the first film, although it is separated into distinct "acts" that come at different times. Both actors who gave powerhouse performances in the original film and helped it achieve so much success--Tony Leung and Andy Lau--make no appearance. Instead, Infernal Affairs II focuses on the relationship between their characters' bosses: superintendent Wong Chi Shing (Anthony Wong) and Triad mob leader Hon Sam (Eric Tsang). While both characters are interesting, neither has the hypnotic appeal or volcanic intensity of Lau or Leung. The lead acting skills, supporting cast, narrative, action and direction fall short of the original film. Fortunately, the 1080p picture and 6.1 DTS-HD MA of Infernal Affairs II are impressive, showcasing an engaging soundtrack and director Andrew Lau's trademark vistas and street shots of Hong Kong. But make no mistake: where Infernal Affairs is like the gritty R&B hit that smashed the charts, the second film is like a boyband imitation that does not live up to the hype.

The film revolves around the complex relationship between Triad mob leader Hon Sam (Eric Tsang, left) and police inspecter Wong Chi Shing (Anthony Wong, right).

Infernal Affairs II tries too hard to be epic in scope and in emotional impact. Many scenes and elements of the plot pay homage to the gangster classic, The Godfather. Certain family shots following criminal lord Ngai Wing Hau (Francis Ng) as well as "five bosses" of the Triads, including Sam, seem directly inspired by Mario Puzo's masterpiece. While this influence, in itself, does not detract from the film, it becomes difficult to reconcile with the strands of plot following the underling gangster and police cadet who are set up as moles to pay off the connection to Infernal Affairs. But the problems don't stop there. With the handover of Hong Kong to mainland China becoming a major political issue during the making of Infernal Affairs II, this political hot potato, too, was thrown in to some scenes that demonize bad guy Hau (and that comes after plenty of other scenes had sufficiently shown Hau as evil).

The handover of Hong Kong is just one of many distractions that collectively drag down the film. Any one of them is enough to hinder the narrative, but taken together they are unnecessary plot developments that are badly telegraphed and serve no purpose in fleshing out the characters. These developments are tied together by clunky segues often featuring close camera shots, rich music and postproduced slow motion sequences and fades. This is bad mojo, folks--very bad film making. It's all designed to try to create suspense or emotional impact where there isn't any. After all, those of us who saw the first film know exactly where Sam and Shing and the two main characters of Infernal Affairs will end up, and so the ending comes as no surprise whatsoever. All the manufactured drama and slow-motion shots leading up to it are much ado about nothing. The freshness, convincing character studies and gritty action of the original are nowhere to be found.

Infernal Affairs II Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As much as director Andrew Lau fails to reconcile elements of the plot, he succeeds in his trademark visuals, which are paid off gorgeously on the Blu-ray. Scads of detail, deep black level and dramatic contrast drench the screen. The video postproduction yielded a more modern look than the film's predecessor, even though the story took place years earlier. Part of this cutting edge look lay in the gently subdued color palette that stylized the movie, rendering skin tones a bit pale. Other colors showed more richly.

Above all, the resolution is excellent. Watch the scene in the Kowloon district of Hong Kong, where Hau and the other mob bosses are talking around a table. The detail of the characters' faces and clothing, as well as the food they are eating--all of it appears realistic, with excellent presence. The background of the restaurant and the shots of seedy Kowloon neighborhood show good depth. A scene to evaluate the black level of your display is near the beginning when gangster boss Sam and inspector Shing sit on opposite sides of a table, sharing lunch in a darkened interrogation room. Only the table and wisps of cigarette smoke appear illuminated, while the rest of the room is in shadows. Overall, the picture is on the clinical side throughout, with only a few scenes showing a warmer array of colors. Lau and his film crew are masters in the art of cinematography and framing.

Infernal Affairs II Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The best feature of Infernal Affairs II is its audio performance. The quality and attention to detail that went into the audio production started long before the 6.1 DTS- HD MA encode of the BD. In both Infernal Affairs and Infernal Affairs II, the commitment to audio excellence is apparent right from the start, as the opening scenes of each take place in an audio boutique shop, with high-end tube amps and exotic speakers. With audiophiles involved in the film, is little wonder, then, that the audio is refined, with delicate highs, full midrange and midbass and taught low end. It isn't perfect, but the gorgeous extension throughout the audible range sure made it easier to sit through the boring segues and awful plot twists. No mistake about it: the DTS-HD MA should be considered a main draw of this BD.

The surround field is immersive in its presentation of music, but dialog and sound effects only rarely are assigned to the satellite channels. This audio engineering is as it should be. The characters' voices, particularly Sam's, sound rich and engaging, anchored solidly in the center channel, with occasional ambient reflections. Of greater interest are the dynamically more engaging sequences, which often have no dialog at all. Listen to the car-bomb scene opening into a long musical interlude in which inspecter Wong Chi Shing tries in vain to extinguish the flames engulfing another agent's car. The bomb blast has good presence, but the music heightens the drama with its lush midrange. The sounds of the scorching flames and the fire extinguisher break into the mix.

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

The special features are fairly mundane and summed up in four parts:

1. Audio Commentary

2. Trailers

3. Making Of

4. Confidential File

Each of these is what you'd expect. The audio commentary is handled by Anthony Wong, and his comments are not very interesting to put it kindly. The "Making Of" featurette is the best supplementary material. At more than 20 minutes, it covers interviews with much of the cast and production team. The "Confidential File" is a sequence of behind-the-scenes footage set to music. The trailers round out the supplements. Each of these special features were included on the Special Collecter's Edition DVD, released in 2003.

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

As enjoyable as the picture and sound are of the Infernal Affairs II Blu-ray disc, I can not recommend this title. The original is a work of sheer brilliance with excellent acting, pacing and character/plot development. Compared to the first film, Infernal Affairs II is a train wreck. The relationship between Hon Sam and Wong Chi Shing is, at times, interesting. But it is not explored in a meaningful or fresh way, and the supporting actors and plot devices make a mess of the movie. Despite the gorgeous 1080p and lush DTS-HD MA 6.1 track of the sequel, you are better off revisiting the original, which reward repeat viewing with new insights and details.