Tweekums Although this is the second film in the trilogy it is not necessary to have seen the first instalment to enjoy this, as it is a prequel. Set in the years leading up to the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China we are shown how each of the protagonists from the first film got to where they were in that film. Of course this means we know that everything will work out for them; it doesn't mean this film is without its tense moments though as there are plenty of new characters; not all of whom survive. While the two main characters from the earlier film feature prominently it is their bosses who are the protagonists this time. We see how Triad member Sam rises to the top while most of his contemporaries and seniors end up dead and policeman Inspector Wong Chi Shing manages to advance despite being implicated in a murder several years previously.While this film missed the two main stars of the first film it was still well acted and the characters were just as believable. I had been worried that it would suffer from the problem that all prequels face; namely that anybody who has seen the first film will know who will survive, amazingly this managed to convince me that at least one character who I knew should have survived died; I assumed I'd been confused about who was who till we later learnt what had happened. There is plenty of action and anybody who enjoyed the first film is likely to like this too; I'd certainly recommend it to fans of action films in general and Hong Kong films in particular.

disdressed12 this prequel to the first movie is mixed bag,in my opinion.at times,i found it even more muddled and hard to follow than the first film.however the action sequences are very good here.and there are some really gripping edge of your seat moments.once i could figure out what was going on and who was who,i actually found myself getting really involved in the story and the action.overall,i did think it was more exciting than the first film and i cared more about the characters,which makes sense since the movie does delve into the past of the main characters.even though the movie felt muddled at times,the excitement and the gripping moments made up for it.for me,Mou gaan dou II is a 7/10

Michael DeZubiria There is an unusual relationship between Infernal Affairs and Infernal Affairs II, which is the first sequel but is also a prequel and may even be better viewed before the first film. One of my Chinese friends, who suggested the trilogy to me, gave me part II first and said I could watch that before the original film, but I waited until I could buy the entire trilogy and watch them all in order. As it turns out, I may as well have listened to her. The premise is pretty much the same, a police officer working undercover for a mafia godfather, while the godfather has a trusted lieutenant working as a successful police inspector. Like the first film, it is an interesting play in the space between breaking and protecting the law, as each side is simultaneously living life as a criminal and law enforcement agent, which is clearly a difficult task.There is an interesting backdrop of the film of the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997, the 10 year anniversary of which I experienced here in central China last June. And let me tell you, these people are really happy to have Hong Kong. They don't mess around with fireworks. For the Chinese New Year, for example, fireworks are set off almost nonstop for WEEKS. Trust me. I'm literally hearing the last of it outside my window at this very moment. None of this 30 minutes just after midnight nonsense!It's true that the sequel is slightly lesser than the brilliant first film, but it is an engaging crime drama, especially impressive because of the performances of Police Inspector Wong (Anthony Wong) and the gangster Sam (Eric Tsang), who were in charge of placing the moles on the opposing team, you might say. They are good friends and seem to have an easy relationship, except that each pretty much knows what the other is doing, they just don't know everything. And like in the original, this is a recipe for a pretty absorbing crime film.

Edmond Ng It was great to see Francis Ng's tour de force performance in Infernal Affairs II. Really great to see an actor's coming-of-age. The intricacies of his character was handled with great sensitivity.I thought the casting of Mainland actor, Jun Hu, as Luk as was rather odd at first. While he played his part well alongside Anthony Wong, his lines had to be dubbed into Cantonese. Then when I looked the company credits I realised IA 2 was a co-production between HK and the Mainland. Having Hu (and Dao-Ming Chen in IA 3) in one of the leading roles was perhaps a commercial decision (for the Mainland market) or a requirement of the co-production deal with the Mainland co-producer. While the younger version of Yan and Lau did not quite live up to the very high standard set by Tong Leung and Andy Lau in IA 1, IA 2 was more than salvaged (or excelled IA 1 some might say) by the best ensemble performance that Hong Kong had to offer by Eric Tsang, Anthony Wong, Francis Ng and Carina Lau.