What’s the story:
This prequel to the lean and spectacularly entertaining thriller that inspired Martin Scorcese’s good-but-still-inferior Departed tells how the tragic fates of the main characters in the first film were sealed during a brutal mid-90s gang war.

What gives:
Directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak go for a big-scope, obviously Godfather II-inspired feel with a film that forgoes the perfect tautness of its predecessor for a relatively successful stab at a heavily populated, psychologically intense gangland drama. The problem is by doing away with the streamlined storytelling of the first Infernal Affairs, Lau and Mak’s prequel often walks a fine line between “intricately plotted” and “wait…huh…?,” and their heavy-handed attempts at gravitas fall flat more often than not. However, a superb cast — especially the charismatic and slippery Eric Tsang — stylish, atmospheric filmmaking, and a number of legitimately surprising twists and turns in the script make it compelling viewing.

KFR Rating: B

What do I get::
Great picture and sound. Little lean on the extras:
-Deleted Scenes
-Making of
-Confidential File (?)
-Teaser
-Theatrical Trailer

Infernal Affairs 2 was released today.

After the jump, Infernal Affairs 3.

What’s the story:
WARNING — INFERNAL SPOILERS AHEAD…
Always-watchable Hong Kong cinema vet Andy Lau (the drug gang’s police mole in the first Infernal Affairs) and most of the first film’s cast returns in this strange sequel that attempts to conclude the entire saga while filling in some of the original’s missing information.

When Lau’s bad-turned-good-guy Inspector Ming is reassigned to the Internal Affairs division, he begins to suspect Yeung, a rising young detective, is another mole who might have ties to a powerful mainland triad. Are his suspicions correct, or is the weight of his guilt over the death of Yan (Tony Leung) in the first film taking a heavy psychological toll?

What gives:
To be unfortunately frank, Infernal Affairs 3 is, for all intents and purposes, a mess. But, it has a few interesting ideas and some fine performances to make it watchable for those with enough interest to see how this Shakespearean crime epic shakes out.

The dictionary definition of “needlessly, hopelessly convoluted,” Infernal Affairs 3 jumps around in time and wanders off into subplots without any rhyme or reason so often that by the time it’s over, you’ll sense the immediate need for a chart, graph, and/or Power Point presentation to help you clear everything up. It’s relatively ambitious, fun to see Lau playing a cop increasingly on the edge, and Kelly Chen is, you know, pretty, but the film plays mostly like a string of oddly strung together deleted scenes from the first, vastly superior Infernal Affairs.

KFR Rating: C+

What do I get::
Again, wonderful picture and sound. Even skimpier on the extras, though:
-Making of
-Teaser
-Theatrical Trailer

Infernal Affairs 3 was released today.

Also available today and a legitimately great deal is the Infernal Affairs Collector’s Edition Box Set:

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