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"Retribution takes its own sweet time"
Infernal Affairs II was a prequel to the successful Infernal Affairs, this time without Tony Leung and Andy Lau. Anthony Wong and Francis Ng carried much of the movie on their veteran shoulders. There were few surprises and less suspense given that after watching IA we already know the fates of all of the primary characters.
Chan Wing Yan is shown on his path to becoming a mole in the triads while Lau Kin Ming straddles making his work life balance with answering to the triad and his police boss. Yan must deal with illicit family ties and Ming courts death with his crush on the wife of his dangerous triad supervisor. Their stories often linger in the background. Officer Wong Chi Shing takes center stage as a cop who plays outside the rules in his efforts to bring the triads under control. When Ngai Wing Hau’s father is assassinated, he takes over the reins of the crime family. Smooth and soft spoken, his distinguished exterior belies his ruthless interior. Hon Sam is merely a flunky whose wife is the brains behind his actions.
Much as Infernal Affairs forced the main characters to answer the question, “Who am I?”, Wong’s actions propelled him head long into criminal activities for the greater good. At some point his conscience began to question those actions. Hau had no such qualms. He had anyone who stood in his way or betrayed him brutally eliminated. Hon Sam used whoever was around him to stay alive and move up the deadly ladder until one fateful decision causes him to burn the ladder down.
IA2 had the same high production values as IA. The acting was more mixed in this one relying on weaker actors and characters. Wong and Ng anchored the film with strong performances, though Wong was hampered by one over-zealous scene. The story was interesting but didn’t neatly align with its predecessor. The first film was so well made it was hard to take a step back to see how minor and supporting characters found their places in the scheme of things. I can see the allure of wanting to further flesh out the characters and make more money off the original, it just didn’t add anything to my enjoyment overall of Yan and Ming’s destructive journeys.
16 February 2025
Chan Wing Yan is shown on his path to becoming a mole in the triads while Lau Kin Ming straddles making his work life balance with answering to the triad and his police boss. Yan must deal with illicit family ties and Ming courts death with his crush on the wife of his dangerous triad supervisor. Their stories often linger in the background. Officer Wong Chi Shing takes center stage as a cop who plays outside the rules in his efforts to bring the triads under control. When Ngai Wing Hau’s father is assassinated, he takes over the reins of the crime family. Smooth and soft spoken, his distinguished exterior belies his ruthless interior. Hon Sam is merely a flunky whose wife is the brains behind his actions.
Much as Infernal Affairs forced the main characters to answer the question, “Who am I?”, Wong’s actions propelled him head long into criminal activities for the greater good. At some point his conscience began to question those actions. Hau had no such qualms. He had anyone who stood in his way or betrayed him brutally eliminated. Hon Sam used whoever was around him to stay alive and move up the deadly ladder until one fateful decision causes him to burn the ladder down.
IA2 had the same high production values as IA. The acting was more mixed in this one relying on weaker actors and characters. Wong and Ng anchored the film with strong performances, though Wong was hampered by one over-zealous scene. The story was interesting but didn’t neatly align with its predecessor. The first film was so well made it was hard to take a step back to see how minor and supporting characters found their places in the scheme of things. I can see the allure of wanting to further flesh out the characters and make more money off the original, it just didn’t add anything to my enjoyment overall of Yan and Ming’s destructive journeys.
16 February 2025
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