The beginnings of Superintendent Wong and Sam’s feud are revealed in this solid, enjoyable prequel to a modern classic. It’s far more than just a re-run of the original…
It’s difficult to say which was the smarter move for directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak: capitalising on the success of the Infernal Affairs by making a prequel, allowing them to bring back the two most interesting characters from the first film, Superintendent Wong (Anthony Wong, Beast Cops, Taxi Hunter, Full Contact) and Sam (Eric Tsang, Three, Golden Chicken); or casting teen idols Edison Chan and Shawn Yue as younger counterparts for the characters of Ming (Andy Lau) and Yan (Tony Leung) in the original (even though they only appeared fleetingly), thus ensuring both continuity and box office success. Either way we’re all winners in this solid follow up.
In fact this film belongs to Tsang and Wong, expanding their characters immensely, with Yue and particularly Chan relegated to the sidelines. Quite knowingly Lau and Mak have for once cast two of Hong Kong’s best supporting actors in the lead roles. And just to rub it in, this time around they’ve brought in extra support from Francis Ng (Bride with White Hair, 2000AD, Young and Dangerous), Carina Lau (Days of Being Wild, Saviour of the Soul, He’s a Woman, She’s A Man) and Roy Cheung (The Avenging Fist, Wild Search, Beast Cops).
It’s 1991 and Superintendent Wong is trying to convince Sam to turn against his boss Kwun. Sam will have none of it, but what he doesn’t know is Wong has already plotted with Sam’s wife Mary (Carina Lau) to get rid of the big boss. (An assassination carried out by Ming.)
But Wong’s plan to bring chaos to the triads disastrously backfires, as Kwun’s son, Hau takes the rein, another great performance by Francis Ng who plays the role superbly played with reserve but a convincing, underpinning menace. Roy Cheung adds an intimidating presence as his right hand man – despite not having a word of dialogue. Yan, we find out, is Hau’s half brother. A fortunate happenstance for SP Wong that allows him to both to expel Yan from the Police academy and place an undercover agent right in the thick of the triads. More than before, Yan and Ming seem victims of circumstance, pawns in a game not of their own making.
However, as the situation escalates out of control Wong finds he has fatally underestimated the seemingly jovial Sam. In this clandestine tale no one is ever quite what they appear to be on the surface. Just like the original, you are constantly kept guessing just as to who is on what side.
It’s an intelligent script that expands the lives of the characters we’ve met before, without cheating the viewer, bending facts we already know in order to make this movie work. It’s a tough call, and rare for a prequel to so successfully pull it off. Lau and Mak toy with our knowledge of the original, constantly referencing it in different ways, meaning you HAVE to see it first. For instance in a scene reminiscent of the original, we see clunky, brick sized mobiles instead of the slick, tiny modern ones. Setting the story against the backdrop of Hong Kong returning to China’s hands, a familiar theme in many contemporary movies, gives extra pertinence to the events.
Chapman To reprises his role as Keung as we find out why his and Yan’s friendship goes beyond gang loyalties. While Hu Jun (Lanyu, Golden Chicken) lends extra support as Wong’s friend. It’s on the performances Wong and Tsang that the film rests, as their characters are expanded on screen, and they don’t let us down. For Wong the morality of his position comes into question, while Sam becomes more sympathetic as we find out about his love for his wife. Yet those performances are never quite as intense or touching as Tony Leung and Andy Lau in the original.
A slick and deserving successor to the Infernal Affairs franchise, if you enjoyed the original you should watch this.
DVD details
Distributor: Megastar (Hong Kong)
Superbly transferred DVD with great picture and sound, includes Dolby and DTS 5.1. This double disc set also includes plenty of extras, including a commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes, a music video and plenty of extra interviews with the cast. And what's more, much of it has English subtitles.
