Rent Infernal Affairs 1 (2002)

Going Under - Infernal Affairs 1 review by Steve

High concept Hong Kong crime thriller with a unique premise. We've seen cops go undercover into narco-gangs before, but what if simultaneously the mob sends one (or more) of their own the other way? Yes, this could be merely schematic...

Except the idea is developed with intelligence- though admittedly the psychology/philosophy more than the logistics. And as well as the hooky Hollywood style action, the pumped up score and cool photography, we get a twist of neo-noir sadness.

There are genuine star performances from Andy Lau as the nerveless gangster who takes over police internal affairs and particularly Tony Leung as the cop who spends a decade out in the cold. Naturally, there is some subtext about identity.

And co-director Andrew Lau says this is an allegory about the handover of Hong Kong to the Chinese... But it mainly operates as one of the better gangster films of this century. The remake by Martin Scorsese is redundant; this is near flawless.

Solid gangster film if not spectacular - Infernal Affairs 1 review by CP Customer

It certainly had it's moments which is why I would probably give it an 8/10 (4/5 on here) it's interesting how it came to influence The Departed so much but in it's own being a good movie and having many memorable moments, the performances like Steve said are great and one of the reasons why this film is so good.

Average cop thriller - Infernal Affairs 1 review by RD

I can't really decide what was wrong with this film, it was quite well done but after falling asleep twice in it I would just class it as uninspiring.

What is good about it however is the soundtrack (although the music is a little odd), there is an uncompressed PCM 5.1 option which is stunning and ranks amongst the best I've heard.

Turn it on and listen loud, it may keep you awake!