Infernal Affairs II

The first Infernal Affairs was a wonderful surprise, a gritty, stylish police thriller about two undercover agents, one a cop in a Triad gang, the other the same gang's police mole.

Infernal Affairs II was produced in haste after the success of the first, and it shows. The film is a prequel, so the original stars (Andy Lau, Tony Leung) are absent and missed.

Where the original was rich in psychological drama and tension, this time we just get plot, and lots of it. The film leaps between a number of story strands, treating each with Godfather-style reverence.

As a result, there's no chance to fully engage with any of the characters, particularly given the high death rate, and the labyrinthine plot is barely comprehensible.