Entertaining Remake and Impassioned Acting

Rating: 8/10 (16 February 2007)

I am so glad to have seen this contender for "Best Picture" from last year and I fully understand how this fits into the Lifetime Achievement of a notable American director - Martin Scorsese. It still does not really extend the engaging story of the original Hong Kong thriller-cop drama "Infernal Affairs". I must say that I felt that the original movie was thoroughly engaging with (for me) regular-looking actors and the 2006 remake seemed a bit of a tour de force for several highly paid actors to "earn their chops" (i.e. salaries in the millions). The movie also served as a way for the New York-born director to work out some resentments toward authoritarian systems (e.g. city police forces, state police academies, Roman Catholic clergy, abusive relatives, alcoholic-enabling family members, plus more). My prediction is that the Academy on Feb. 25-upcoming may reward the adapted screenplay work and the direction but NOT give this the ultimate Oscar when the whole show is over. A good movie but not on the superb level that "The Usual Suspects" was a few years ago.