Great but not as great as Infernal Affairs

Rating: 8/10 (2 May 2007)

I watched Infernal Affairs before The Departed. Even though I enjoyed The Departed I liked IA more. One thing I did like about The Departed was that the casting very well done. Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio where very good as the moles, each was very convincing as their characters. Mark Wahlberg was very entertaining as Dignam, as was Alec Baldwin as capt Ellerby. One of my favorite scenes was where Bladwin goes after the tech guy that couldn't set up the cameras right.
Martin Sheen played his part well as a semi-father figure to DiCaprio. Jack Nicholson was also enjoyable as Frank but some of scenes here he was over the edge like that of the cocaine and the hooker could have been left out. Vere Farmiga was good but unfortunately was obviously the weakest link in this cast.
In The Departed there were some changes that added to story and some that I thought shouldn't have been made. IA setup where Yan had already infiltrated the triads was much more convincing believable then showing how in a short time Costigan had infiltrated Frank's gang. The lack of the music shop scene from IA was disappointing as it lost the connection to the sound system and a element that showed how the two moles mirrored each other, but by combining the two female roles from IA into one created more conflict between the moles.
The addition of Dignam, while entertaining, cause a problem for me as it was hard to believe that after Capt Queenan's death that Dignam would just leave the case without giving up who the mole was.
The ending was one of the most important change and the change I hated the most. I felt that by having Sullivan being caught and killed fell into the American idea of the bad guy never wins.
While the original was better I felt by making these changes among others cause The Departed to become a movie of its own rather then a simple adaptation.