if the comparison with original is necessary

Rating: 6/10 (26 October 2006)

Alrite, I finally drag myself to watch this. My reluctance, of course, is because i think the original is a very good movie that has decent plot and good deal of emotion heavy moments, plus I am never a big fan of Scorsese's works and i really did not think it could top the original.
It turns out i was right, but I had to applaud for this movie. Afterall, it is Scorsese, one is not going to get those beautiful songs play at the background when someone die. It's bleak and cold, and it is a movie of its own.
The only problems i have with this film is Sullivan and the ending. I think the screen writer must be out his mind to make such a complicated character in the original degrade into a stereotypical villain. In IA, Andy Lau is deep, evil, but in the same time, in constant struggle to find his self image. Sullivan is really just lame. I also think the ending lacks the tragic feeling in the original, but hey!, it is exactly Scorsese's style and i respect that.
One other disappointment is leaving out the subtle kind of understanding between the two main characters make the film's depth a bit shallower. After all, the best scene in the original is the one at the audio store where Tony Cheung and Andy Lau first met. Departed just made the line between black and white too clear.
Nevertheless, it is still a great film. DiCaprio deserve nomination for his performance, and even though i am in doubt Scorsese will actually receive one academy award next year, I think this is a better shot compare to GoNY and Aviator. Wellz, i guess i will just make a suggestion for people who watch this film but not the original, grab it. It's the same plot essentially but very different style, and both highly enjoyable