Infernal Affairs 2 (Special Collector's Edition)
As every Asian action devotee will tell you,Infernal Affairs 2is not a sequel but a prequel to Hong Kong directors Wai Keung Lau and Siu Fai Mak'sInfernal Affairs(2002), which served as the inspiration for Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winningThe Departed. Gone are original stars Andy Lau as Lau (the Matt Damon character fromThe Departed) and Tony Leung as Chan (Leonardo DiCaprio's counterpart); pop star Edison Chan and Shawn Yue, respectively, play younger versions of the two leads as they begin their careers as a Triad member feeding police information to mobster Hon Sam (Eric Tsang, reprising his role from the first film) and a mole infiltrating Sam's organization. A side plot involves the son (Francis Ng) of a murdered Triad leader who causes trouble for all three characters. As with the original film, the violence and bulletplay is both operatic and frantic, and the truths, half-truths, and false identities labyrinthine in their complexities; viewers are advised to watch the firstInfernal Affairsbefore tucking into this disc, unless they wish to be hopelessly confused. The Special Edition DVD includes seven deleted scenes, somewhat dull commentary by Anthony Wong (Inspector Wong, on whom Martin Sheen's role was based), Mak, and Tsang), a 20-minute making-of featurette that includes interviews with much of the cast and production team, and a "Confidential File" that sets more behind-the-scenes footage to music. The trailer and teaser spot round out the extras.-- Paul Gaita