Directed by Andrew Lau Wai-keung and Alan Mak • 2003 • Hong Kong
Starring Edison Chen Koon-hei, Shawn Yue Man-lok, Anthony Wong Chau-sang
The first of two sequels to follow in the wake of the massively successful INFERNAL AFFAIRS softens the original’s furious pulp punch in favor of something more sweeping, elegiac, and overtly political. Flashing back in time, INFERNAL AFFAIRS II traces the tangled histories that bind the trilogy’s two pairs of adversaries: the young, dueling moles (here played by Edison Chen Koon-hei and Shawn Yue Man-lok), and the ascendant crime boss (Eric Tsang Chi-wai) and police inspector (Anthony Wong Chau-sang) whose respective rises reveal a shocking hidden connection. Unfolding against the political and psychological upheaval of Hong Kong’s handover from Britain to China, this elegant, character-driven crime drama powerfully connects its themes of split loyalties to the city-state’s own postcolonial identity crisis.
Up Next in Hong Kong Action Classics
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Infernal Affairs III
Directed by Andrew Lau Wai-keung and Alan Mak • 2003 • Hong Kong
Starring Andy Lau Tak-wah, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Leon LaiTony Leung Chiu-wai and Andy Lau Tak-wah return for the cathartic conclusion of the INFERNAL AFFAIRS trilogy, which layers on even more deep-cover intrigue while steering the...
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Throw Down
Directed by Johnnie To • 2004 • Hong Kong
Starring Louis Koo, Aaron Kwok, Cherrie YingOne of the most personal films by the prolific Hong Kong auteur Johnnie To is a thrilling love letter to both the cinema of Akira Kurosawa and the art and philosophy of judo. Amid the neon-drenched nightclubs ...
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Exiled
Directed by Johnnie To • 2006 • Hong Kong
Starring Anthony Wong, Francis Ng, Nick CheungAn ultrastylish underworld saga crackling with virtuosically choreographed bullet-spray, relentless tension, and vivid characters, this bravura thriller ranks among action auteur Johnnie To’s definitive achi...
