Infernal Affairs II
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| Infernal Affairs II | |
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 Theatrical poster of Infernal Affairs II |
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| Directed by | Andrew Lau Alan Mak |
| Produced by | Andrew Lau |
| Written by | Felix Chong Alan Mak |
| Starring | Anthony Wong Eric Tsang Edison Chen Shawn Yue Carina Lau Francis Ng Hu Jun |
| Music by | Chan Kwong Wing |
| Cinematography | Andrew Lau Ng Man Ching |
| Editing by | Danny Pang Curran Pang |
| Distributed by |  Media Asia Distribution Ltd. The Weinstein Company (DVD) Dragon Dynasty (DVD) |
| Release date(s) | 2003 |
| Running time | 119 min. 110 min. |
| Country | Hong Kong Singapore |
| Language | Cantonese Mandarin English Thai |
| Preceded by | Infernal Affairs |
| Followed by | Infernal Affairs III |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
Infernal Affairs II (Traditional Chinese: 無間道II ; Jyutping: mou gaan dou ji; Mandarin Pinyin: Wú Jiān Dào' èr) is a 2003 Hong Kong crime-thriller film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. It is a prequel to the 2002 hit Infernal Affairs.
Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Edison Chen, Shawn Yue, and Chapman To reprise their roles from the original film alongside new cast members Carina Lau, Francis Ng, and Hu Jun. Both Tony Leung and Andy Lau, who played the central roles in the original, do not appear in the film, as they are replaced by the younger versions played by Shawn Yue and Edison Chen, respectively.
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[edit] Plot
The film opens eleven years prior to the original film in 1991, with Inspector Wong Chi Shing discussing the death of his first partner in the line of duty with an initially unseen companion. This is revealed to be Hon Sam, the triad boss from Infernal Affairs. At this stage in the saga he is a follower in Ngai Kwun's triad family, and is Wong's informant. Ngai Kwun is then assassinated in Mongkok by the young Lau Kin-Ming, who works for Sam's wife Mary Hon because Ming is attracted to her, but is unwilling to express this due to his lowly position in the gang. Mary ordered the killing because she wants Sam to take Kwun's place as leader of the triad. But she did so without Sam's knowledge and urges Ming to lie low for a while before he attempts to join the police force and become Sam's mole.
Kwun's middle son Ngai Wing Hau (Francis Ng) rises to take his father's place as triad boss, as he is the only Ngai sibling directly involved in the crime business. Yan, a police cadet coming to the end of his training is confronted by Hau and his henchman Law Kai Yin . Hau reveals to his half-brother that their father has died. Yan is discharged from the Hong Kong Police Force due to the use of his mother's surname to hide his family connection to the Ngai triad family (Yan's full background was not revealed in the first film).
With Kwun dead, the triad bosses known as The Big Four and Sam debate not paying their tithe to the supposed weakling Hau. But Hau proves himself to be an adept and understated heir to Kwun and blackmails all four with his knowledge of their mutual betrayals one by one. Sam has covertly remained loyal to Hau and acted as an agent provocateur in this affair, much to Mary's dismay. Ming joins the police force, whilst Yan is offered a way by Wong to remain a cop; by going undercover into prison.
The second act takes place in 1995, with Yan out of prison as a small time gang member and Ming as a rookie police officer. Yan's continual association with Sam leads his girlfriend to have an abortion.
The ruthless yet honourable Hau wishes the troubled Yan to be integrated back into the Ngai family and invites him to his daughter's birthday party, where he brings him closer into the gang business as well.
Wong's partner Superintendent Luk Kai Cheung learns that Yan is the police mole and questions where Yan's true loyalties lie; with the police or his brother. Yan reassures him of his dedication only to the mission.
Hau tells the Big Four and Sam he is retiring to Hawaii with the whole Ngai clan and to divide the Ngai crime business between them. He rewards Sam for his years of loyalty by sending him to a drugs contact in Thailand with the promise of total control of the cocaine racket, a business opportunity that the Big Four have not foreseen, and which he believes Sam will become a master of.
Mary is revealed to have conspired with Wong in the assassination of Kwun. Luk has had his own informant in the Ngai gang for 7 years, who tips him off about a change in Hau's departure plans. Hau is arrested by Luk and Wong making a drug deal, but it transpires Hau feigned this; the two men he met turn out to be private detectives he hired to investigate Kwun's murder. He was taking delivery of the final evidence; videotaped surveillance of Wong and Mary discussing the assassination in a hotel room, which is leverage to prevent the cops interfering with his business.
Hau's real plan was to assassinate the Big Four and Sam, whom he believes is Mary's co-conspirator. Mary phones Sam in Thailand revealing at the last minute that she arranged the hit on Kwun. Sam escapes the ambush with the help of various ailles and Tsui Wai Keung who battles poorly with twin pistols. When Sam arrives at the airport he is confronted by a Thai gangster friend while Keung attempts to warn Sam about trusting him. Sam offers his own gun to the gangster, believing in their friendship. The Thai regretfully apologises for his orders and shoots Sam.
Ming saves Mary from Hau's assassin and they go into hiding for two months, where he reveals his true feelings and offers to protect her. She rejects him as she is the boss's woman, and goes to Kai Tak Airport to fly to Thailand to find the missing Sam. But as she arrived, she is hit by a car at the airport in a hit and run apparently orchestrated by the bitter Ming.
Luk goes to Wong's apartment after he's acquitted in a tribunal hearing and forgives him for the murder conspiracy, but is then killed by a car bomb meant for Wong.
Law is shot dead by Hau in the aftermath of the assassinations, as he knew that he was Luk's informant and an undercover cop. Hau then shows Yan the hidden wire in Law's jacket.
The third act is set in 1997 against the backdrop of the handover of Hong Kong to China. Ming is one of the officers involved with the ceremony, Yan has taken Law's place by Hau's side.
Hau is attempting to make the family respectable and go into politics, but is arrested at a government party, as the police now have enough evidence to bring him down. They are aided by a star witness - Sam, who survived the shooting in Thailand and is brought back to Hong Kong by Wong, who reintroduces him to the newly promoted Ming.
Sam escapes police custody with Ming's help and confronts Hau and his gang, alone. Hau has kidnapped Sam's Thai wife and child to prevent him testifying. But Sam outmanoeuvres Hau by revealing that his Thai friends are holding the entire Ngai family hostage in Hawaii, and the Thai woman Hau holds hostage is actually just his maid.
The climax of the film is a standoff between Hau's gang and the police, with Hau about to shoot Sam. Wong shoots Hau dead instead, who dies in Yan's arms, but not before he tragically discovers in his dying moments the wire in Yan's jacket and that his half-brother was an undercover cop.
Sam's Thai friend asks whether the Ngai case should be "closed", and interprets Sam's statement that he doesn't want to go too far as a tacit order to execute the entire family, including the women and children. Wong revealed to Sam that he has enough evidence to put Hau away for life and Sam should not have confronted him alone.
The pieces are set in place for the original film; Sam replaces Hau as the triad boss as Mary had wished and is now Wong's new foe; Ming is a police inspector, still working for Sam. And Yan is forced to remain as an undercover agent in Sam's gang. As the handover ceremony takes place, Sam is able to finally shed tears over the loss of his beloved Mary.
[edit] Cast
- Anthony Wong as Superintendent Wong Chi Shing (黃志誠)
- Eric Tsang as Hon Sam (韓琛)
- Edison Chen as Lau Kin Ming (劉健明)
- Shawn Yue as Chan Wing Yan (陳永仁)
- Carina Lau as Mary Hon (MARY姐)
- Francis Ng as Ngai Wing Hau (倪永孝)
- Hu Jun as Superintendent Luk Kai Cheung (陸啟昌)
- Chapman To as Tsui Wai Keung (傻強)
- Liu Kai Chi as Sam Suk (三叔)
- Roy Cheung as Law Kai Yin (羅雞)
- Fu Ka Lei as May
- Wai Ying Hung as Ngai Wing Hau's sister (倪永孝家姐)
- Chan Mong Wah as Ngai Wing Yi
- Lin Hoi as Ngai Wing Chung
- Fong Ping as Gandhi (甘地)
- Wong Ngok Tai as Kwok Wah (國華)
- O Chi Kwan as Negro (黑鬼)
- Fung Lo Chi as Nugro ( Negro's brother)
- Chan Tak Sam as Man Ching
- Cheung Tung Cho as Ngai Kwan (倪坤)
- Chiu Chung Yue as Mary
[edit] Reaction
The film was highly anticipated prior to its release due to the extreme success achieved by Infernal Affairs. However, the general response to the movie was mixed, with most saying that it could not be compared to the first one, while others claimed that it was the best out of the series. The original film won seven Hong Kong Film Awards, while this film only earned the award of Best Original Song.
Some fans of the first Infernal Affairs were disappointed, mainly hoping it to have flashbacks to the original film, which only occurs in one scene. The film aims to have a completely new storyline and not to be viewed in the same light as the first film, which was a gangster/crime thriller film.
[edit] Style
The film is a lot slower than the first one, with no quick or slick Hollywood-style editing. It strives on minimalism, and being extremely low-key in all the killings, and deaths.
Camera style was different from the first film, IA2 was mostly filmed without tripods,resulting in shaky cameras.
The entire film works on developing the characters, being more of a character study than anything else. There is a wider range in terms of story and settings, making it more of an independent epic that feels completely separate from the other two films in the trilogy. The film is filled with slow-moving scenes, moments of still imagery, and close-up shots of characters, showing their emotion.
Also different is the score, being much more dramatic than the first film, with the opening Hungarian choir that dominates the intro. The entire movie thrives on the choir-based score. The cinematography is more grainy to create a deliberate contrast to the commercial style in the previous film.
[edit] Trivia
- The cemetery scene in IA2 was where Yan was buried in the first film.
- SP Luk's death was similar to SP Wong's death in IA1, with a sudden shock and emotional impact.
- A notable film flub was Ming's character.In the first film he was a right-handed. In IA2 scenes such as him holding a parcel and hitting it against his leg with his left hand and saluting with his left hand near the end of the movie went unnoticed.
- Infernal Affairs' website shut down recently and is now in open domain.
[edit] Box office
The film grossed 24,919,376 HKD[1]—big by 2003 Hong Kong standards, but only about half of the original's earnings.
[edit] Awards
Although Infernal Affairs II earned ten nominations for the 2003 Hong Kong Film Awards, it could not match its predecessor's success. The film won only one award, Best Original Film Song, for the song "長空" (performed by Cantopop band Beyond).
[edit] See also
- Infernal Affairs
- Infernal Affairs III
- Cinema of Hong Kong
- List of movies set in Hong Kong
- List of Hong Kong films
[edit] External links
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