Better than the HK version

Rating: 9/10 (14 November 2006)

I've seen the HK version, Internal Affair, of this movie long before it became available in movie theater. I think the delivery is much better in The Departed than Internal Affair. I have seen countless of Hong Kong movie, believe me, I was born in Hong Kong.
In the HK one, the dialogue were just not there. I think in general, dialogue in HK movie need a lot of works. Second, the role of each player wasn't very clear in the HK version. Remember at the beginning where both of the cadets started from the same Triad group, i.e. the temple sense at the very beginning. So it makes audience wonder who is really the bad guy. Third, in the end, the police guy (the real bad guy) trying the be good after the head detective was killed. I think that confused the heck of the audience there. The role switching near end of the movie is a big no-no and just don't make sense. If I was the mole in the police force, I would have done what Matt Damon did, killed everyone to protect my identity.
The American version has a much more powerful delivery of the story. It is very good in showing how Leonardo DiCaprio nearly becoming insane for being a mole in the Mob. The 3-way relationships between Matt/Leonardo/Vera Farmiga is a good tying-everything-together development. The brain splatter scenes simply drive home the fact that its is not a nice job to work with the Mob. It is expected because it is an action movie, period.
In all, I like the American version over the HK one is not because the story but its delivery and logical way of laying out the characters. It make you think twice on becoming a mole....