Good, if you haven't seen the original

Rating: 6/10 (27 November 2006)

Unfortunately for this film I have recently re-watched the original: Mou gaan dou (Infernal Affairs 2002).
The original film is a wonderfully engaging and thrilling film, where the viewer is constantly comparing the two lead characters. Which is the good one, which is evil - does the end justify the means? More importantly the film has these two characters questioning their own existence, questioning their own motives, questioning whether you become the lie that you live.
The Departed on the other hand seems to focus on the success or failure of each character - not the internal struggles that made Infernal Affairs great. The result is a rather bland action film, with some mild tension towards the end (with a decent amount of blood and profanity). Many things, like the "Irish Mafia" seem tacked on and incidental to the actual story - we see nothing of this "Mafia" beyond our chief villain Frank Costello. It seems a fumbled attempt to set the film in an American setting.
Overall this film was a disappointment to me, since I knew what the film could have added - those who hadn't seen the original on the other hand enjoyed this film for it's merits, not it's short comings.
If you're going to see the original, then give this a miss - if you don't like subtitles then this one's for you.