I am a Canadian film student and this is my opinionated perspective on "The Departed" in comparison to "Infernal Affairs"

Rating: 3/10 (17 December 2006)

As a film student my opinion is biased and does not appeal to the majority - With all of the positive attention being reflected upon Scorsese's "The Departed," I felt it was completely necessary to denounce this film and break it down from the high pillar it has been placed upon. "The Departed" plays no comparison to the original Hong Kong release, "Infernal Affairs." As an individual Hollywood film it is a grand achievement, but the true credit should be given to its predecessor. "Infernal Affairs" is greatly superior not only in the complexity of the storyline, but also in the film qualities that are presented. Paying close attention to the inner workings of the spectacle, "The Departed" is a trashy Hollywood rendition of something that was truly amazing. The screenplay omitted the creative use of Morse code and displayed previous subtleties in such a manner that is practically baby fed to the viewer. As well, changes to characters make things simpler to understand for North American dopes. Although the screenplay was very well received it basically just replaces any interesting dialog with a couple swear words. "Infernal affairs" is fairly clean cut in comparison because the swearing and violence is kept to a minimum. The final scene of this film is completely unnecessary in its violent nature and says more about American trash than any other remake I have seen. To fully understand this comment, you must first see the film. When looking at the directorial modifications between the original and the remake, "The Departed" is a pure disgrace. "Infernal Affairs" was visually appealing from beginning to end providing the viewer with a desire to be consumed by the film, whereas "The Departed" presents you with a basic production that plays more like a run-on sentence. I know I was personally just waiting for the film to end. By personal recommendation, I would suggest finding a copy of "Infernal Affairs" before watching "The Departed." It is by far one of the best Hong Kong films released to date. This is not to say that "The Departed" is a complete waste of time, but if you want to get your money's worth, take my advice. You will surely be impressed. P.S. Subtitles rarely bite.