Interesting, full of twists.. great for those who haven't seen Infernal Affairs, cringe-worthy for those who have...

Rating: 7/10 (14 December 2006)

This film is made into a movie of its own. Although based on Infernal Affairs (HK production), the story have been slightly altered perhaps to fit the culture of American street gangs. I do admit, there are many things I do not like about the film, being a fan of Infernal Affairs, it is more wishy-washy, and Jack Nicholson was... well.. not that wonderful. I read somewhere that apparently Jack Nicholson didn't even research for his role, so he just "naturally" played him.. so you can see, this character ended up being more of an "evil clown named IT", rather than the terrifying controlling leader of the mob. That really disappointed me, because characters in control (Chinese Triad bosses, Godfather, etc) are all very strong, controlling and more level-headed characters, whereas Jack Nicholson's character is more a clown than a boss. Another cringe-worthy scene is where they hired poor Cantonese speakers to act as triads from China (speaking Cantonese?? you mean they're from HK or Canton?). Any Cantonese speaker will cringe and laugh at how poorly they spoke Cantonese! I know that's not overly important for those who doesn't understand Cantonese.. but just makes the film more tacky.. you know... just unrealistic .. so it's tacky.
Leo DiCaprio was surprisingly good, hands down for his magnificent performance - a great mature comeback from his gone teen-heart-throb era.
Besides that, the story of course is brilliant. No one can deny or hate the story-line, as it is magnificent, unique, and clever both in the HK and the Hollywood version. My vote is given for the story line and Leo.