Infernal Affairs II

Un préquel décent au excellent drame policier Infernal Affairs. Mais néanmoins, à l'ombre de ce dernier. Le film élargit avec succès les circonstances entourant les personnages qui étaient en second plan dans le premier film, mais il est conçu davantage comme une source d'information complémentaire à l'original plutôt que comme un véritable drame à part entière. Il est trop surchargé, ne laissant pas suffisamment de place aux relations et est inutilisable sans connaissance du premier film. (19/10/2005)

The story is set in a time preceding part one. In other words, the years when the two central protagonists joined the police and the hierarchy of the Triads. In fact it is more like framed by these two characters, but focuses more on other characters we are familiar with. And isn’t this like cheekily and cheaply watering down stew to make it go further? That’s what it seems like for the first couple of minutes, or until the story moves forward to the events of 1995. Afterward it is again a suspenseful, flawless crime movie with an intelligent screenplay, amazing actors and a marvelous technical side. In terms of quality this is unarguably less good than its other brother, but it’s still so good that most pictures of similar genres must gawp in silent envy. (20/02/2007)

I really liked that I actually learned several details from the "intermediate period" and deeper understanding of the psychology of the main characters in this sequel. Mainly because the creators took enough care to avoid repetition and, unlike the first part, the majority of attention is now focused on the duo of main characters controlling the entire story. The straightforward thriller thus becomes a complex composition with an atmosphere reminiscent of The Godfather. (08/04/2007)

The film continues to maintain its visual and overall narrative qualities, but somehow I can't shake the feeling that it remains in the shadow of its one year older brother. However, the creators show that they have a gift for incredible camera shots, which have an interesting effect on the audience. I liked this aspect in the first film as well, and it continues here. Violent scenes are often filmed in an intriguing way, although they can be somewhat cliché. (04/05/2014)