Infernal Affairs

R

Released Sep 24, 2004

1h 40m

Crime

Drama

Action

Mystery & Thriller

List

94%

Tomatometer

66 Reviews

95%

Audience Score

50,000+ Ratings

Idealistic police cadet Chan Wing-Yan (Tony Leung) is recruited by Police Superintendant Wong (Anthony Wong) to go deep undercover as a member of the criminal Triad society. Into the same cadet class, crime boss Hon Sam (Eric Tsang) installs new Triad member Lau Kin Ming (Andy Lau) to become a long-term mole for the gang. A decade later, both have risen through the ranks in their respective aliases -- but when both of their covers are in danger of being blown, a game of life and death ensues.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered May 17

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Max

Watch Infernal Affairs with a subscription on Max, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Critics Consensus

Smart and engrossing, this is one of Hong Kong's better cop thrillers.

Read Critics Reviews

Anupama Chopra

Film Companion

Internal Affairs is a deliciously twisted thriller from Hong Kong.

May 18, 2020

Full Review

David Ansen

Newsweek

The pace and plot are dizzying, but the movie also works as a study of fractured identity: the two have led double lives so long they're no longer sure who they are.

Mar 13, 2018

Full Review

Empire Magazine

Rated: 4/5

Apr 1, 2006

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

It plays like a South Korean crime drama married to the outsized Hong Kong melodrama of loyalty and sacrifice: slick and handsome, solidly plotted, and satisfyingly cynical.

Jun 11, 2023

Full Review

Brian Susbielles

InSession Film

The first film is the basis of Martin Scorsese’s The Departed, but it is an entire saga based in Hong Kong.

Feb 14, 2023

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

The small bursts of action we get are thrilling, and the film is shot with an impeccable attention to tone. But the characters are the story’s lifeblood, and everything the movie puts around them reveals more of the struggle within them.

Rated: 4.5/5

Aug 22, 2022

Full Review

Read all reviews

Elvis D

Este thriller policial es otra destacable obra del cine chino con una paradójica historia entre un infiltrado de la policía en las tríadas mientras un infiltrado de las tríadas se oculta en la policía. El resultado es una película bastante enigmática en la que puede provocar algunas vueltas de cabeza, pero se vuelve muy interesante como este conflicto entre la policía y las tríadas da todo un giro de tuercas al tratar de descubrir quienes son los infiltrados de ambos bandos. Estos infiltrados se vuelven un elemento muy relevante en este conflicto y cuando cada vez se acercan a la verdad, genera una gran tensión para saber quién será descubierto primero y como va a terminar. Aunque no hay muchas escenas de acción, se puede decir que la acción se siente bastante en el ambiente. Con buenas actuaciones, muy buena fotografía, edición llamativa y una bella canción en la banda sonora, Infernal Affairs es un estupendo thriller de crimen y corrupción que se merece un lugar junto a otras intrigantes películas policiales. Mi calificación final para esta película es un 9/10.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/06/24

Full Review

Tony S

Better than Departed. One of the best movie of all time. Good direction and acting. One movie that needs to watch more than once.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/08/24

Full Review

Lasse L

A cool concept executed very well. The movie has high tension and a strong script. There are a few scenes that are a little overdramatic but it doesn't detract much from the overall quality.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/04/24

Full Review

Marshall P

Brilliant film. Much better than Scorceses remake to my mind (The Departed). Everything about the film is good - casting, acting, script, plot. Actually there is one thing - there is a small romance thread going on - this aspect of the film is poor, as it seems to have been written by a 13 yr old. However a small blemish on a great film. The second one is good also - but don't bother with the third one tbh

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/26/23

Full Review

Gracie C

Edge of your seat film that will have you saying "huh, Judas!" every 20 minutes. Thoroughly enjoyable film in spite of every female presenting character being a plot device. Serious negative 1/2 star for distractingly cheesey flashback/important scene music and very styled messy hair

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/04/23

Full Review

Matthew D

The original Departed with Tony Leung and Andy Mau! Directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak's Hong Kong crime drama Infernal Affairs (2002) is magnificent. Lau and Mak's direction is very pretty, gripping, and nuanced with a dreamlike quality to editors Danny Pang and Curran Pang's slick cuts with sentimental flashbacks and shocking reveals. Tony Leung is tense and torn as the cautious and intelligent undercover cop alongside Andy Mau's careful mole doing everything for his own survival. Eric Tsang's mob boss Sam is so funny and boisterous. I love Martin Scorsese's remake The Departed, but he really did just adapt Infernal Affairs scene for scene. Writers Alan Mak and Felix Chong's crime narrative is really cool as they weave an undercover cop infiltrating the Hong Kong Triads, while a mob boss sends a mole into the police to spy on them. Cinematographers Lai Yiu-Fai and Andrew Lau smooth fast panning shots and beautiful wide shots of Hong Kong's cityscape and seaside piers are lovely. Composer Comfort Chan Kwong-Wing creates exciting thriller music alongside pretty older style Cantopop tunes for the seedy and somber tone. Sound designers Kinson Tsang King-Cheung, Kwong Wai-Hung, Bernard Chin Wing-Lai, George Lee Yiu-Keung, and Felix Chung Sze-Ming capture wiretaps and morse code messages with quiet recordings. Costume designer Lee Pik-Kwan made cool leather and suit outfits for all these guys in 2000's fashion. In all, Infernal Affairs is awesome for 101 minutes of crime and punishment.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/05/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Andrew Lau Wai-Keung

Director

Alan Mak

Director

Tony Leung Chiu Wai

Chan Wing Yan

Andy Lau

Inspector Lau Kin Ming

Anthony Chau-Sang Wong

SP Wong Chi Shing

Eric Tsang

Hon Sam

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

28%

76%

Waist Deep

41%

79%

Running Scared

84%

80%

The Alzheimer Affair

60%

48%

Assault on Precinct 13

80%

74%

The Bank Job

TRAILER

for The Bank Job

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Mark Wahlberg Dishes Some Dirt on "Departed 2" and Maybe "3"!

Pre- (and Re-) "Departed"?

Box Office Wrapup: Leo and Matt Face Off at #1 with The Departed

View more photos

Synopsis

Idealistic police cadet Chan Wing-Yan (Tony Leung) is recruited by Police Superintendant Wong (Anthony Wong) to go deep undercover as a member of the criminal Triad society. Into the same cadet class, crime boss Hon Sam (Eric Tsang) installs new Triad member Lau Kin Ming (Andy Lau) to become a long-term mole for the gang. A decade later, both have risen through the ranks in their respective aliases -- but when both of their covers are in danger of being blown, a game of life and death ensues.

Director: Andrew Lau Wai-Keung, Alan Mak
Screenwriter: Felix Chong, Alan Mak
Distributor: Universal Pictures, Miramax Films
Production Co: Basic Pictures, Media Asia Films Ltd. [hk]
Rating: R (Violence)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Action, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 24, 2004, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 8, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $89.6K
Runtime: 1h 40m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Digital

Most Popular at Home Now